2010 - AT Year 1 Section- N. Georgia

Year 1 - Amicalola Fall SP, GA to Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee, GA)
(78.4 miles)
This was a relatively short 'shakedown' hike, with the goal of checking out equipment, and learning as much as possible about hiking the trail.   I deem it a very successful maiden voyage! I traveled with my family on July 1, 2010 to Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia, and checked in at the park lodge. It was a great place to stay, but I was feeling very apprehensive that evening. I nervously unpacked, packed, and repacked my pack several times that night just to make sure I had not forgotten something. 

Day 1- 7/2/2010 -Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge to Stover Creek Shelter (11.6 miles)
After spending the night in the lodge, I ate a nice big breakfast in the lodge restaurant, probably my last decent meal for awhile, and Ginny and Josie saw me off about 8:30 a.m. or so. 
With Ginny in Front of the Lodge Just Prior to My Departure
I was definitely nervous, plus I had slight head cold, which only added to my nervousness. Being sick out in the middle of nowhere was not a thought I wanted to contemplate. I hit the entrance to the approach trail to Springer Mountain just down the road from the lodge. The pack felt great on my back, and I made great time. Some of my nervousness subsided until I heard a loud snorting sound, like a warning, in the brush off to my left. Since bears were foremost in my mind, I quickened my pace, and started whistling just to be on the safe side.
The Entrance to the Approach Trail to Springer Mountain
Nice View of the Trail up to Springer 
I reached the summit of Springer, and called Ginny from the top. It was too foggy to see anything, but I sat down for a bit, and checked out the A.T. plaques on the rocks marking the official southern terminus of the trail. One of them was newer than the other one. The terminus had actually been relocated from another point, and the original plaque had been moved with it. 
The 'New' Trail Plaque Marking the Southern Terminus
The Original Plaque from the 1930's, with the First Official White Blaze
It was raining, but not bad, so I stopped to put on my rain gear. As soon as I had done this, the rain worsened. I headed on down the trail. I saw no wildlife, but crossed paths with two other soggy hikers. I arrived at the Stover Creek Shelter about 2:30 p.m., and pitched my tent outside the shelter. I pumped some water, and made camp.  The rain had stopped, so I hung all my wet things up to dry. I made a supper out of Mountain House Spaghetti and Meatballs, with Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensations to drink. 
Stover Creek Shelter
My First Campsite Outside the Stover Creek Shelter
Many, but not all, shelters are equipped with 'bear cables' nearby. These are suspended cables with pulleys to hang your 'smellables', which may include food items, cooking utensils, toothpaste, lotions, etc. - anything that might attract a hungry yogi.  When in doubt, put it in the bag. I hung my bear bag on the cable, and laid down in my tent to relax and read my book before going to sleep. It had been a good start to my hike. More hikers arrived at the shelter later that evening.

Day 2 - 7/3/2010 - Stover Creek Shelter to Gooch Mountain Shelter
(13 miles)
I awoke early, intending to get an early start, but found to my consternation that it was not possible to get my bear bag down due to the tension on the lines from bags hung by the hikers who had arrived after me. I waited anxiously until they had gotten up, and finally broke camp about 9:30 a.m. The weather was great - sunny and cool. I hiked through a beautiful, untouched hemlock forest to begin the day, and stopped for a break at a wonderful spot - Long Creek Falls.
Beautiful Untouched Hemlock Forest
Taking a Break at Long Creek Falls
I hiked on to Hawk Mountain, had lunch about 1:30, and put in a call to Ginny. As I was eating lunch, another hiker who had camped with me at Stover Creek came along . He was a weekender from Atlanta, and told me of a short cut he was planning to take around Sassafras Mountain. He called it a 'P.U.D.' - Pointless Up and Down - a big climb without the reward of a view. It seemed like cheating to me, as I was thinking about my goal to hike the ENTIRE length of the trail -  'P.U.D.s' AND ALL, so I decided to take the high road.  I caught up with him on the other side of the mountain, and he was duly impressed that I had gotten over that mountain as fast as he had gone around it with his shortcut. We hiked on together to the Gooch Mountain Shelter.
Ferns on a Hillside 
Looking Towards Hawk Mountain
We arrived at the Gooch Mountain Shelter about 5:45. There were some nice tent pads around the shelter area, so I picked a secluded spot to pitch my tent. My feet were hurting. I really should've gotten sock liners to wear under my smart wool socks, but the sales person at REI had convinced me otherwise. :-( Word of caution to future hikers - do your own research - and be sure to review multiple sources.
Gooch Mountain Shelter
It's a little hard to see, but This is the Bear Cable by Gooch Mountain Shelter
I cooked supper up in the shelter, and ate the remnant of my spaghetti dinner, along with hot chocolate and freeze dried ice cream for desert. I visited with a couple other hikers in the shelter. It had been a good day - 12.8 miles- but I was tired. North Georgia has lots of ups and downs!

