UHFox
06-27-2009, 16:56
My son and I just finished hiking the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail. We had a great trip, and I think that things worked out very well for us on our first long hike on the AT.
Starting on Friday, June 19, we got a ride to the Springer parking lot on FS42. We started up the mountain at 3:00 PM, and after reaching the top for the mandatory pictures, we turned around and hiked about 4 miles, camping at Three Forks for the night.
On Saturday, we set a modest goal of hiking the 12 miles from Three Forks to Gooch Gap. We were not certain about the best pace to set, and probably hiked faster than we should have, but we made it to Gooch Gap by late afternoon. Sassafras Mountain was a very tough ascent, followed by a steep descent, and then more uphill on Justis Mountain. We were very tired, and decided that the next day we would begin hiking earlier, and try to maintain a slightly slower pace.
For Sunday we decided to try to make it to Bull Gap, a distance of about 15 miles. We started hiking before 8, and were able to make our way over Big Cedar Mountain and then Blood Mountain without too much trouble. We made it to our planned camp site at Bull Gap about 30 minutes before a pretty hard rain. We took advantage of the precipitation by hanging our sweaty clothes on the line to 'wash' in the rain.
We set a goal of 16 miles for Monday, since we had no huge mountains to climb. We were making our way toward Blue Mountain shelter when an incoming rainstorm forced us to set up camp about 1/2 mile short of our goal. We got the tent up in time to take shelter from the rain, and again used the rain to help rinse our clothes.
Tuesday was to be our toughest day. By now we had our morning routine down to where we could get up at 7 and be on the trail by 7:40, stopping after 2 or 3 miles to eat breakfast. For this day, we had about 500 feet of Blue Mountain to ascend, then Unicoi Gap, Rocky Mountain, Indian Grave Gap, and Tray Mountain. We camped at Sassafras Gap after a very exhausting day.
Wednesday, we had planned to hike to within a couple of miles of the North Carolina border, but my son, being 16, wanted to see if we could make it to Bly Gap, which is just inside of NC. The toughest part of the hike was Kelly Knob, both going up and coming down. We made it to Bly Gap before 4 PM, and camped there for the night. What a welcome sight the gnarled oak tree was!
We had arranged for a shuttle to pick us up at Deep Gap, NC on Thursday, so we had 7 more miles to do that morning. The first mile or two north from Bly Gap seemed as tough as any on the entire hike. We got to Deep Gap shortly after 10, and our shuttle got us into Franklin before noon. We spent the night at the Sapphire, and would recommend it to anyone. (The Budget Inn was sold out. Stupid of me not to make a reservation.)
Overall, I think our planning was good, and my son and I were both in pretty good physical condition, and this allowed us to put in the miles.
I trimmed a lot of gear weight for this trip, knowing that there was no other way I would be able to keep up with my son. I purchased a GoLite Pinnacle pack, had a 2 pound sleeping bag, a WalMart blue foam pad, and used a penny alcohol stove. For the 6 days that we hiked, we used less than 12 ounces of alcohol. We ate Mountain House dinners, and did not cook (or heat anything) at any other meal. I weaned myself off of coffee over the previous month, so I was able to function without any caffeine in the mornings. (I'm sure I'll soon be back to my old level of dependency, though.) We shared a Eureka Spitfire 2 tent, total weight 4.5 pounds. I bought a Steripen to purify our water, but it went on the fritz after about 2 days, so I bought some Chlorine Dioxide drops at Neels Gap. This worked fine.
We carried 7 days of food each, which came out to about 11 pounds. Since we only hiked 5 full days, plus 2 part days, there was quite a bit of food left at the end.
Some of the things I would do differently next time:
The pot stand that I made was too flimsy, and by the end of the week was in danger of collapsing when I put the pot of water on it. I need to make a sturdier version for the next time.
My son and I had a deck of cards, but I wished we had had a small cribbage board.
I wish I had brought along my copy of "A Walk in the Woods", to re-read appropriate passages in the evenings. I love that book.
Being ultralight, the Go Lite Pinnacle pack is not as easy to pack as my old Kelty. Food tends to spread out in the pack, so I need to find a way to pack it so that the backpack maintains its shape.
I will not be able to make any more multi-day AT hikes this year, but am already thinking about the possibilities for next year. (Maybe start at NOC and hike south). I'm not sure if my son will be able to hike with me next year, but I sure enjoyed the time that we spent together on the trail.
