Early Oct Hike: Amicalola/Springer - Neels Gap

[Isa23]

[Lengthy post warning]
Hey all, I'm trying to get in a practice/shakedown hike in prep for my 2018 NOBO. I'm planning a section from either Amicalola Falls or Springer (undecided on start yet) thru to Neels Gap starting on October 7 to take advantage of the Columbus Day holiday. I understand some people could probably knock that section out in 3 days but in my case, I'm 200+lbs and will be taking it SLOW and I mean slow. So, I'm anticipating more days out there. I've got 2 friends that are going to join me just for the holiday weekend Sat-Mon so I need to put together all the logistics for the trip in terms of car drop-off, shuttling to our starting point, determining a likely exit point for when they leave, a shuttle for them from that point back to their cars, other things I need to take into consideration, etc.

Right now the plan would be to drop off the cars at Mountain Crossings, take a shuttle from there to our start point and to essentially hike back to the cars (with the friends getting a shuttle there instead). If we choose to start from Amicalola Falls, this is the über-conservative itinerary. I could be selling myself short here but I'd like to consider it a worst-case scenario of speed & fully respecting the climbs to come:

Amicalola Visitor Center ~~~~~ Frosty Mountain Campsite (4.7 miles)
Frosty Mountain Campsite ~~~ Springer Mountain Shelter (4.4 miles)
Springer Mountain Shelter ~~~ Hawk Mountain Campsite (7.7 miles) // Friends exit? //
Hawk Mountain Campsite ~~~ Cooper Gap (5.1 miles)
Cooper Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~ Gooch Gap (4.9 miles)
Gooch Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lance Creek Restoration Area (7.0 miles)
Lance Creek ~~~~~~~~~~~ Slaughter Creek Campsite (4.3 miles)
Slaughter Creek Campsite ~~~ Neels Gap (3.1 miles)

Where the above itinerary poses a problem is I don't know where/how my friends could get off-trail around the Hawk Mountain Campsite area. They would need time to drive back home so it might actually mean they get picked up before arriving at the campsite. Either way, I would have to figure that out. Using the same itinerary but starting at Springer would look like this:

Springer Parking ~~~~~~~~ Springer Mountain (1.0 miles) ~~~ Hawk Mountain Campsite (7.4 miles) [8.5 miles total]
Hawk Mountain Campsite ~~~ Cooper Gap (4.9 miles)
Cooper Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~ Gooch Gap (4.9 miles) // Friends exit? //
Gooch Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lance Creek Restoration Area (7.0 miles)
Lance Creek ~~~~~~~~~~~ Slaughter Creek Campsite (4.3 miles)
Slaughter Creek Campsite ~~~ Neels Gap (3.1 miles)

I'm leaning more towards the Springer-start itinerary just to eliminate even the possibility of having to carry 8 days of food or any other hiccups. Otherwise, are there any issues that I could be missing with the above? The stopping points are based off Guthook's mileage (incl. the off-trail miles to campsites) and notes of tent spaces at those spots. Also, in case our speed is more or less than the above, does anyone have a list (even if another thread) containing all the possible shuttle pick-up points along this stretch that I could keep handy while we're out there?

As for other considerations besides pick-up locations, is there anything I should be mindful of for this particular time period or stretch? Would there still be a bear canister requirement at Slaughter Creek during October or is that just during spring/summer? I understand that it's bow hunting season during that time and while my pack is bright orange, are there any other precautions or clothing I should wear? I will definitely need to pass that info onto the friends who might not have any orange items planned right now. Should we pack particularly warm clothing/sleeping gear for an early October in GA? (again, I'm in charge of getting a packing list to them) Lastly, does Georgia or at least this stretch have any fire bans that I should be aware of? I would like to test out my alcohol stove in a real-world setting though I'm going to see if a friend will loan me a canister stove as backup and to compare the two.

Thanks for your patience with this post and any information anyone can provide! Also, if anyone would like to join up with us that is always welcome! :)

[SawnieRobertson]

My first response is that you are spending that particular holiday period in the 2nd best place.

Please consider attending the ALDHA Gathering at Abingdon, Virginia, that weekend instead.

There, you will learn everything you want to learn on how to make the trail the experience you seek. (That is an understatement.)

Check out the ALDHA website and what they have to say about what goes on there. Incredibly worth it, and will also have some hiking
options.

Go for it!

[SawnieRobertson]

My second response: Consult someone who has made 3 attempts of that short piece of the trail with only 1 great success. Believe me, there are lessons that can be learned with only a few minutes of note taking. Yeah, I can share some what-to-do's learned from the one great hike through there as well as cautions to avoid abysmal failures both in my own experiences and in that I observed ruining other backpackers' hikes the very first day.

[Gambit McCrae]

Call Ron Brown in my signature and he will take care of all your needs no problem from a logistics driving standpoint. He is a top notch shuttle driver in the area with a n expertise in shuttle logistics, he enjoys the planning side of things.

As far as your plan, I leisurely did Neel gap to Amicalola in 2.5 days. I understand taking it slow but at 3 miles in a day, that is between 1-2 hours of hiking for a large % of hikers on the any trail. I think you will find that you are bored after a little bit of this schedule.

