NC/GA Border to Springer MTN hike questions

[Bubbabuzz]

Hey, My buddy and I are fairly new to hiking more than day hikes and are planning a hike starting at the NC/GA state line headed SOBO to Springer June 25th-July 5th and we're looking for any advice on an initial drop point to start the hike? My family will drive us to the initial drop point then met back up with us at Springer mtn, 10 days later to, to pick us up.

Are there any options for lodging around the NC/GA start point, that we could all stay in the night prior to starting the hike? Any input or information about what to expect on this hike is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jason

[moldy]

What I would do is start at Deep Gap NC. The drop off point is about 5 miles up a dirt US Forrest Service Road(USFS 71) off of Highway 64 about 15 miles West from Franklin NC. It's a good enough road for any car and is only 2.1 miles to the NC/GA line. A nice person would also bring a box of goodies to deposit as trail magic at this spot.

[Gambit McCrae]

It has been a while for me but I think Franklin is just right up the road,. nice little town with cheap lodging. A good contact to keep with you in this section is Ron Brown and Ron Haven.

You are not going to need 10 day to do that section, more like 5-6. Unless you are wanting to take some days off from hiking in that stretch.

Ron Browns # is 706-669-0919
not sure what Ron Haven is

[bigcranky]

Stay in the town of Franklin, NC, the night before. Plenty of small hotels. Nice little town. Decent brewery downtown. :)

Easiest for your family is to drop you at Standing Indian Campground. Drive out US 64 west of town, go just past the summit at Winding Stair Gap, and turn left onto the road to SI Campground (it's well marked the whole way). Follow the signs to the "Backcountry Information Center" which is a glorified parking lot with a trail sign. Follow the signs for the Kimsey Creek Trail to Deep Gap, where it hits the AT after 3.7 well graded uphill miles. Turn right (south) onto the AT and hike to the border then into Georgia.

The hike itself is nice. Late June will be warm and humid, possibly cooling off at night, with thunderstorms most afternoons -- though they won't always hit where you are, you'll hear them in the distance. There is usually plenty of water. The trail has some stiff climbs, but take it easy and you get there eventually. :) Pretty easy resupply options at Hiawassee and Neels Gap.

Have fun with the hike.

[map man]

What I would do is start at Deep Gap NC. The drop off point is about 5 miles up a dirt US Forrest Service Road(USFS 71) off of Highway 64 about 15 miles West from Franklin NC. It's a good enough road for any car and is only 2.1 miles to the NC/GA line. A nice person would also bring a box of goodies to deposit as trail magic at this spot.

Moldy's directions on how to get to Deep Gap are very good, but it is 6.9 AT trail miles to get from Deep Gap to the GA/NC border, not 2.1. It is 8.9 AT trail miles to get from the Highway 76 trailhead in Georgia (at Dicks Creek Gap) to the GA/NC border.

Or you can drive about 2.5 miles west on Highway 76 from Dick's Creek Gap to Upper Hightower Road, go north on that paved road until it intersects the gravel Charlies Creek Road, then take that road for a mile to Blue Ridge Gap -- that's where the AT crosses that gravel road. That point is 3.0 trail miles south of the GA/NC border. I just hiked that section in May and saw a hiker's Toyota 4Runner parked at the side of the road at Blue Ridge Gap. I also, at Bly Gap, ran into a volunteer ridge runner for the southern-most 60 miles of the AT in North Carolina, and she said she has had people drop her at that point where Charlies Creek Road intersects the AT, as that is the closest road crossing to the NC border where her trail section starts. My hiking map marks Charlies Creek Road with the number "79" and says 4 wheel drive is recommended for that last mile of gravel (you could always hike that last mile if your driver isn't comfortable -- I see on another thread that "generoll," a very experienced shuttler, prefers to drop hikers where the pavement ends and have them hike that mile of 4WD gravel to the AT).

Hope this helps for laying out the options for ways to hike to the GA/NC border to start your southbound section hike.

Edit: The reason I made a mental note of seeing that 4Runner and made a point of quizzing that ridge runner about ways of getting to the GA/NC border is because this is a topic that comes up over and over again here at WB and I wanted to get reliable information.

[MuddyWaters]

Why do people always want to " hike GA" ?

Start and end at CONVENIENT places. Not some forest trail in the middle of the woods so you can say you "hiked GA".

10 days??? For petes sake, start at Winding Stair Gap / Franklin. 110 miles.

have fun.

If you decide to quit, you can stop at any # of road crossings in GA and get picked up with a verizon phone call.

[Turk6177]

34.958739°, -83.596278° Is a passable road crossing of the AT that is approximately 3-4 miles from the border of NC. If you want to backtrack to the state line and head south, you are pretty close to the border from here. A sedan may find the road a little rough depending on how much rain has been in the area. You want to enter past the farm field areas of the west. I have been dropped off and picked up from this area in the past. If you want an alternative, and don't mind heading to Springer Mountain, there is a forest road that gets you within one mile of the summit of Springer. Happy Hiking. GA is tough but beautiful.