View Full Version : I didn't fall off Grandfather Mountain this weekend!!!
That's a success story in itself! This was an eye opening experience for my husband and I. It was so much fun and we loved it, but we are some really slow movers. There is much work to be done between now and May, if Grandfather Mountain is any indication of what we can expect on the AT from Deep Gap NC to Springer. We have really heavy packs and I used about everything I brought and couldn't imagine not having it, so I'm afraid I am going to be lugging some 40 + pounds on the AT. Not asking for specific advice at the moment, but just bragging that I'm not dead. :o:p
Grandfather Mtn is a cool place to hike. Great place for you guys to do a training hike
It was amazing. The ladders and climbs were so much fun. I can just tell we really have to get our speed up.
Alleghanian Orogeny
11-02-2015, 17:51
Glad to hear you enjoyed Grandfather Mountain and thanks for posting. I'm hoping for a weather window in mid-December. It's been over 10 years since I summited, and I very much need the view from Calloway Peak as soon as I can hike (slowly) up to it.
AO
You won't have that much difficulty on the AT except in a very few places and in New Hampshire in Maine. I've taken my kids up and over Grandfather Mountain a couple of times. It is a fun and exciting hike. Glad you enjoyed it.
bigcranky
11-02-2015, 21:16
Yay! You didn't die! :) :)
Yeah, the AT isn't really as hard as Grandfather Mountain in most places. Also, too, 40 pounds is a lot.
4eyedbuzzard
11-02-2015, 22:32
It's just walking. Really tough walking. ;)
naturlred
11-03-2015, 08:59
I love your spunk....not dead yet.....yehhhh!
My husband and I are the same age and after some long trails we feel this same way. Isn't it great to feel you still have what it takes?
Congrats and good luck in future hikes.
Tennessee Viking
11-03-2015, 09:20
Did you walk from/to Boone Fork and how was the summit?
hikernutcasey
11-03-2015, 10:24
Like others have said, 90+ percent of the AT is easier hiking than what you encounter across the ridgeline of Grandfather Mountain. My hiking speed up there much more closely resembled my pace in the Whites than it has any other section of trail I've done. Just saying don't beat yourself up :) Glad you had a good trip!
Also, even though you think you will use every single piece of your gear, your experience will probably end up being different. I know that for me, upgrading necessary gear to lighter models and gaining more experience will enabled me to learn to do without a lot of things that I thought I needed but have since changed my mind about as I became more comfortable being on the trail. This reduced my pack weight little by little until now it's kind of comical to compare my current gear and weight with what I started out with just a few years ago.