Day 1 - May 22, 1999
Jim and I had breakfast in Clayton, GA about 7am. We met Doug at Dicks Creek Gap a little after 7:30. There we left my truck and headed up to Rainbow Springs Campground for Buddy to shuttle us to Deep Gap. Finally hit the trail at 9:30am, temperature around 59F. On the way we passed the trailhead for the Chunky Gal Trail - doesn’t look like it gets much use. Very nice walking through Whiteoak Stamp on our way to Muskrat Creek Shelter. Had lunch there and visited with a family out for the weekend. Well, I thought it was a family until the man used Jim’s cell phone to ‘call his wife’ to report he was OK...wonder who that other woman was? Caught up with them again at Bly Gap. While taking a break at Bly Gap we met Deno, the GATC Ridgerunner. Had a nice chat about his job and took a few photos of that famous ‘gnarly’ tree. Now, I know what northbounders face as they climb out of Bly Gap! Actually, most of the trail from Dicks Cr. Gap to Standing Indian Mountain is uphill, so you might as well get your pace and keep on hiking. Jim’s right knee bothered him some today. Doug is breaking in some new boots and will probably break out the moleskin any minute now. My old Sundowners are feeling fine and I’m cruisin’ down the trail. Oh, I do have a new pack on the trip. After many years of faithful service I’ve retired my Kelty Tioga. Been wanting to switch to an internal frame pack and selected a Gregory Palisade. Fits and rides very well and carries my 45# load pretty well. More on that after a few days... Could use an extra outside pocket, but really love those bottle holders. Forty-five pounds is more than I’m used to carrying - 30 to 35 is more like it. Am carrying more food than usual (way too much I later found out.) Reached Plumorchard Shelter and had the entire place to ourselves. Pretty amazing for a Saturday evening. Deno, the GATC Ridgerunner cruised in later but pitched a tarp nearby. All four of us had dinner and shared stories together for several hours. Doug’s reading the shelter register - seems a lot of folks got sick recently in Hiawassee at Hardees and other places. They probably just overate after many days on the trail. Deno is an interesting fellow, in his 20’s, doing a great job of educating others about the trail, Leave No Trace, plus the not-so-pleasant task of hauling out trash from the shelters and other general trail duties. He’s the sole ridgerunner for the entire GA section of the AT. That’s a big job. Legs are tired tonight after 11.3 miles. But, a good start all in all. Tomorrow, Jim leaves us at Dicks Creek Gap. We’re planning to continue south and camp at Sassafras Gap. Day 2 - May 23, 1999
Had a great night at Plumorchard Shelter - NO MICE! Although, I did catch a glimpse of one just at sunrise. Doug and I woke up for our 'meeting' around midnight. Had a smoke and watched lightning from a nearby storm light up the sky. As usual, the storm headed our way but the rain was very light. Went back to sleep around 1am and slept the sleep of the dead until around 6am. Coffee and poptarts were on this mornings menu. When we reached Dicks Creek Gap at US76, Jim left us to go back to work on Monday. He took my truck we had left yesterday. We were going to hike to a campsight near Sassafras Gap but were a little weary from the climb out of Dicks Creek Gap. Got a little turned around today and thought we were at Kelly Knob when we saw a sign marking the way to a vista where we took a much needed break. Sorry, not Kelly Knob yet. Check the map, Milt, you haven’t hit Deep Gap yet! Well, when we did finally reach Deep Gap it was 4pm and time to make camp. Met some very interesting folks today. Lots of section hikers out here today, all heading north. So far, we are the only ones going south. Two couples from South Africa out for a day hike. A couple of 60+ years young ladies doing a thru. And, at the vista met another thruhiker going by the name ‘Movin’. He was looking forward to a package in Hiawassee and some new boots. Seems those $20.00 Kmart specials were eating his feet alive. Tonight at the shelter a thru-hiker from Raleigh NC, plus a couple hiking with 2 large dogs are with us. Had Ramen, the Oriental flavor, with a small can of chicken. It didn’t taste very Oriental, though, just salty Gnats are driving me nuts, a little dab of bug repellent helped. Today was a very hard day. Hip is a little tender and looking forward to a good nights rest. Feet are doing great. Tomorrow is the climb up Kelly Knob, then on to Tray Mt. Will have to adjust the schedule a bit since today was a little short. We have extra time on the end so I’m not worried about the schedule. Tonight, we had a pretty full house. First we had Brennan, hiking north for 5 weeks before heading to Germany. Then a couple from Athens GA with their 2 dogs. Now we have 5 in the shelter. About 7:30pm two more fellows arrived having covered 20 miles. Of course, that number is nothing compared to what you can really pack into a shelter on a cold, rainy night. One of the late arrivals was using a standard army duffel bag as a pack - bet his shoulders were sore! Later it started to rain, not too heavy, though. At 9pm I bid everyone goodnight and climbed into the sack with my small FM radio. The rain hitting the roof was very peaceful and it didn’t take long to put me to sleep. Day 3 - May 24, 1999
