Approach Trail to Hiawassee,GA

I was spoiled by the weather all week.. Tuesday through Thursday were perfect, beautiful days - warm, sunny, light breeze. Dad dropped me off at the Visitor Center at Amicalola Falls right around 7:00 am Tuesday morning and I began hiking the extra 8.8 miles to Mile 0 on the top of Springer Mountain. The hardest part of Day 1 was definitely the Approach Trail, specifically the stairs up the Falls. But they were beautiful and I thought the extra miles were worth it. The rest of the Approach was a pretty nice hike and I'm glad I didn't skip it like a lot it people do. I made it to the summit at 11AM and was the only one there. I hung out and had a snack as other hikers trickled through. I talked with a couple who were just doing some day hiking who were from outside of Chicago who had a Grandson who flies planes. When they headed back down to the parking lot I told them if they passed my parents to tell them I was hungry! I received my first trail magic on Springer - sandwich from Mom and Dad!

My parents parked at the lot off the Forest Service Road and hiked the mile south to the top of Springer. They arrived around lunch time and they said they passed the couple who told them they have a starving child at the top. I ate lunch and then the three of us headed North towards their car (for them) and Maine (for me). Saying goodbye to them at the car was kind of like being dropped off at college again - Mom in tears and Dad leaving me with good advice: "watch where you step!". The miles in the afternoon flew by, I was so excited to finally be on the trail. I saw tons of families out for the day, enjoying the beautiful weather. About 3 miles down the trail I ran into the same couple from the top of Springer who were surprised to see me again so quickly. They wished me good luck and gave me their vote of confidence that I would make it all the way.

I got to Hawk Mountain Shelter (AT mile 8.1) at around 4:30, where I would be spending my first night. There were tents pitched everywhere, but only 2 or 3 people opted to sleep in the shelter. I enjoyed the afternoon/evening around the picnic table meeting other hikers and sharing laughs. I retired to my rent around 8:00 pm to try to get to sleep early but was quickly serenaded by my snoring neighbor. I hiked 16.9 miles on Day 1 but only 8.1 counted as part of the AT.

I didn't end up sleeping much that first night but I awoke at around 6:00 ready to get hiking again. I packed up and was the first out of camp around 7:30. The morning of Day 2 was crisp but plenty warm once I started moving. I didn't see any other hikers until around 10:00 am. There were some good climbs that warmed me enough that by the time I came across a stream around noon I needed to stop to cool off. A grandmother (Tadpole) and granddaughter (Peanut) were stopped there as well with their dog who was barking it's head off. They said they were thru hikers but would not be staying in shelters because the dog was too loud.

By the time I got to Gooch Mountain Shelter Jeff from St. Louis and Dylan from Raleigh had caught up with me. They had both stayed at Hawk Mountain Shelter and were on their way to Lance Creek Campsite which is where I was headed for night 2, making a 15.8 mile day. We hiked together for most of the rest of the afternoon. As we approached Woody Gap we saw signs for Trail Magic ahead. Indiana Jones and another former thru hiker had set up a table in the parking lot with hotdogs, chips, oranges, cola, and brownies. They told us that a large group - around 40 hikers - had passed through earlier in the day with the intention of staying at Lance Creek Campsite, which made us a little nervous because the campground doesn't fit that many tents. We decided to push on and test our luck.

We arrived at the campsite (AT mile 23.9) a little after 4 and it looked full but we got creative and found spots for our tents. Dylan (trail name Calves) and Jeff (trail name J Biebs) are religious about stretching, so we had a stretch party and Helen and Dupont joined in after they set up their tents next to us. Dupont has hiked the PCT and CDT already and is finishing his triple crown this year thru hiking the AT and had a ton of cool stories about his hiking experiences. I was in my tent by 8PM to make another early night.

I woke up at 6:30AM on Day 3, ready to hike out by 7:15. Other hikers at the campsite commented to us how impressed they were about how early we were ready to go - as they were lighting up cigarettes..J Biebs and I hiked the first 4 miles together and a quick pace, knowing that Calves would catch up because he hikes super fast. He caught up at the top of Blood Mountain, which is the highest mountain in Georgia on the AT. The climb was challenging but not as bad as everyone had warned. There was a cool shelter on the top and beautiful views. Dupont also caught up to us at the top and we hung out there for a little bit.

It was only a couple miles down to Neels Gap, which is where I did my first resupply in Mountain Crossings Outfitter. I was also thinking about getting a shower and laundry but was convinced not to so we could get out quickly and finish the days miles. There were many other hikers at the outfitter and a line for the outlet so I was only able to charge my things for a short while. As we were heading out Dupont showed up but he was making it a short day and sleeping there. His girlfriend was starting the trail on the 15th so he was moving slowly so she could catch up.