Day 3 - 7/4/2010 - Gooch Mountain to Woods Hole Shelter  (12.3 miles)
I broke  camp about 9:15, and everyone who had been there had already departed. This was to be an interesting hiking day. It was a very scenic hike up to Woody Gap, but Cedar Mountain was a climb. I had lunch at Woody Gap, and spoke with a lady there who seemed very interested in my hike.
GREAT view From Woody Gap
Nice Spot for a Pic Along the Way
After Woody Gap, it was a serious climb, and very dry. I had to stop for water along the way at Nance Creek. I arrived at Woods Hole Shelter about 4:45. The shelter was filled with noisy kids, without any apparent adult supervision close by, so I decided to pitch my tent on a ridge about two hundred yards behind the shelter . The spot looked as though it had been used as a campsite before.
Behind Woods Hole Shelter - Site of my Close Bear Encounter
I had a dinner of Mountain House Chili Mac. It was not quite as tasty as the spaghetti, but not bad. Later, when I went up the hill to hang my bear bag on the cables by the shelter, I found that the two guys I had met last evening at the Gooch Mountain Shelter were camped there. I had been leapfrogging them on the trail.

Before beginning my hike, one of my biggest concerns had been the possibility of bears, but I had yet to see one. About around 6:00 a.m. the next morning, however, I heard something very big and loud rumble down the hill past my tent. There was no doubt in my mind what it was, so I curled up inside my sleeping bag, hoping the bear wouldn't think of my tent as some kind of super burrito, complete with filling!

Day 4 - 7/5/2010 - Woods Hole Shelter to Neels Gap  (3.6 miles)
I decided to make this a short day to the Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi  outfitters and hostel at Neels Gap, but first I had to climb over Blood Mountain. My feet were hurting a little, so I put some duct tape on my toes to try and reduce the friction. There were some magnificent views from the top of Blood Mountain, and the shelter on the summit is one of the oldest ones on the trail - completely made of stone. I called ahead to the hostel to let them know I was coming. Heading down the other side, I passed an interesting balanced rock formation. 
A View Heading Up Blood Mountain
Great View from the Top of Blood Mountain
Coming Down from Blood Mt. - A Balanced Rock Formation 
I arrived at the Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi hiker hostel at Neels Gap, and checked into the hostel bunkhouse. I took a shower and washed my clothes, but I also happened to wash my cell phone, which I had forgotten to remove from the pocket of my shorts. :-( I tried everything I could think of to dry it out, but it never recovered.

I looked around in the outfitters to see about supplies. The people who worked there were extremely helpful, friendly and nice.  I had made the mistake of not bringing a sleeping pad, and I was finding the ground underneath the tent harder than expected, so I purchased a Thermarest Pro-lite self inflating air mattress.  This was a very compact and light addition to my pack, and vastly increased the comfort and likelihood of sleeping well. In addition, the duct tape I had wrapped around my toes was not really working, so I took the opportunity to look around for some sock liners. There were none in stock,  but one of the employees actually had an extra pair of his own that he gave me!! My feet and I were thanking him for the rest of the trip.
The Trail Goes Right Between the Hostel and the Outfitters at Neels Gap
After three days of trail food, I purchased and devoured two microwave cheeseburgers, a hot dog, a pizza, and probably a  gallon of Arizona Green Tea - real food!!  Feeling refreshed, I returned to the bunkhouse. Joel and Robert (trail name - 'Hailstones), who were the two hikers I had been leap frogging on the trail were also staying in the bunkhouse. Joel was discouraged after four days of hiking, and decided he was dropping off the trail. He said it "wasn't what he had expected".  I wondered what it was he HAD expected. Robert, a more experienced hiker,  had been trying to encourage him to stick with it, but Joel's mind was made up. A couple other hikers showed up, and we watched Moby Dick with Patrick Stewart on the VCR - good flick!
Mountain Crossings Sign
There was a hiker box in the bunkhouse.  I did a gear check and dumped a few things I didn't need, and picked up a couple food items I thought I could use.