So we’re a little behind schedule, about 4-5 miles. Today we made the climb up Kellys Knob then a nice, fairly flat walk across the Swag of the Blue Ridge. Met our 1st northbound hiker at Round Top, a fellow going by the name of Snail. A retired Army drill sergeant, he was making his 2nd attempt of a thruhike. He started at Springer earlier in the year carrying a 90# pack - still a macho fellow - but didn’t get very far. This time he was carrying around 50# and was doing much better. The climb up Kelly Knob was a real killer. Doesn’t matter much if you are heading north or south, it’s either short and steep as hell, or long and tiring. But, it was nothing compared to the climb up to Tray Mt. We finally hit the top around 1pm and stopped at the shelter for lunch and water. One interesting thing about doing this hike north to south is the climbs up the northern face of mountains tend to be steeper and rockier. We were beat up pretty good so we took a long lunch break. From here to our camp for the evening was pretty much downhill so the worst part of the day was over. Saw several really nice campsites on Tray Mt. The spring was running cold and wet! The view from the summit was AWESOME! Not a cloud in the really deep, dark blue sky. Took another break here and snapped a few photos. Our original destination for today was Blue Mt. Shelter and we could have made if we did a 15 mile day. Nah! The Cheese Factory Site is a great spot with really good water. We’ll shoot for the extra miles tomorrow as we head to Low Gap. That’s a pretty flat stretch of trail so we’ll probably make that OK. That’ll keep us on schedule for our ‘night off’ at Goose Creek. As we were hiking down from Tray Mt. We ran into Deno, the AT Ridgerunner heading up to Tray Mt. Shelter. He doesn’t break a sweat as he moves up those hills. Ah, to be young again! Day 4 - May 25, 1999
Had a pleasant night at the Cheese Factory, good water, soft grassy tent site. Deno, the Ridgerunner stopped by again after his visit to Tray Mt. Shelter. He was pretty upset over an encounter he had with a couple of hikers and their dogs. This was the couple from Athens we spent the night with at Deep Gap Shelter. It seems Deno was charged, very aggressively by one of the dogs as he approached Tray Mt. Shelter and that was unacceptable behaviour by a trail dog. He then got into a fairly heated discussion with the dogs owner over That dog shouldn’t be on the trail. By the time he got back down to our campsite he was pretty worked up over it and we became his audience for a short while as he worked off a little steam. Suffice to say, Deno has had his share of discussions with hikers concerning this controversial subject. Had a very pleasant walk down to Indian Grave Gap, downhill is always pleasant unless the knees are acting up. Then the gruesome climb up Rocky Mt. Doesn’t matter which side of Rocky Mt. you’re on it’s going to be tough. It’s been a while since I was though here but the GATC and others have done a great job rebuilding some of the stone steps. Started running into more northbound hikers on the way down to Unicoi Gap. Today we started counting the hikers, be they thru, section, day. The total count by the of today was 30, including those at Low Gap this evening. We have a total of 7 hikers at the shelter tonight but three are tenting. We ran into our first southbound hikers tonight, they came in about 30 minutes behind us. They are also hiking to Springer. After a snack break at Unicoi Gap we began the ‘pleasant’ climb up to Blue Mt. Shelter. You northbounders might not remember this little rocky section of the trail. Heading south, this piece of the rock pile gains 1000’ in a half mile. Decided to have lunch at Blue Mt Shelter then try to make Low Gap by dark. As the guide book advertises, this really is an easy section of trail. After passing Chattahoochee Gap (be sure to sample the spring) you can really fly down the trail to Low Gap after one or two short, nasty climbs. I think I’ll call these shasty climbs ;-) Throughout the hike we have been enjoying an abundance of flowers on the trail. I’d list them but can only identify a few. Honeysuckle, wild azalea, trilliums, rhododendrum. It’s a garden wherever you look. One couple in the shelter tonight is from the Netherlands. They call themselves the Dutch Duo. They previously hiked from Mount K. to Va. And are now finishing this section by hiking from Springer to Va. The two fellows that are also going south with us have been sharing tales from a recent hike through the Smokies. Found this very interesting since I’ll be doing that section pretty soon. Had another Ramens tonight, like Liptons better. Last night before our stay at Goose Creek so we are eating the last of our dinners. Day 5 - May 26, 1999
