Total Distance: 33.9 miles. (Not including side trips.)
I-40 to Max Patch: 14.1 miles.
Max Patch to Hot Springs: 19.8 miles.
Note: The Walnut Mtn. shelter's roof has been blown off, as of 2/14/11. I haven't heard whether or not it will be replaced. The privy was also blown down the side of the mountain - no, really! At one time, the Forest Service planned to dismantle the shelter once the shelter on Roaring Fork was completed, but hiking groups protested and persuaded them to keep both shelters.
The Groundhog Creek Shelter is located at Deep Gap, 10.6 miles north of I-40.
The Roaring Fork shelter is 18.8 miles north of I-40 and 1.8 miles north of the summit of 4,629' Max Patch.
The damaged Walnut Mtn. shelter is located 23.7 miles north of I-40, 6.7 miles north of the summit Max Patch and 2.4 miles from the summit of 4,686' Bluff Mtn.
The Deer Park shelter is 33.6 miles north of I-40 and 3.2 miles south of Hot Springs.
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Below, Donna makes the long, bitterly cold climb to the top of Max Patch from the trailhead on Max Patch Road. Though the temps were only in the mid-20s, high winds made it seem much colder. Despite the spectacular views, we didn't linger for long on the summit. Our destination for today's hike, Interstate 40, lies far to the southwest behind Donna. We decided to start the hike by climbing Max Patch, adding the bit of the AT that crosses the bald to our hike so that we wouldn't need to add it to the longer walk to Hot Springs planned for the next day.

Heading up the wind-scoured slope of 4,629' Max Patch. Once privately owned, the bald was used for grazing. Hiking clubs and the USFS worked for years to purchase and protect the incredible views of Max Patch and on July 9, 1983, the AT was re-located to cross the summit of the newly dedicated Max Patch ridge.

Looking southwest from the top of Max Patch towards the distant Great Smoky Mountains.The sharp-topped peak on the right end of the ridge on the horizon is Mt. Cammerer in the Great Smoky Mountains. The highest peaks on the horizon are Old Black and Mt. Guyot, also part of the Great Smoky Mountains. Mt. Guyot is the second highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The AT follows the ridgeline on the horizon before reaching the deep Pigeon River Gorge and Interstate 40.
Closer to the camera, the snowy ridge shrouded in the brown of winter, is the path that we'll follow today as we wind over the ridges to Snowbird Mtn. and Interstate 40, our destination on this hike. Today's hike follows the crest of the Bald Mountains, a small range with grandstand views of the Smoky Mountains to the southwest, Mt. Mitchell and the Black Range far to the east, Mt. Pisgah to the southeast, and Bluff Mountain to the northwest. Northbound hikers, upon reaching Max Patch, get their first good views of the magnificent terrain that they'll be navigating over the next few days as they work their way to Mt. Katadhin in Maine, only a little over 1900 miles further north... Springer Mountain in Georgia, the start of the AT, lies a tad over 250 miles to the south.

The wind that whips across the peak of Max Patch scours the snow from the exposed northwestern slope and then drops it on the southeastern slope, leaving behind a deep snowbank that can be seen for miles. It often remains late into the spring, providing a ready source of moisture for the first flowers of the season as it slowly fades away. On this day, we found that there was a layer of ice beneath the recent snowfall, making the descent of the steep slope without crampons a slip'n'slide adventure.

The snow-covered ridgeline below is Buckeye Ridge, also part of the area maintained as open land. We'll be walking through there tomorrow as we head to Hot Springs.

Once off of the exposed ridgeline of Max Patch, the wind died down to a comfortable level and we entered the woods south of the Max Patch road. The shaded forest along the north side of the ridge was still deep in snow. Only one other set of tracks, several days old and northbound, marked the trail for the next few miles.

The walk from Max Patch to Interstate 40 on the Appalachian Trail has a net elevation loss of a little over 3,000 feet. However, the trail dips, bobs and winds up and down the ridgeline of the Bald Mountains, dropping into deep gaps and then climbing steeply to the next peak along the way. Hey Donna! It's all downhill from here!

A happy hiker enjoying a brisk walk along the Appalachian Trail on a superb winter's day in the Bald Mountains!

Brown Gap, 3.7 miles south of the Max Patch Road, elevation 3,500'. The Appalachian Trail crosses over a maintained Forest Serice Road at this point. The road connects with the Max Patch Road, the Cold Springs Road and Deep Gap and offers an altenative start or finish point for this area of the AT.