Day 4 of the Shake-Down - to Neel's Gap

Packed up and got an early start at 7:45 am. Hit Woody Gap (US 60) at 9:30 am w/ walk thru mostly easy terrain. Woody Gap is a very nice picnic/parking/trailhead area w/nice privvys but no water. Though we were able to dispose of trash - always nice to be able to lighten the load!

For today's hike I switched back to my NF pack and Squeaky took back her Gregory pack. We've been slowly equalizing the pack weights the whole trip (since departing Len Foote). Between this and consumption of food my pack weight is probably less than 45 lbs now and feeling a bit less onerous.

Hiked up Big Cedar Mtn, perhaps the steepest part of this section. Met Kiwi at a rocky overlook (see picture above) about 3/4 of the way up. Kiwi was daypacking with a friend. Kiwi completed a N-S thruhike on 9-11-07 and shared many tips with me on gear, pack weight, nutrition, etc.

Lots of easy terrain to Jarrad Gap where we found water unexpectedly and made our first coffee of the day. After that we started the long, slow climb up Blood Mountain. I needed to poop from the coffee but I wanted to wait for the next shelter. It seemed like it took forever to get to Woods Hole Shelter and when we did it was 1/2 mile off the AT.

As it was now Saturday, we ran into more and more people as the day went on. At WH Shelter we ran into a group of about 8 who were on an overnight hike. They were complete rookies. In less than 5 miles they had already lost 1 person and had another who was 'sick' a couple of miles back down the trail. Squeaky and I did our business and moved on quickly. From Woods Hole on we encountered more and more folks on this beautiful afternoon. We ran into Kiwi and his friend again and had another nice chat. We also met a young woman and her pack dog that were completing a SB thru-hike!

The trail got steeper from Woods Hole the rest of the way up Blood Mountain, but I still felt good. I still lagged behind Squeaky (I swear she has legs of steel!) and stopped to rest frequently, but I never felt tapped out like I did the day before. I got to the Blood Mountain Shelter at about 4:30 pm. Squeaky had arrived about 10 minutes earlier and had already staked out a place for the night (per our original plan). But there were so MANY people up there and I had a lot of energy left and the weather was great, so I wanted to move on. It was only about 3 miles or so to Neel's Gap and it was all down hill.

So down the mountain we went. And oh, what a view!!! There is a reason why Blood Mountain is the most visited spot on the AT in Georgia (as well as one of the most popular parks in Georgia). Unfortunately, I forgot to put a memory card in the camera and was out of space for photos by the time we got there. But I'm sure we'll go back - I plan to climb that mountain with my granddaughter some day. Truly spectacular 360 degree vistas that rival the best I've seen in Smokey Mountain Park.

It was a tough scramble down Blood Mountain, but all downhill, so not so bad. We hit Neel's Gap and Walasi-Yi at 6:30 pm. This finished my shake-down. With a 13.5 mile effort on the last day and a total of 41 over 3.5 days, I feel prepared for the big show come spring.

Shake-Down Day 3 - A Tough Day

Today was a tough day on the trail in the north Georgia mountains. I'd planned on doing 12 miles, but only got 9.5 done and I felt bad most of the day. "Squeaky" kicked my butt up and down hill all day long. 45-50 lbs is too much for me; I've got to get it down closer to 40 lbs or less. The weather, however, was great for the third day in a row: dry, sunny and warm with a high of about 67 degrees.

The hardest part of the day was Sassafras Mountain which started at 2,600' and summited at 3,400' in less than 1 mile. There were many other similar ups and downs thru the day.

We made camp on the trail as dusk was approaching and we were still several miles from the nearest shelter. We picked a clearing about 1/2 way between Gooch Gap and Liss Gap. Camp set up went well. We hung our own bear trap for food, Squeaky dug a nice 2-hole 'poop-a-torium', and we set up our Vector 22 on a nice flat spot.

The bad part was we could not make coffee or hot food because we were conserving water and we did not think we'd be able to get any more water until Neel's Gap, which was 13-14 miles away. The downside of the beautiful weather we were experiencing was that it was an extension of the record drought that Georgia had suffered throughout 2007.

I slept really warm and well on the ground with my ProLite 3 and BeeLine. The next morning we got up early (6 am) and were on the trail by 7:45 am. A better day ahead I hope!

2nd Day of the Shake-Down

Great day on the trail! My 51st birthday!

Left Len Foote Inn after breakfast at about 8:30 am and summited Springer Mountain at about 11 am. Took pix of both plaques. Had a nice long lunch break at Stover Creek Shelter, a really nice shelter with a loft, privy, picnic table, etc. A beautiful sunny day with a high temp of about 70 degrees.

We had a little trouble finding the water point at Stover Creek until "Stinky" came along and showed us the way. "Stinky" was not his real name or trail name; we did not get either; but it is descriptive. "Stinky" was a southbounder who'd started at Harper's Ferry in June. He'd originally intended to do a flip-flop going from Roan Mtn to Katadhin then reversing to Springer. But "something went wrong" and he ended up sb-ing. We was actually a bit of a grump, but since we needed water and he helped us find it, it was good to meet him!

We made good mileage today - 12 miles. To my surprise, Michelle beat me up every hill. We go into Hawk Mountain Shelter fairly early, set up camp, and slept in the shelter with no other human occupants (we did have some mice companions overnight!). Two young guys stayed nearby as did one middle-aged guy with a dog. We cooked freeze-dried meals on the Jet Boil - yummy and had night and morning coffee with the coffee press. During the night we heard mice, coyotes, hawks, and many dogs.

Slept like a log from 8:30 pm to 8:00 am, but got a late start the next day as a result, about 9:00 am. New Pro Lite 3 Therma Rest was plenty comfy as was 30 degree NF bag even with approx 35 degree air temps.

{editors note: I am entering this in my blog in February 2008 discussing my hike from November 2007. On New Years's Day 2008 a young woman was murdered in the north Georgia mountains by a middle-age man with a dog not more than a few miles from Hawk Mountain. It turns out he was a drifter that often hiked/camped in the North Georgia and North Carolina mountains. I saw pictures of this man after he was caught and confessed to the heinous crime. I really did not look closely at him in early November 2007, but I truly think it may have been that same man. Scary.}