Fellow hiker Steve, my brother John, and I have been doing these Appalachian Trail treks on and off since 2002, each one more aggressive than the last. What started as a idea to go as far south as Damascus to complete the Appalachian Trail in Virginia evolved into two week trips covering hefty miles. Last year was a mix of day hikes and a backpack through the Smokies. This trek was simply all backpacking- no need for daily car shuttles, no holiday crammed campgrounds, just section backpacking to complete the southern AT, from Fontana Dam in North Carolina south to Springer Mountain and Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. This would be the longest backpack for any of us, requiring resupply along the way. The best solution was to start in the middle, at Dicks Creek Gap, hike south to a car waiting at Amicalola, drive north to Fontana, then hike south to Dicks Creek Gap. It would be a five night backpack followed by a two night backpack (Fontana to the Nantahala Outdoor Center- the NOC) followed by a five night backpack- 175 miles and 15 days on the trail.
Some logistical planning was needed, as we would leapfrog the vehicle left at Dicks Creek Gap, going directly from AFSP to Fontana. There would be no zero days. A food drop at the NOC would allow leaving Fontana with food for two nights and leaving the NOC with food for five nights. There would be two nights at hostels- the Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap and at the NOC. The plan seemed too perfect. With numerous unknown factors, how can three hikers stick to a strict schedule?
First one has to get down there... it was an 11.5 hour drive from Maryland to Amicalola Falls State Park where we'd leave Steve's car, then a 90 minute drive to a motel in Bavarian-esque Helen, GA, striking distance to Dicks Creek Gap. Advance research showed no indication of vandalism at DCG, so it looked to be the only safe middle starting location. Next morning when we started, we wouldn't see John's truck again until the end, 15 days later. Logistics required that nothing needed for the first leg be left at AFSP (and nothing needed only for the second leg be taken from AFSP), but that didn't work out so well for Steve- some of his hiking clothes got left in his car. A short detour to the town of Cleveland got him enough to start out. As we set out from DCG, two NOBO thru-hikers had come off the trail looking to get a ride into Hiawassee, a resupply town. No cell signal plus we were running late, so we couldn't be trail angels this day. Not knowing if or when you'll get a ride into town was one difference between us and thru-hikers.
The idea was that this would essentially be a thru-hiker style experience, and for the most part, it was. One difference is that most thru-hikers aren't forced to an overly strict schedule. One leaves the trail for many reasons. It would have been nice to not stick to a schedule, but our jobs required it (though lucky John is retired), although I had left the return date open-ended. As it turned out, the trip went as planned. We'd be doing all hikes southbound, doing the southern part first then the northern, so we'd likely encounter thru-hikers leaving Springer twice on the trek. The first potential thru-hiker was met at Tray Mountain Shelter, our stop for the first night. That first hike was no easy walk in the park. Our packs weighed about 40 pounds, and this hike was 11.2 miles with 4000' elevation gain. One thru-hiker at the shelter claimed he had left Springer with a 100 pound pack, but was now down to 65 pounds. He was trying to get a fire going, and eventually did so using a pack of instant oatmeal! We never got his trail name, so refer to him as "Oatmeal". We'd meet him and others during the second week at Winding Stair Gap- we'd done 100+ miles in the time it took them to do about 50. They had been partying in Franklin, NC the previous evening, looked hung over but were still drinking at the gap before hitting the trail. They were having a good time, which is all that matters. We met a few other potential thru-hikers. Being this close to Springer, many won't make it. Many start with too much food and packs too heavy. Some were giving away food on the trail. Bags of rice and beans were left at Plumorchard Gap Shelter, maybe of little interest to bears, but would be a feast for the mice.
We'd done a good job with the training hikes. Blisters were not a problem for us. The same can not be said about the thru and section hikers. We saw and heard about some bad blisters. One guy was using duct tape for his blisters. Blisters cause many potential thru-hikers to take zero days early on. Uphills came easy for me and downhills easy for Steve. I don't like downhills on day hikes, and loading on pack weight just makes it all the more unpleasant on my knees and feet. It didn't take long to discover that the lack of any zero was a mistake. I most often had an "ailment of the day", be it the feet (multiple issues), knees, hips, or neck.