I also believe that if I had this much time available to hike, and are wanting to test yourself for your thru next year, I would bump my daily miles up to 8-10 a day, to give you a good idea of what your hike will start out like in the spring.

Mathwise, if you plan on this type of daily mileage for your thru, it would take you on average 440 days to complete the thru.

Not trying to be negative, just throwing in my 2 cents

[Isa23]

My first response is that you are spending that particular holiday period in the 2nd best place.

Please consider attending the ALDHA Gathering at Abingdon, Virginia, that weekend instead.

There, you will learn everything you want to learn on how to make the trail the experience you seek. (That is an understatement.)

Check out the ALDHA website and what they have to say about what goes on there. Incredibly worth it, and will also have some hiking
options.

Go for it!

Thank you for the suggestion! Actually though, I attended the Appalachian Trail Kick-Off and seminars at Amicalola this past March and got to sit in on some great sessions including those with Odie, Miss Janet, current ridgerunners and more. I would really like to get my feet to the ground this fall :)

[Isa23]

My second response: Consult someone who has made 3 attempts of that short piece of the trail with only 1 great success. Believe me, there are lessons that can be learned with only a few minutes of note taking. Yeah, I can share some what-to-do's learned from the one great hike through there as well as cautions to avoid abysmal failures both in my own experiences and in that I observed ruining other backpackers' hikes the very first day.

I will send you a PM! ;)

[Uncle Joe]

The OP noted he would be going slow, FWIW.

Given that, skip the approach. Starting at Springer gives you 8mi to get your feet under you before hitting a significant climb. After Hawks, however, the climbing gets real.

No bear canister needed. Plan for possible 30F evening JIC.

Finally, you can't park at Mountain Crossings. There is a parking area for the Byron Reece Trail 1/4mi down the road from MC you can park in. However, on weekend's it's full.

[kestral]

If you want to start at amicalola, consider the trail to the " hike inn" and then over to at. It is a nicer trail, imo

[Isa23]

Call Ron Brown in my signature and he will take care of all your needs no problem from a logistics driving standpoint. He is a top notch shuttle driver in the area with a n expertise in shuttle logistics, he enjoys the planning side of things.

As far as your plan, I leisurely did Neel gap to Amicalola in 2.5 days. I understand taking it slow but at 3 miles in a day, that is between 1-2 hours of hiking for a large % of hikers on the any trail. I think you will find that you are bored after a little bit of this schedule.

I also believe that if I had this much time available to hike, and are wanting to test yourself for your thru next year, I would bump my daily miles up to 8-10 a day, to give you a good idea of what your hike will start out like in the spring.

Mathwise, if you plan on this type of daily mileage for your thru, it would take you on average 440 days to complete the thru.

Not trying to be negative, just throwing in my 2 cents

I've done a local 7.5 mile trail in a few hours and a brutal Spartan race thru a whole day around this same weight so I might be selling myself short here. But, to be fair, both of those took place on switchbacks on more hills; not mountains. I guess I'm just being overly cautious as to how the mountain aspect of those miles will affect my speed. The conservative nature of the above is more to ensure I don't get stuck out there for longer than I plan ahead for (work-wise). I will try and revise the above for 8mi/day to at least have it as a goal.

I will DEFINITELY save Ron's info for this trip. Do you know about how much the shuttles cost?

[soumodeler]

Neel Gap to Amicalola should be around $80

[Isa23]

For the whole ride? As in, my friends and I would be able to split it?

[Gambit McCrae]

For the whole ride? As in, my friends and I would be able to split it?

Correct. And I would say that $80 would be a little on the high side. But I don't remember what I paid. its 40 miles by trail, I would say closer to 60.

[soumodeler]

I paid Ron $80 last year for the ride. It was more to go to Springer due to the dirt road. Not sure if Ron charges an additional fee per person. Some shuttles do.

[saltysack]

I paid $80 about 6 years ago....Wes Wesson...


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[evyck da fleet]

I might not be much help because I can blitz through that section but I'd consider doing the Springer trip backwards. Right now you have your longest day out of the gate when you will be carrying the extra weight of 8 days of food.

[bigcranky]

Do you have to start at Springer? I ask because eight days of food is a lot of weight, and that has a cascading effect on your total pack weight. (You need a more supportive pack for the extra food weight, and bigger, too, so that's another few pounds, which means a slower pace which means more food, which means a bigger pack..... and so on.) You're looking at 15 pounds of food, minimum, and most starting hikers bring way too much so it'll likely be closer to 20.

You could start at Woody Gap and take two days to reach Neels Gap, then resupply there and hike another two days to Hogpen or 3-4 days to Unicoi. Your friends could leave their cars at Neels and just get off there. This means two days of food to start, and maybe 4 for the second leg. If you want three days to start, try Gooch or Cooper Gap, I forget the exact mileage. This is a fairly easy shuttle, too; I'd call Neels Gap for local shuttle recommendations. Ron Brown is fine, so are Joyce and Sally.

