21.1 milesOriginally Posted by barefooter333
Hike it, or don't hike it. Some will regard you as a loser for not hiking it and some will regard you as a loser for hiking it. Choose your poison. I hiked it.
Lonehiker (MRT '22)
I used to trail run the approach trail on a regular basis. It is quite similar to the rest of the Georgia AT. As others have said, it's all about logistics. If eight miles is a big deal then serious consider whether a 2000+ mile hike is your thing.
We started our Thru not feeling real well just coming off some stomach flu and considered skipping the Approach for this "good" reason. But then we thought "we may never pass this way again" so why miss this opportunity and hiked the section. Some great man said that "you'll end up regretting more things that you didn't than the things you did do", or something like that, just a thought, Elray and Luckycharm
"every day's a holiday, every meal a feast"
There is absolutely no difference between the approach trail and the AT, except the color of the blazes, period.
My wife and I are rookies and we did the approach trail to neel gap last week. We thought the approach trail was probably our most difficult day.
But we're definitely glad we did it.
DougN
I too was ambivalent about doing the approach trail, but decided in favor of it.
Having done it, if I ever start the AT again, I will definitely do the approach. The falls alone are worth the nine miles. I personally think the emotional impact of the falls are equal to Niagara Falls.
I really don't understand the resistance from hikers about the approach trail. They say it's not part of the AT. True, but IMHO, it should be.
I hiked the approach trail in 2011. I don't feel like it added anything to my hike.
The one who follows the crowd, will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.
-Albert Einstein
For me it's not resistance, but: "Why?"
1. It's not the AT.
2. It isn't included in thru hike mileage (if you care about that sort of thing).
3. There are 2185 miles of hills you'll have fun going over right in front of the official terminus. There's no such thing as an "8 mile warmup". That's just nuts to me - there is absolutely no logic to that at all.
4. If you're paying someone for a ride you can get to the terminus as easy as the approach trail.
5. There are countless blue-blazed trails from GA to ME. The approach trail is just another one of those - no more, no less. It just goes to the southern terminus of the AT.
Just to reiterate, I'm not dissing the approach trail or trying to say anything negative about hiking it or those to do - I'm just saying that in terms of an AT thru-hike I see it as a waste of time. That's all...
Hey, 10-K,
One way to look at it is this: if you get dropped off at FS42, you have to backtrack on the AT for about a mile to the Southern Terminus at Springer Mountain. That's not a very auspicious start. For some people, it's better to start the AT from the very beginning -- to make your first footsteps on the trail right at the terminus.
I'm not saying one is right and the other is wrong. I can say there is something very cool about walking up to the top of the ridge and the blue blazes stop and you see the first white blaze. It's a good feeling, and one I would not have gotten by starting at FS42 (which I have also done.)
--BC
I get it!
I think it's more auspicious to start off by congratulating myself for having the good sense not to add an 8 mile climb to an already Herculean task.
What mattered to me is having my hand on the southern Terminus plaque, my hand on the Kathadin sign, and not skipping any *white* blazes between the 2. I did do that but it took me 2 years.
I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just one guy with an opinion here on good ol' WB....
It really can't matter much in your case. You live in Blue Ridge. You can hike any trail in N Georgia anytime you like. This seems to be a more important logistics question for someone traveling a distance to reach the trail. I assume you have seen the falls, and if correct the approach trail is just a trail just like the AT. I happen to enjoy the approach trail but I enjoy pretty much any trail.
If you don't do the approach and start from FS42 I recommend going about a 1.5 miles further down the road where the BMT crosses and hike the BMT up to Springer. That way you don't have to backtrack. It's a better trail than the AT going up to Springer IMO.
Enjoy your Hike.
Seen this topic come up so many times, it's funny. I've done a lot of day hikes with peakbaggers -- folks collecting the 48 four-thousand footers in the White Mountains. If a peak is 3,999 feet high they're not interested.I hiked the approach trail, but I started from the campground above the falls. I can't do anything right.
How bout the fact of signing in and receiving your start number at the falls station?
and how about the fact that a great number of folks don't start at the ranger station. and the ones that start at springer hardly sign the register inside the rock cuz they can't find it. there are no start/finish numbers
...or do what I did on a past section hike. I cheated and started the approach trail by the lodge, thus cutting out the steps up the waterfall. It was easier for my wife to shuttle me to AFSP than drive down FS 42.
Wish I would have thought of that. Great idea!
Because the best thing GA has to offer, is the falls at Amicalola. Especially if you can catch them after a day or two of rain when a front passed.I hope you're not looking for The Right Answer.
As for me, I haven't hiked it and never will. Why would I hike a blue blazed trail to get to the AT?
IMO that is.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 10-07-2014 at 22:05.
My mom and dad were waiting (and waiting) for me at the start of the approach trail one really cool day in December.
I got to the top of the falls and would go not a step further, so there I sat.
Then my parents got to thinking and drove up to get me and take me home.
Good thing, because I had zero interest in going any farther.
FWIW I checked in at the station, shot some pics at the arch and then drove up 42 with the wife. I have done the approach multiple times and it won't add to a thru in the least.
Same plan next year.
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