Day 5 - 7/6/2010 - Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter (11.5 miles)
I woke up, made breakfast outside the bunkhouse, and sat down with a cup of coffee to consider the day. I said farewell to Joel, and took off. It was a good day of hiking to Low Gap Shelter, only one real steep climb up Wildcat Mountain, and plenty of flat areas to recover. 
View On the Trail To Low Gap Shelter
I fell in with two other solo hikers who had been with me at Neels Gap - Robert (Hailstones) and Patrick. Robert was a long haul trucker who worked nine months of the year, and then took three months off to hike the same section of trail every year - Georgia to Virginia.  I thought it odd that he had no ambition to go further.  Patrick was a television producer from Atlanta who had recently lost his job, and was preparing to go back to school in Chicago. He was taking some time in between tasks to do a section of the trail.

We arrived at Low Gap Shelter, and before long a group of fifteen scouts showed up in camp with us. It was very noisy for awhile until the scout masters finally got them settled down. It brought back memories of my 'wild' days with the scouts in Virginia.

Day 6 - 7/7/2010 - Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mountain Shelter (15.4 miles)
I broke camp about 8:00 a.m. and hiked with Patrick at a good pace. We leapfrogged the scouts to Blue Mountain, and had lunch by a stream just past Unicoi Gap. We crossed Rocky Top, and didn't see too many other hikers.
Pointing To the Top of Tray Mountain
It was a steep, long climb to the top of Tray Mountain, and we arrived at the Tray Mountain Shelter about 4:30 p.m. Robert (Hailstones) had arrived there ahead of us. I found a nice, grassy spot outside the shelter to pitch my tent.
My Grassy Campsite Outside the Tray Mountain Shelter 
The Tray Mountain Shelter with Hiking Buddies - Patrick and Robert
A short time later, two young guys showed up, and told us a tale of two 'homeless' hikers from Pensacola, Florida - Willie and Mickey - they had encountered on the trail. These two gents were apparently mooching and stealing stuff from other hikers to survive, and cooking their food on a machete over a campfire! I had yet to run into anyone like that, and definitely hoped not to. Just a note: you will encounter a variety of people on the trail, almost all of whom are great. In fact, I have found hikers, by and large,  to be the nicest, most generous people you would ever want to meet. Do listen to your 'gut' instincts, though, if you are feeling uncomfortable.

Day 7 - 7/8/2010 - Tray Mountain Shelter to Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee, GA) (11 miles)
Today is my anniversary, and the last day of my hike. I hiked with Robert and Patrick, and it was mostly downhill to Dick's Creek Gap. After several days on the trail, the conversation turned to food, and for most of the time, that is all we could think about. The trail down to Dick's Creek Gap followed a pretty and scenic little mountain stream. Someone mentioned trout, and I immediately imagined one filleted, fried, and decked out on a plate with lemon slices!

As we came down the mountain, Robert called ahead to the Hiawassee Inn and Trail Shuttle Service for a shuttle to pick us up and take us into Hiawassee.  The driver showed up shortly after we arrived at the Gap. I must've been a little ripe,  because he immediately opened all the windows as soon as we entered the vehicle!
Destination Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee, GA)
The driver dropped us off at the Hiawassee Inn, and Robert and Patrick got themselves a room, since they were planning to continue their hikes. I gave Ginny a call, but she was lost somewhere, and would not be able to pick me up right away. Our minds were on food, so we walked over to a little restaurant next door to the Inn, and I ate a huge tomato stuffed with tuna salad, and drank lots of iced tea!

Chillin' with My Hiking Buddy - Robert 'Hailstones' at the Hiawassee Inn
Afterwards, I hung out in Robert and Patrick's room guzzling soft drinks until Ginny arrived to pick me up. I said goodbye to my hiking companions, who I had enjoyed getting to know.

Ginny had gotten a room at the  The Deerfield Inn in nearby Haynesville. I was happy to take a shower and change into non-hiking clothes. We went out to dinner at a great 'motor themed' restaurant called,  Chevelles, where I ordered the biggest trout dinner on the menu. It had been a great 78 mile hike, and a wonderful introduction to long distance hiking on the AT. I can't wait until next year!!






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