It was humid the entire trip, stuck under an easterly flow off the ocean, so mornings were often foggy or overcast and afternoons partly cloudy. Up on ridge line, there were more clouds to the east than to the west, so there were no views of the Smokies. The first week was mostly dry, but the second week had several rain events. We had a downpour for the hike out of Fontana, light rain for the hike into and out of the NOC, and a heavy thunderstorm a couple miles from Dicks Creek Gap on the final hike. That storm swamped our boots, so if any more hikes had been needed, we would have been forced to take a zero to let the boots dry. Clothes were never dry and we were never clean. We smelled as bad as any thru-hiker.
There were decent views to be found on most days, and we took several side trails to vistas. We crossed several "balds", though they are no longer balds. Several had fire or observation towers, and these were highlights of the trip- Wesser Bald fire tower, Wayah observation tower, and Albert Mountain fire tower. Numerous rock ledges and vistas provided views, sometimes of mountains and sometimes of dramatic clouds. The prolonged slopes into and out of the Nantahala Gorge had viewpoints, both called the "Jump Up". One was socked in, but the other provided views. Wesser Bald fire tower provided a dramatic sunset. It had cleared after a downpour at Wesser Shelter, and knowing that the next morning would have no views, I convinced John to do the 0.7 mile 500' excursion to the fire tower to watch sunset. The chaotic multi-level clouds were spectacular, and I snapped 45 pictures there. We made a hasty retreat when I noticed a storm approaching. We got back to the shelter minutes before a downpour. There were a couple nice waterfalls during the trip. Long Creek Falls, on a short side trail at Three Forks north of Stover Creek Shelter and Amicalola Falls on the AT approach trail at the state park.
The second day took us to Low Gap Shelter. There were two major climbs that day- Rocky Mountain out of Indian Grave Gap, and Blue Mountain out of Unicoi Gap. There was a friendly young brother & sister thru-hiker pair from Opal, VA there when we arrived. Her eyes lit up when she saw me eating Peppermint Patties (good with Wild Turkey), so I gave her some (PP, not WT). We made sure to carry some with us during the second week should we encounter them again. Sure enough, we met them again near Wayah Gap. She was utterly speechless when we gave her the Peppermint Patties. She took one and gave the bag back, but we said they were all for her (and her brother, of course). She was one happy thru-hiker! We also met up with Cathy & Kirk at Low Gap, a fit couple from Indiana. They were section hiking pretty much the same route we were, and we hiked together at times, but lost track of them beyond Blood Mountain. During the second week, we played tag with a Florida couple on two days. I'd pass them on the uphills and they'd pass me at the gaps. They named me "Trix" since I was like a silly rabbit. We met a number of fine folk on this trek- potential thru-hikers, section backpackers, and the occasional day hiker. Some backpackers were doing other major trail systems in the area- the Benton MacKaye and the Bartram trails. Some hikers were going the wrong way: we met three young guys north of Neels Gap that thought they were headed up Blood Mountain. There was always good talk at the shelters. My favorite shelter, Stover Creek (just north of Springer), had great company, Rick, retired from the forest service (he was having issues with knee tendinitis), and Elias, a thru-hiker on his first day on the trail.
Some shelters were full, or effectively full (I'm not a loft sleeper), so some nights were in tents. Most shelters had decent tent sites, some had great sites. Some shelters were dark and dank (Rock Gap, for one) and others were more friendly (Wayah, Stover). We stopped at several for water, and made sure to visit Plumorchard Gap Shelter, the three level "mansion" north of Dicks Creek Gap. Sleep didn't come as easy as it had in the Smokies last year. Just about everyone snores at least some (some more than others). I was comfortable on my Thermarest Neo-Air pad, but aching long muscles made it hard to sleep. Again, a zero day could have helped. A night was spent at tent-only Locust Cover Gap, north of the NOC. The shelter spacing just didn't work out for that segment. I had tented the night before at Cable Gap Shelter and stressed my Achilles tendon exiting the tent. Later, at Stecoah Gap, I realized that four parties were headed to Locust Cove Gap, and was determined to be the first there. I was, but at the cost of my ankle. The next day hike up Cheoah from Locust Cove Gap was painful, and the downhill to the NOC downright not doable. I thought my hike was done, but wrapping the ankle with an ace bandage fixed the problem.
There were two hostel stays on the trip, at Neels Gap and at the NOC. Neels Gap has an 11-bunk room with an adjacent living room and small kitchen. We pigged out on a couple frozen pizzas there (they have a decent pizza oven). A couple cats inhabit the Neels Gap hostel, to take care of mice I suppose, and the place smelled of cat pee. The NOC "basecamp" was a step up (and a bit more expensive, $20 instead to $16) with it's 4-bed bunkhouses and on-site restaurants. We stayed at the NOC twice; first to leave a food drop box before starting from Fontana and again three days later when we hiked through. With the drop, we could leave Fontana with two night's provisions and resupply for the remaining five nights. We had two dinners and two breakfasts at "River's End" restaurant. They had excellent Nantahala IPA on tap!
