Day 6

Sandy and Gary’s friend Rick gave us a ride to Hogpen Gap this morning through a heavy fog which lifted a little as we got to our destination.  Rick is also taking Gary to the airport as he is heading home.

The three of us are heading on.

We got started on the trail at around 9:45.  Forecast was for thunderstorms and rain ☔️.  We were fortunate that the rain held off until the early afternoon but it came in several long downpours with a little thunder and lightning.  We got soaked but we made it to our destination at Blue Mountain Shelter.  The shelter was full but we fortunately got our tents up next to the shelter during a pause in the rain.  This kept things a little dryer.  Had a chicken and rice Mountain House for dinner and spam sandwich for lunch.  I haven’t had spam in decades.  Now I know why.  Its pretty gross.

Temperature rose to about 60 again today.  Tonight it is raining and windy as I write this blog safe and dry inside my tent.

We covered about 12 miles of moderate elevation gain and with a fair amount of ridge walking under cloudy skies until the rain started.  We passed the 50 mile mark of the official trail which including the 8.5 approach trail would make the total about 60 miles.  Plantar fasciitis issue has been minimal although I worry about it resurfacing.  Knee is a little cranky but not bad.  

Tomorrow we want to get over Rocky and Tray Mountains before we camp.  Forecast is for rain in the morning but clearing up late in the afternoon with warm temperatures again.  Then on Wednesday we will have a short hike to Dick’s Creek Gap and get a shuttle into Hiawasee to stay at a motel to shower and clean up and sleep in a bed.😊

Meeting lots of interesting and friendly section and thru hikers.  It’s hard to remember their names at times but they come from everywhere it seems, including New Zealand, China and Canada. There is a lot of comradery on the trail.

Because of the clouds, fog and rain there hasn’t been a lot of good photo ops but it looks like the weather will be good soon and I will add them as I get a chance.

Day 5

We decided to “slack pack” today.  We hired a shuttle driver (Gene) to drive us to Hogpen Gap so we could hike 7 miles back to the cabin with only a light pack.  The day started out foggy and cloudy.  Some areas on the drive were like pea soup and the drivers cruise these winding mountain roads at a good clip even in the fog!  Gene is a retired and very friendly.  He got us to our starting point at around 8am.

As we climbed the first mountain the skies cleared to reveal some gorgeous views.  Love the peaks extending above the fog.

Temperatures rose to the low sixties so we hiked in t-shirts and were plenty warm.  During the day we encountered a ROTC group in full gear.  Now those packs looked heavy.  

We came across lots of hikers we’ve been leapfrogging and one of them named Cowboy lost seven pounds from his pack from the shakedown by the outfitters at Mountain Crossing.  

Sandy, Gary and Dave on the trail.

We were done our hike by noon and had chili for lunch at the country store by the cabins then resupplied at Montain Crossings to get ready to set off again tomorrow.  Got enough cell phone service to call Deirdra and return Gerry’s call😊.

It was nice to have an easier day.

We are grilling steak tonight and will be in bed early.  The forecast calls for rain.😩.  We will shuttle back to Hogpen Gap in the morning to continue northward.  Gary however is heading home.

Day 4

Last night we had a new person join our group.  Dave (trail name ADD) camped with us and hiked with us today.  

A cloud rolled in and kept things damp during the night.  We started our ascent of Blood Mountain which is nearly  4,500 feet high and the highest peak on the trail in Georgia.  It was an tiring climb.  There is a stone shelter at the top which I hear it may be the oldest shelter on the trail.  It looks pretty cold and univiting.  Not many people stay there.

It was foggy most of the morning but the sun broke out as we got to the top and we got some good views. 

The descent was steep.  I’m glad we didn’t climb from that side.  It would have been a killer.  Along the way we leapfrogged different groups which we would get to know during the day.  Surprisingly despite the climb we made good time and got down to our destination of Mountains Crossing at Neels Gap by 3pm.  It has an outfitter and small store for resupply and bunks to stay for the night.  

Our group opted to share a two bedroom and pullout couch cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins.  They did our laundry and dried everything out.

As luck would have it one of our leapfrogging hikers (Will and “lady in waiting”) (Belinda & Will Barr from Illinois)  have a trail angel (Daniell Pyles from Jasper GA) who was driving them into town (Blairsville) to eat and resupply.  They invited us along.  It was great to have real food again.

Tomorrow we may do some slack packing before rain is expected again.

Day 3

Rained hard last night but the tent kept me dry and cozy.  There is something soothing about the sound of rain as long as you are warm and sheltered.  Still raining lightly in the morning so tent was packed wet.  Everything else dry or a little damp.  Fortunately the rain stopped by eleven.  We ended up doing 10 miles today because we wanted to get to Lance Creek as this is the last campsite that doesn’t require a hard bear canister until you get over Blood Mountain.  After that it is only 8 miles until we get to our next stop at Neels Gap. That will be the shortest hike so far but it includes the highest mountain so the degree of difficulty is more.  I plan on staying at Blood Mountain Cabins to shower, sleep in a bed and get laundry done tomorrow.

The mountains are rustic but as I mentioned earlier the foliage is not out yet on the mountains. There haven’t been many scenic views yet either. We are  up and down mountains all day and our pace has been a little faster than I anticipated. I plan on shortening the hikes for a bit so I don’t wear myself out.  Gary is leaving the trail soon and I think Sandy is meeting family when we get to Neels Gap so it means our little group may be breaking up.

