Day 37

Day 37 - Side trail to US 321 to campsite past Vandeventer Shelter - 15.5 mi - 431 total

Our hike today started straight up. From the river it was a steep climb 1700' up over 2.5 miles to Pond Flats, our last big up and over until VA. On our way up we passed what might have been more than a dozen hikers who were staying at Kincora and taking the opportunity to slackpack that difficult section (they hiked the opposite way so it wouldn't be so steep and left their packs at the hostel). They all warned us about how steep it got, and as per usual, all the hype made the hike seem easier- by the time we reached the top we wondered what all the fuss was about. We quickly made our way down the other side a couple of miles to Watuga lake, then around the (very big) lake, and over the Watuga Dam. It was a hard climb up Iron Mtn. in the heat and suffocating humidity (this is how it's been recently), so we made camp at a really cool site past the Vandeventer shelter. The site had a small rock outcropping behind it which dropped down to the lake and valley below. Once it got dark out, we could see all the tiny lights from the towns beneath us. We decided to have a small fire again (because there was a nice pit and someone had gathered wood and left it stacked) and then slept well.