Bears?... no bears. There were reports of bears, especially a few miles either side of Neels Gap. Camping on Blood Mountain was prohibited, and notes had been left along the trail stating that bears had taken food. We thought we heard a bear once, but it was just water pouring out of a culvert at irregular intervals. John was startled by what sounded like a bear, but turned out to be a backpacker seeking refuge from the rain. I saw one deer, some squirrels, one or two snakes, and lots of snails. Owls were heard many evenings and mornings, and coyote were heard in the distance at Tray Mountain Shelter. Several ticks were found crawling around, but none attached (that I know of). The shelters had mice (what shelter doesn't?), but I had no problem with them (they gnawed on Steve's camp towel and got into "Oatmeal"'s unsecured gorp).
Ample flowers on this trip: rhododendron was plentiful, as was mountain laurel and azalea. At times, all three would be present, making for a very pretty setting. Other wildflowers were out; I should know what they are, but mostly don't. Poison oak and ivy was prevalent along the trail, especially in Georgia. That we managed to avoid it is remarkable. The trail was occasionally slightly overgrown, which would be expected this time of year. With the main pulse of thru-hikers long gone, the trail sees somewhat less use. The Georgia AT appeared to be better maintained than much of the North Carolina AT. Same goes for the shelters and bear cable systems; many NC shelters had no bear cables, and any that did were broken. For the most part the trail is well graded and not too rocky. There were some steep stretches, most notably Albert Mountain. The rocks were wet that morning, so we opted to take the bypass trail. I couldn't pass by without checking though, so when we rejoined the AT, I dropped my pack and headed up the quarter mile, 375' scramble. It had four rather easy rocky segments, but was otherwise log steps. I was up and down in 15 minutes.
Food for five nights weighed about ten pounds. Breakfast was typically hot (dried) soup, a granola (fiber) bar, and bagel with peanut butter. Trail food was beef jerky, candy, Powerbar, crackers. Dinner was Ramen noodles or Mountain House and some dried fruit. Steve would add a packet of Spam to his noodles ("Crazy Tasty town!"). John would generally eat cold meals. Steve had an alcohol stove, and five or six 8 ounce bottles got use through the 15 days. What was missing from my food supply was shelter snacks, particularly on the second 5-night backpack- I had tossed out too much food from my NOC drop box. Those were sorely missed calories. By my reckoning, I was carrying only 2000 calories per day but needed at least 3500 per day. I lost six pounds during the trip, or a shortage of about 1500 calories per day. For water, we used SteriPEN for drinking and boiling for meals. That worked well, I think... over a week later and my system still isn't "normal". Packets of Propel added a nice taste to otherwise bland water. With the Smokies trek last year, I knew what to pack and what not to pack. My pack weighed 37 pounds at the start of the two 5-night backpacks and 29 pounds for the 2-nighter out of Fontana. The heavy sandals were out in favor of the lightweight Waldies, which performed well at the shelters. Thumbs up on the Waldies!
The final shelter stay had a strange start. Two young guys were pulling out of the otherwise empty Muskrat Creek Shelter as we arrived. They warned us of a crazy 22 year old guy heading to the shelter, a real "nut case" on the trail "on a mission from God", a nonstop talker and threatening to kill. They seemed very serious and had us spooked. They advised us to move on to Bly Gap if possible (3 miles further), as the guy had no tent and only stayed in shelters. We were about to move on when northbound "Duct Tape", a psych nurse, arrived and we retold the story. "I'll evaluate him if he shows", he said. We felt considerably more comfortable with him there, and were soon settled in and at ease. Another backpacker arrived and later two more, none matching the description. "Duct Tape" was a great shelter-mate and we enjoyed his company. Were the two guys messing with us? Next day, we met a guy on the trail matching the description. The kid said he was hiking to West Virginia and was carrying everything he owned [making no jabs at WV, only that it seemed odd that he'd state WV as his destination this far south]. Perhaps "Duct Tape" would eventually have a chance to evaluate him. One does see just about everything out there on the trail.
Pictures- 5/22 5/23 5/24 5/25 5/26 5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 5/31 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5
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