AT Hike from NOC

There was a thunderstorm at some point in the night, but by morning had cleared out and sun was trying to break through the clouds. We woke up, had breakfast, broke camp, and headed to the NOC and Tellico Gap to set up the shuttle. For hiking, we started at the NOC and began hiking up the Appalachian Trail southbound.

And up and up and up. The trail gains more than 4000 vertical feet over the course of the section. The elevation gain combined with the humidity and above average temperatures (around 70°F) made for a strenuous hike. But despite the burning in my legs and lungs, the gorgeous views of the mountain scenery made it all worthwhile and the lack of foliage on the trees made the views that much easier to see along the trail. We hiked about half way and stopped at Jump-Up Overlook for lunch.

Then continued on for a few more miles of steep uphill. Near the end, we stopped for water near intersection with Wesser Creek Trail, then on to Wesser Bald, the high point of the hike. We climbed the lookout tower for amazing views of the mountains in all directions.

It was actually a little chilly up here; after sweating so much making the climb up and a light breeze, I had almost forgot what cold felt like.

After some pictures at the top, we made the descent to our shuttle cars at Tellico Gap. This last part was all downhill and seemed quite easy after what we had already done. Driving back to the NOC, we stopped along Wayah Road to see a Camp Branch Falls.

It was a pretty big waterfall, but hard to get a good view. 

It was time to head back home, but along the way, we stopped in Asheville for a well-deserved dinner and beer.