After reorganizing my pack with my next few days of food we headed back out just before 1. A couple miles down the trail we descended into a gap and came across more trail magic! There was a full spread with first aid supplies, chairs to have a seat, and lots of advice and conversation. Next came a tough 1/2 mile climb up Wildcat Mountain and another tough 1/2 decent into Hogpen Gap and guess what was waiting - more trail magic! More hotdogs, candy, soda, chips..

We made our way into Low Gap Shelter (AT mile 42.6) after a series of false flats, which made the 18.7 mile day seem even longer. There was a good crowd at the campsite and Calves, J Biebs, and I found a nice spot to cowboy camp. It was warm and not a cloud in the sky, making the stars outstanding. The second I turned out my headlamp and put my head on my pillow I felt a mouse run right past my sleeping bag. I felt it again run next to my sleeping bag, and then run right into my pillow. Eventually they found something else to mess with and I didn't see it again. Around 5:30AM I woke up to owls overhead, hopefully gorging on the mice at the campsite.

7:15AM start again on Day 4 - first 10 miles to Unicoi Gap went by quickly with a long decent into the gap, but trail magic was waiting! Fresh fruit and water, good pick-me-up before starting the next climb. Three miles went by before reaching the next trail magic at Tray Gap. Former thru hikers are so generous and show up right when needed to give advice and calories. From there, it was less than 2 miles to Tray Mountain Shelter making 15.4 miles for the day, AT mile 58. At the top, two thru hikers, Tarzan and Whitey, were hanging out in the shelter, but pushed on a few more miles before calling it a day. Calves, J Biebs, and I stayed in the shelter because we heard there was a chance of overnight showers. Gutsy, who has thru hiked the AT and had spent tons of time on the trail was also staying there and shared lots of good advice and stories.

Kamakazee mice were falling from the rafters! Most of the shelters in Georgia have either bear cables or bear boxes to keep your food in, but that won't stop the mice from chewing through bags. Luckily all my bags are still intact so far. At 5:30 am I woke up to Pige (short for Carrier Pigeon, from Orlando) taking down his tent and moving into the shelter because a few drops of rain started to fall. It was so foggy it was hard to see 100 feet in front of me. I started Day 5 at 7:00AM , even though it was only going to be a 7.4 mile day to Deep Gap Shelter. I was expecting a drizzly day but by the afternoon it warmed up and the sun came out. We made it there by noon but didn't want to push on because strong storms were coming in overnight and staying through Sunday. The afternoon at the shelter was pretty fun, Tarzan and Whitey came showed up, and many more hikers funneled in, some staying and some moving on. Tarzan's dad is following them up there trail in his truck to provide support so they had tons of food supplies and tons of 'other' supplies. They stopped in Helen, GA at a liquor store and had a nalgene full of moonshine and packed bowls all night.

Surprisingly the site settled down by hiker midnight (8:00 pm). I slept in the shelter again and the mice quickly came out to play. Deep Gap Shelter is a two story shelter which can fit 12+ hikers. It was a noisy night with lots of snoring, mice smacking, and bags dropping off the loft. At 5:30AM  a gust of rainy cold wind hit my face and I did my best to retreat into my sleeping bag into the shelter. A short time later Calves, J Biebs, Pige, and I pack up and entered the rain to hike the 3.6 miles to Dick's Creek Gap (AT mile 69) where we planned to get a ride to the Holiday Inn Express in Hiawassee, GA. I made it there just after 8:00AM and hung out for about 45 min until the other 3 rolled in. Luckily it wasn't too cold standing in the rain. Originally we had planned to try to get in the Budget Inn Shuttle that comes at 9:15 but decided to give hitch hiking a try. The first car to pass pulled over for us! It was a couple heading into Blue Ridge for a train ride to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary. We piled in, Calves sat in the trunk. They were a very sweet couple and didn't mind that we stunk and soaked their backseat. They dropped us out front of our hotel and refused the gas money we offered. I was blown away by all of the trail magic in the first week.

We got to the hotel at 9:30AM but couldn't check in until 3PM. Since it's Sunday not much is open so we walked to Ingles grocery store, ate lunch, bought enough food to get to the NOC about 4 days away, and hung out in the 'cafe' area catching up with family and friends.

I had to make up a few miles this week so I could get to Fontana Dam to meet Meredith for sister trip #3! But the weather was supposed to feel nice and my legs felt good.