Appalachian Trail: Allen Gap to Spring Mountain Shelter

I completed this solo hike early morning on 5-10 in 3.5 hours total. Although there was no major payoff in terms of landmarks or clear views on the mountain, it was great for solitude and challenging for a quick out and back. The wildflowers were thick, and it was interesting seeing the AT shelter. Started at 6am so there were about three groups of AT hikers sleeping at the base near highway 70. Other than that, I only passed two groups hiking all morning. Looking forward to hiking up to Viking Mountain in the near future.

We did the out and back to the shelter from 70. The trail can accessed at the Pass at the state line at a gate and abandoned stone building . We could not find the actual AT crossing along the road from the road. This is a very wooded section of the AT. The trail section from SR 70 to Spring MTN Shelter is in good condition. Some sections are fairly steep. Leaves were thinning but still green this Oct 11. Nice hike in the Appalachian forest. If your choosing there are more interesting sections. But it’s more remote with primarily a few section hikers on a the trail.