Temperature was up near 60 again today so I’m hiking in a T-shirt as hiking keeps you pretty warm.  Been in my tent every night to sleep by 8pm (hiker midnight) usually pretty tired from the days adventure.  Sleep comes easily.

It is drying up a little and we are hoping for a dry day tomorrow.

Day 2

Made breakfast (oatmeal) and broke camp at 9am.  I think oatmeal is going to be a breakfast staple on this trip.  I’ve never been a big oatmeal fan but this wasn’t bad.

First part of the morning the hike traveled down gently but turned into a climb for the rest of the morning up Hawk mountain and the shelter near the top.  On the way we passed tunnels of rhododendrons but they haven’t starting blooming yet.  

We also stopped at Long Creek Falls which have a nice swimming hole at the bottom but it’s too cold.  Might be different in summer.

We had lunch at Hawk Mountain Shelter.  A sketchy guy was hanging out there.  I would best describe him as sort of a drugged out hobo.  He seemed to be a lost soul.  Hope he finds his way.  I was anxious to move on.  It was still early in the afternoon so we decided to go another 6 plus miles to Justus Creek and camp there.  It was a long day.  The afternoon included hiking Sassafras mountain which was challenging.  We ended up doing about 14 miles.  Supposed to rain tonight but I’m now safely in my tent and ready for bed.  Weather was great again today with high near 60.  Rain tonight and tomorrow.

Day One

Woke up at 6:30 after a somewhat restless night, the kind you have when you are excited or nervous about the coming day.  The sun didn’t get up until 7 so I got showered and some breakfast before setting off.  The restaurant at the hotel was a big open cafeteria with big windows looking out into the forest.  Perched on the side of the mountain it offered a great view.  There were a few groups of three to four hikers scattered about the restaurant.  

Weather forecast is great.  Low of 43 and high of 64 with mostly sunny skies.  Right out of lodge I met Sandy and Gary.   They are from Franconia, NH.  Sandy is attempting a thru hike but Gary is just hiking for five days.  Sandy is originally from Nantucket but moved to Franconia.  Her license plate is mtnmrd (Mountain Mermaid). Sounds like a trail name to me.  In addition to being very friendly, they seemed like experienced backpackers so I was happy to hitch on with them and hiked with them all day.  Being with experienced hikers will hopefully keep this rookie out of trouble.  Off we go.

After a while we finished the approach trail and began the official AT at Springer Mountain.

Not as many hikers today as I expected.  I think we came across about 12 others. Stopped at Black Gap shelter for lunch and visited my first trail privy.  Yep, they are pretty rude but I didn’t have to dig a cat hole.  We camped at a site about 1.4 miles before the Stover Creek Shelter for the night at about 4pm.  In the sleeping bag to sleep by 8pm sundown.  While we climbed some peaks the views were limited by trees although the foliage has not bloomed in the upper elevations yet.

About a mile prior to stopping for the day I encountered my first trail magic while actually on the trail curtesy of Montain Squid.  So we did about 8.5 miles today with some good elevation gain.  Tomorrow figures to be more down hill or flat than up.  We are expecting another good weather day. :-)

Mountain Squid

Amicolola

Got up at 4 am this morning to catch a Southwest flight to Atlanta.  Thank you Deirdra for getting up and giving me a ride to Logan.  From the Atlanta airport I hopped on a MARTA subway train to the last stop at North Spring Station. The subway station was literally in the airport and maybe a few hundred feet from baggage claim. Atlanta you got that right!  ATSURVIVORDAVE shuttled me and another hiker (Dave from Harrisburg PA) from North Spring Station to Amicalola.  Staying at the lodge at the park tonight and starting the hike tomorrow.  All the connections were good.  At the Visitor Center at the bottom of the falls, the ranger did a short talk about leaving no trace and what the first week’s hike will look like.  Also got my picture at the Arch.  A family overheard that I was about to hike up to the lodge and gave me a ride up which saved me from a long and steep climb to the top of the falls.  I was checking my gear at the hotel and found that I had lost my sleeping pad (later determined that I forgot to pack it).  Thinking that perhaps I could get one down at the Ranger station I decided to walk down and then return back up the stairs by the falls.  I was planning on doing the stairs at the start so I got this done earlier than planned.  No luck on the sleeping pad at the Ranger station and there is no store nearby to get a sleeping pad.  Crap!  After a bit I called Survivor Dave to see if he was coming back to Amicolola and if he could get me a pad.  No luck again but he gave me a name of someone who might help.  I cannot remember his name at the moment.  So I called him and at first he offered to loan me one of his pads since he didn't think he could get to an outfitters to buy one for me.  He said I could leave it for him at Neels Gap a few hiking days up the trail.  They have an outfitter there and I can get a pad and leave his. The people know him there since he does a lot of shuttling in the area among other hiker support activities. A short while later he called me back and said he could get to an REI to buy one for me and would be by later that evening to deliver it which he did.  I reimbursed him for the pad but he refused any additional monies.   Can't believe I experience trail magic twice before I even got on the trail.  The sense of community among hikers is strong.  Things are looking up for tomorrow's start.

Early to bed tonight for an early start tomorrow.  The excitement and anxiety are large and sleep will come uneasily.