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Tenderleaf
08-15-2015, 02:09
I would be hiking north from Springer. What would the weather be like? Best time to do it (Sept-Nov)? Any other thoughts?

Lauriep
08-15-2015, 08:04
October 20-27 in 2008 I section-hiked with my husband from Neel Gap, GA to Franklin, NC. It was a fantastic time to be out there.

Fall colors were at their peak when we started. I was particularly enamored with the beauty of the American chestnut leaves (I was doing an informal count as a volunteer for the American Chestnut Foundation on that trip.) The fall colors may not be a predictably brilliant every year in the South as New England, but there is a richer tapestry of leaf colors and shapes due to the greater diversity of species. In the South, you have the pleasure of seeing species like Sassafras, sourwood, and black gum in addition to red maple and oaks.

The leaves were almost completely gone as we reached the higher mountains above 4000 and 5000 feet at the end of the trip. The day after we came off the Trail it snowed, with snow falling on autumn leaves that were still in all their glory in the valleys.

Few people were on the Trail--a handful each day. In total I think we saw 5 southbounders. If you went this fall, you would no doubt see more people due to general increase in the Trail's popularity, combined with the effect of the movie A Walk in the Woods due out Sept. 2, which was shot in Georgia (though not on the A.T.) and mostly set it Georgia.

Springer Mountain to Neel Gap gets a lot more traffic than Neels Gap north, from everything I hear.

Temperatures ranged from hot (probably 70s) to cold (20s)--with windchill, probably teens, maybe single digits a few times on windy peaks and gaps. It rained some. I think we took a zero day in Hiawassee to wait out some of the rain. Now, there's the option of a hostel a short distance from Dick's Creek Gap.

It was hunting season and we encountered some hunters along the way, so be sure to wear blaze orange that is visible from 360 degrees and above you at all times. This is best accomplished with a blaze (fluorescent) orange hat or balaclava. Be especially careful during dawn and dusk around camp, especially if you are straying from the Trail to do camp chores or other business. Use a headlamp too. If you have a monster pack that obscures your head from behind, you'll need something on the back of your pack too. More tips on ATC's website at www.appalachiantrail.org/hunting (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hunting).

Springs can be dry or reduced to a small puddle or very slow trickle in fall, so make sure you have capacity to carry a lot when you find it. I remember the springs at Blue Mountain Shelter and Hogpen Gap being marginal.

The Georgia A.T. Club, the official A.T. maintaining club for this area, does an amazing job. They also have an excellent website www.georgia-atclub.org. There's even a page on water sources and availability (http://georgia-atclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126&Itemid=709). It hasn't been updated recently, but it still has value, and maybe they'll update it again this fall.

Be sure to show some appreciation for the work of the GATC volunteers, who do so much. Write a thank you in the shelter register or write a nice comment on their Facebook page after you come home.

soumodeler
08-15-2015, 14:47
I did Unicoi to NOC last year Oct 17-24. Amazing trip. Perfect weather, cool at night and no more than 70 during the day. I think the only night I really had to fully zip my sleeping bag was at Wayah Bald Shelter. It got down to about 25* or so. Very cool waking up and seeing the valley filled with clouds and you are above it watching the sun come up.

I had no issues with water but could be very different this year. Same for temps and rain.

I am trying to decide what to do for my "big" fall trip this year. I can take 1-2 weeks off but still not sure where to go.

FatMan
08-15-2015, 17:21
Can't add much to Lauriep's post. Best time to hike GA IMO is mid October. Temps are very moderate and not much in the way of rain. Only downside is it is hunting season so please wear some blaze orange, and water sources can be limited. The wife and I are hiking all of GA in October. Because we live on the trail we can hike it anytime from our backdoor, and we are choosing October so that says something.