Starting on Friday, June 19, we got a ride to the Springer parking lot on FS42. We started up the mountain at 3:00 PM, and after reaching the top for the mandatory pictures, we turned around and hiked about 4 miles, camping at Three Forks for the night.
On Saturday, we set a modest goal of hiking the 12 miles from Three Forks to Gooch Gap. We were not certain about the best pace to set, and probably hiked faster than we should have, but we made it to Gooch Gap by late afternoon. Sassafras Mountain was a very tough ascent, followed by a steep descent, and then more uphill on Justis Mountain. We were very tired, and decided that the next day we would begin hiking earlier, and try to maintain a slightly slower pace.
For Sunday we decided to try to make it to Bull Gap, a distance of about 15 miles. We started hiking before 8, and were able to make our way over Big Cedar Mountain and then Blood Mountain without too much trouble. We made it to our planned camp site at Bull Gap about 30 minutes before a pretty hard rain. We took advantage of the precipitation by hanging our sweaty clothes on the line to 'wash' in the rain.
We set a goal of 16 miles for Monday, since we had no huge mountains to climb. We were making our way toward Blue Mountain shelter when an incoming rainstorm forced us to set up camp about 1/2 mile short of our goal. We got the tent up in time to take shelter from the rain, and again used the rain to help rinse our clothes.
Tuesday was to be our toughest day. By now we had our morning routine down to where we could get up at 7 and be on the trail by 7:40, stopping after 2 or 3 miles to eat breakfast. For this day, we had about 500 feet of Blue Mountain to ascend, then Unicoi Gap, Rocky Mountain, Indian Grave Gap, and Tray Mountain. We camped at Sassafras Gap after a very exhausting day.
Wednesday, we had planned to hike to within a couple of miles of the North Carolina border, but my son, being 16, wanted to see if we could make it to Bly Gap, which is just inside of NC. The toughest part of the hike was Kelly Knob, both going up and coming down. We made it to Bly Gap before 4 PM, and camped there for the night. What a welcome sight the gnarled oak tree was!
We had arranged for a shuttle to pick us up at Deep Gap, NC on Thursday, so we had 7 more miles to do that morning. The first mile or two north from Bly Gap seemed as tough as any on the entire hike. We got to Deep Gap shortly after 10, and our shuttle got us into Franklin before noon. We spent the night at the Sapphire, and would recommend it to anyone. (The Budget Inn was sold out. Stupid of me not to make a reservation.)
Overall, I think our planning was good, and my son and I were both in pretty good physical condition, and this allowed us to put in the miles.
I trimmed a lot of gear weight for this trip, knowing that there was no other way I would be able to keep up with my son. I purchased a GoLite Pinnacle pack, had a 2 pound sleeping bag, a WalMart blue foam pad, and used a penny alcohol stove. For the 6 days that we hiked, we used less than 12 ounces of alcohol. We ate Mountain House dinners, and did not cook (or heat anything) at any other meal. I weaned myself off of coffee over the previous month, so I was able to function without any caffeine in the mornings. (I'm sure I'll soon be back to my old level of dependency, though.) We shared a Eureka Spitfire 2 tent, total weight 4.5 pounds. I bought a Steripen to purify our water, but it went on the fritz after about 2 days, so I bought some Chlorine Dioxide drops at Neels Gap. This worked fine.
We carried 7 days of food each, which came out to about 11 pounds. Since we only hiked 5 full days, plus 2 part days, there was quite a bit of food left at the end.
Some of the things I would do differently next time:
The pot stand that I made was too flimsy, and by the end of the week was in danger of collapsing when I put the pot of water on it. I need to make a sturdier version for the next time.
My son and I had a deck of cards, but I wished we had had a small cribbage board.
I wish I had brought along my copy of "A Walk in the Woods", to re-read appropriate passages in the evenings. I love that book.
Being ultralight, the Go Lite Pinnacle pack is not as easy to pack as my old Kelty. Food tends to spread out in the pack, so I need to find a way to pack it so that the backpack maintains its shape.
I will not be able to make any more multi-day AT hikes this year, but am already thinking about the possibilities for next year. (Maybe start at NOC and hike south). I'm not sure if my son will be able to hike with me next year, but I sure enjoyed the time that we spent together on the trail.