She had done some of the beginning and we had done a bit of the end previously but neither of us had seen the entire trail or knew what is was going to be like. The Adventure was on!
DAY 1 Twenty Mile Ranger Station to Camp Site 90
The first challenge is to start at the lake level and climb all the way to the Appalachian Trail!
5 miles of steep uphill trail
Twenty Mile Cascades
Reaching the AT
now straight down on Lost Cove Trail- steep and narrow. All the elevation we gained from starting at the lake level we will lose again as our campsite is along the lake
Lost Cove Trail had more in store than just a steep down hill. we needed to cross the creeks at least 8 times to reach the end of our day. None of the creeks were bridged! Not wanting to get to wet, even though the temperature was nice, we needed to look for creative ways across each creek.
We finally reach campsite 90
It turns out to be just a beautiful campsite right on the lake
The TVA draws down the level of the lake every year during the winter, so we are actually walking on what will be underwater by 30 feet later in the summer
I fixed up the broken fire ring and a great fire to keep us warm
8 miles in approximately 5 hours
4,150 feet of elevation gain and lose
9 creek crossings