Good luck and happy trails. Hope you enjoy the hike. This sort of shakedown hike is one of the best things you can do before a thru-hike.

[bigcranky]

Also, if you choose to resupply at Neels, the cabins at the gap are great, a short walk from the outfitter. Not too expensive, but you'd almost definitely need to reserve one well in advance in October. Your friends could spend the night too. We stayed two nights and slackpacked southbound over Blood Mtn.

[Isa23]

I really want to start at Springer and end at Neels Gap purely for the psychological boost for myself: If I can complete the section that 20% of thru-hikers quit after and still have a desire to continue on, I know I have a better chance of not quitting here next year either. That's the idea behind it anyways.

I'm going to go ahead and drop the Amicalola itinerary as an option altogether and stick with the 5-night max of Springer to Neels while keeping the below, faster itinerary as at least the hopeful goal:

Springer Parking ~~ Springer Mtn [1.0 mi] ~~ Hawk Mountain Shelter [8.2 mi] (9.2 miles total)
Hawk Mountain Shelter~~~~~ Gooch Gap (9.1 miles)
Gooch Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lance Creek Restoration Area (7.0 miles) // Friends exit? //
Lance Creek ~~~~~~~~~~~ Neels Gap (7.4 miles)

[Maineiac64]

I really want to start at Springer and end at Neels Gap purely for the psychological boost for myself: If I can complete the section that 20% of thru-hikers quit after and still have a desire to continue on, I know I have a better chance of not quitting here next year either. That's the idea behind it anyways.

I'm going to go ahead and drop the Amicalola itinerary as an option altogether and stick with the 5-night max of Springer to Neels while keeping the below, faster itinerary as at least the hopeful goal:

Springer Parking ~~ Springer Mtn [1.0 mi] ~~ Hawk Mountain Shelter [8.2 mi] (9.2 miles total)
Hawk Mountain Shelter~~~~~ Gooch Gap (9.1 miles)
Gooch Gap ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lance Creek Restoration Area (7.0 miles) // Friends exit? //
Lance Creek ~~~~~~~~~~~ Neels Gap (7.4 miles)

Woody Gap, 5 miles from Gooch Gap, would be best place for friends to exit. The plan above is a good one, should be very doable if your pack weighs less than 30lbs and you have been at least doing some training for walking/hiking distances leading up to your hike.

[bigcranky]

Woody Gap, 5 miles from Gooch Gap, would be best place for friends to exit.

+1 on this, very convenient. (No place at all for them to get off between Woody and Neels.

[MuddyWaters]

Its a great time often, but there can be a lingering indian summer and still hot/dry as hell. Last oct was a scorcher in Va.

Dont overthink it. Not rocket science. Grab a few days food and start walking. Lots of roads, bailout options, shuttlers, and excellent cell coverage. Hiking with training wheels...

You cant fail

[generoll]

FWIW, I charge for shuttles based upon MY total mileage, not the length of the shuttle.

[Maineiac64]

Another great shuttle option is Donald.
+1 (772) 321-0905

[mitchs1224]

you can get a shuttle from Woody's gap into Suches and re-supply there. its only a few miles shuttle ride and last year the outfitter had a a free shuttle to and from Woodys to Suches. So from Springer to Woody's only 2-3 days of food and from Woody's to Neel's only a few days of food to carry ?? just my opinion i'm a big dude too and the miles are hard on me as well. My friends crush me on speed but I always come lumbering up to camp eventually! with this much time scheduled you can prob get away with taking day 3 or maybe 4 off to rest to prolong the fun factor rather than getting to beat down?? just a thought i always try to schedule 5 days for 4 day hikes if ya know what i mean?? have fun ill be out there the same time Woody's to Unicoi late Sept/early Oct!

[Isa23]

you can get a shuttle from Woody's gap into Suches and re-supply there. its only a few miles shuttle ride and last year the outfitter had a a free shuttle to and from Woodys to Suches. So from Springer to Woody's only 2-3 days of food and from Woody's to Neel's only a few days of food to carry ?? just my opinion i'm a big dude too and the miles are hard on me as well. My friends crush me on speed but I always come lumbering up to camp eventually! with this much time scheduled you can prob get away with taking day 3 or maybe 4 off to rest to prolong the fun factor rather than getting to beat down?? just a thought i always try to schedule 5 days for 4 day hikes if ya know what i mean?? have fun ill be out there the same time Woody's to Unicoi late Sept/early Oct!

Thanks for the heads up! I had seen a lot of comments for Woodys Gap in the Guthook app stating they had done exactly what you describe here! That sounds like a very smart move so I'll research it some more. Thanks again!

[EuroPacker]

That is a great list of shuttle providers. I wish I had that last year.

[Maineiac64]

Thanks for the heads up! I had seen a lot of comments for Woodys Gap in the Guthook app stating they had done exactly what you describe here! That sounds like a very smart move so I'll research it some more. Thanks again!
You are only 1 day hike from neels when you are at woody gap, but its fun going up and over blood mountain. I would skip the hassle of resupply here and do it right on the trail at neels.

[glen.]

Make sure you wear orange since it will be hunting season

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