Ask A Traveller: Michelle & Jackie Camp In The Appalachians Part II

Avid Traveller | Lindsay | Oct 24, 2011

And now, we present Part II of Michelle and Jackie’s adventure from this past summer to Tennessee and North Carolina. Be sure to check out Part I for a recap!

What were some of your safety concerns and how did they factor into your planning?

We added N. American texting to our cell plan, so that we could check in with family to let them know we were ok and also to keep in touch with each other if we got separated.

We ensured we had an emergency kit for the car, as well as a full sports first aid kit and carried the 1st aid with us while on trail.

Bears – we had been told to watch out for them. So we went to Novacks Bear Safety Seminar in the spring to gain information. And Snakes – read up on them, and spoke to people about them, as well as while we were travelling to gain regional information / experiences.

We were forewarned about other campers and hikers in the area stealing our gear. In light of that, we stored all valuables in the car overnight and when we left the camp sight.

How long did you give yourselves to plan and how much time would your recommend to others?

We started planning in February 2011, gathering our Groupon items until our trip on August 19-29, 2011. We could have planned it in a month or two I think, but with collecting the Groupons and waiting for the zip lining one, we started the planning a lot earlier. As well we attended a number of different seminars and talks at Novacks that were relevant to our trip. (using a compass, bear safety, water pumps, using various camp stoves etc) Attending these seminars is where knowing what we were doing in advance helped because it gave us the time to find and attend these sessions and give us our “ease of mind” that two women in the Appalachian wilderness can do it too!

Essentially final plans (itinerary, food, gear) were done through June and July. Final bookings of excursions were done a week or two in advance.

It depends on how crazy your itinerary is. The busier it is, you may want to start a few months earlier. But if you are just heading somewhere to go hiking and not see the “surrounding sights”, you could start a month or so in advance.

What kind of flexibility (if any) did you have with your itinerary?

We both agreed at the onset, that we had the Groupon excursion items, and a rough sketch of what we wanted to do otherwise, but if while we were on our trip found out that there was something more interesting that we wanted to see or do, then we would go and do that instead. We were very well matched in our likes/dislikes of travelling and food so it was easy to be flexible and remain amicable.

We made sure that we had downtime planned into the itinerary so that we could rest and find our zen…. And we did!!! It was on the Nolichuky River, in the Cherokee Nat’l Forest in Erwin Tennessee! (Note: we have never travelled together before, found it to be one of the best trips ever because of our compatibility, and are already planning our return trip to the next section hike of the Appalachian Trail in NC/TN next July 2012, with our goal to someday complete the Appalachian Trail in it’s entirety.)

Any helpful planning hints you learned along the way?


Be flexible

Delegate items so you both don’t get overwhelmed.

Borrow from others if possible to decrease expenses

Ask your friends for their experiences if they have been to that region

Go hiking with the Thames Valley Hiking Association and make some friends/contacts there, they are full of great ideas!

Go to the seminars and “Talks for Travellers” at Novacks the information gained there is very helpful!

Speaking of “Talks With Travellers”, don’t forget to join us this Wednesday October 26th 2011 for Jane Vincent-Havelka’s presentation “On the Trail of Tea, Temples and Elephants: A Journey to South India”.

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