Another great day! Considering that we started in the rain and stayed wet all day, here we are nice and dry and warm at Goose Creek Cabins. Showered, belly full and sipping on a cup o’ java - yes, you could call it a great day. Pass 18 hikers on the trail today, many were attempting thruhikes. I’m still amazed at the number of late starters. Had a couple of nasty climbs first thing this morning, then a short break at Tesnatee Gap. Not too long because the temps are still in the low 50’s and we’re wet. Didn’t take long to get a chill. I’ve done that climb up Cowrock from Tesnatee before, but not after already hiking about 40+ miles with a 40# pack. Yep, it’s a pretty good long climb. But the view once you reach the top is well worth the effort. Sometimes rainy weather presents a beautiful, hazy, atmospheric look to the area. Instead of a totally obscured view from Cowrock, we had one that was really pretty cool. There were these big clouds that kept dropping in between Cowrock and Wildcat Mt that would shoot back up as soon as they hit the valley floor. There were horse tracks all the way up Cowrock and south along the AT. This was the second time we saw evidence of horses on the AT. Caught up with our southbound friends on Cowrock. They had passed us earlier and were taking in the view when we finally reached the top. One of these fellows called home from Neels Gap and learned of a problem they were having at work and they decided to end the trip early and head home. Said they would be back and I’m sure they will. Gave them my name and number if they needed a shuttle when they returned. No mice in the shelter last night, hard to believe. Guess they’re still full from the hikers before us. Started raining around midnight and continued until noon. Not a heavy downpour, just a light drizzling soaker. We bunched up together in the shelter to make breakfast and pack up. Then we bid farewell to the Dutch Duo and another very nice lady, Gloria, who was attempting a thruhike. She was more or less travelling with the Dutch Duo until they reach Va. I wish them all a very safe and wonderful trip. We got to Neels Gap around 4pm and called Keith at Goose Creek Cabins. He picked us up about an hour later. While we waited I purchased a few much needed items at the outfitters. I had underestimated how cool the evening were going to be and was having trouble staying warm with just my fleece sleeping bag. I picked up a long-sleeve fleece top and some long pants. These would also be useful to wear around camp to fight off that early evening chill. For some reason I didn’t pack a long sleeve shirt or pants. Make a note – Don’t do that again! So, from my coze antique bed, in my cozy antique cabin, good night from Goose Creek. Day 6 - May 27, 1999
Happy Birthday Dad! Wow, I really enjoyed the stay at Goose Creek Cabins. A shower and a real bed were a real treat. You don’t have to be on the trail for weeks and months to learn to appreciate the simple things. Keith shuttled us back to Neels Gap around 8:15am. There were several other hikers who had the same idea as us so we visited with them while waiting for the store to open. I wanted to pick up a few food items before hitting the trail and Doug wanted to get a drinking cup. He missed his hot chocolate in the mornings. We got a fairly late start, around 10am, compared to most mornings. Decided to hike the Freeman Trail around Blood Mt. I’ve been over Blood Mt. many the Freeman Trail is a good way to save a little time. Besides, it’s a really nice trail. If you’ve never been on it you can use it to make a nice 7 mile loop with Blood Mt. Saw the side trail to the new Woods Hole shelter. It’s about .5 miles off the trail and wondered why it was placed so far away. Someone I spoke with later said they thought it had to do with the forest service land use policy and AT corridor width at that location. We hit Woody Gap about 4:30pm and took a ‘boot off’ break. Still have about 4 miles to go before reaching Gooch Gap, but the feet needed the break. Passed 46 hikers today (a record so far) as the Georgia hills rolled up and down under our feet. Several were already at Gooch Gap shelter when we arrived. Since that shelter is a bit small we decided to tent tonight near the stream that runs below the shelter. Something very strange happened to me today. I had the closest thing to a spiritual experience ever in my life. While walking through an old growth area just south of Woody Gap I found myself standing next to a magnificent old hemlock tree. Must’ve been 100’s of years old. I was so moved by it’s age, size, and stature that I found myself touching the tree and talking to it like it was as old friend. I let it know how much I enjoyed the priviledge of being there with it and how thankful I was that it had been spared the saw and ax and was alive and well. It spoke back to me! Day 7 - May 28, 1999
Seven days. A full week. We slept in a little this morning at Gooch Gap. Turns out we are ahead of schedule now and the remaining days are under 10 miles. My tent was pitched a little on the down and right which made sleeping interesting. I remember Doug saying something about Ray Jardine saying is was a good idea to sleep with your feet higher than your head. Well, I don’t think this was exactly what he had in mind. A pretty good little climb got us warmed up for a really nice walk down to Justus Creek. More old growth forest, talked with a few more trees. Justus Mt. and Sassafra Mt. turned out to be a GOOD workout for us. But after climbing Tray Mt., Kelly Knob and others in the northern part of the state we were prepared. Found some ‘almost’ ripe blackberries along the trail that were pretty tasty. Tried not to eat too many, though. At Cooper Gap we ran into a youth group with about a dozen boys plus a couple of adult leaders. If you wanted to make a video about how NOT to go backpacking, this group would be perfect for the part. Every pack was overloaded with big heavy stuff. Like huge cotton sleeping bag and 4 pound flashlights, pots and pans. But, they were having a pretty good time and they were young and indestructable! So, off they went up Justus Mt. Arrived at Hawk Mt. shelter about 4:30pm after a fairly easy day. Greg, from Athens, GA was already at the shelter when we arrived, but this is a big place and there was plenty of room. Greg was hiking a 50 mile loop using the Duncan Ridge and the AT. After getting water and unpacking I asked Greg had he run into Deno, the Ridgerunner yet. Just as he was about to answer, Deno shows up on queue, What’s up guys? Small world, huh? Looks like it’s going to be nice, quiet night with good company. Hawk Mt. Shelter is fairly new and has a unique design for a loft shelter. It’s a tri-level shelter but the first level would only be useful for the overflow. The middle platform and top loft platform are the primary sleeping areas. A privi, good water plus the picnic table make this a very pleasant stop. One more day to Springer Mt. Looking forward to spending the last night on the trail at the shelter on Springer. Seems like a fitting end to the trip. The original itenerary had us doing a very long last day all the way down to Amicalola. I like this plan better. Day 8 - May 29, 1999
We came! We hiked! We ate! Can’t believe it’s over. We still have to hike the approach trail down to Amicalola, but the AT is done for now. Last night at Hawk Mt. was really great with Greg and Deno. Stayed up late swapping trail stories and other lies ;-) Was a very nice and easy walk to Long Creek Falls and Three Forks. The weekend campers were out in full force. Three Forks was transformed into a small city. Long Creek Falls were beautiful, as usual. Now, I’m in familiar territory, having hike around this area many times. Three Forks to Springer went very fast, too fast. Noticed that the GATC has been busy here putting in new signs. The Benton McKaye Trail criss-crosses the AT several times here. We got to the shelter around noon. The earliest we stopped the entire trip. We could have continued on to Amicalola but want to spend the last night at Springer. Dropped off our gear at the shelter and made the trip to the summit for pictures. The haze was extremely bad this day and there was absolutely NO view. I pulled one from my memory and and enjoyed that one. Back at the shelter we ate lunch, took a nap. I caught up the journal, read a little and day dreamed. Pretty much the perfect day. I did this hike for two reasons. I had hiked most of the trail in Georgia on day hikes and long weekends but had many small pieces of the trail missing. So, reason number one was to hike it all in one trip, a Georgia AT thru hike. The second reason was to try and capture the feeling of a thru hike. Don’t misunderstand this - I don’t mean to imply that 8 days on the trail is anything close to a 4-6 month thru hike - I can say it’s enough to get the spirit of such a trip. I slept in shelters with strangers, braved a few mice, walked in the rain, pitched the tent a few times, ate mac ‘n cheese, listened to a lot of trail stories, met real thru hikers and some of the greatest people ever! I hope all the thru hikers and section hikers I met make it safely to their chosen destinations. I’ll be with them all in spirit. Deno, the GATC Ridgerunner, was most impressive. I haven’t met many folks with the love and passion for the trail as this guy. Look forward to seeing you again later this summer. As you all read this, Doug is on the PCT. He left around July 4th and will be out there for up to 4 months. He’s headed north from I-80 so yell if you see him. He will be sending journals and photos so visit again soon and hopefully I have some updates of his trip. Wish I were out there with him. Next year, we’ll probably start back at Deep Gap and hike north to Fontana. And perhaps do some of the smokies, too. Until then…happy hiking. Uncle Milt |