View Full Version : Georgia section of the AT
GirlSoldier
08-14-2022, 15:27
Has anyone completed the GA section of the AT so far? If so, how was the trail? Is there a lot of climbing? Are there rivers or creeks to cross? Do I need waterproof boots at all?
GoldenBear
08-14-2022, 15:37
This free sample of the WhiteBlaze AT Guide, in pdf, will answer 99% of your questions.
https://www.whiteblazepages.com/images/2022%20Basic%20PDF%20sample.pdf
GirlSoldier
08-14-2022, 16:05
Thank you.
You do not need waterproof boots on the AT at all. Most people use trail runners.
Maineiac64
08-15-2022, 10:59
It is a great section, lots of ups and downs, most of the stream crossings have bridges but a couple might involve some rock hopping; plenty of camping spots both at shelters or along the trail. I would recommend getting guthook app, i guess its call farout now.
Depending on when you hike, you're gonna get wet. That's why most folks do wear trail shoes as opposed to WP boots. I do wear GTX low Salomons as they will keep my feet dry in the a.m. from the dew on the grass that will tend to grow over (beside) the trail. There is nothing to cross save a spring here and there flowing over the trail - no issue. Yes, Ga is just about all up and down unfortunately. Doesn't have the biggest ups/downs, but they tend to be some of the most difficult, mostly due to Ga being where a lot of folks start hiking. Just be sure to be aware of "uphill thinking" and don't give in to it. Just keep one step in front of the other and you'll be going downhill in no time. (and up again later)
This free sample of the WhiteBlaze AT Guide, in pdf, will answer 99% of your questions.
https://www.whiteblazepages.com/images/2022%20Basic%20PDF%20sample.pdf
Thanks Golden, As a resident lurker I will use my first post to thank you for the link and the direction to that guidebook. Somehow I have missed that all these months of planning. I am starting my Lash in Georgia on October 1st and this guide will complement my other research
Best, Kevin
Kevin
As a fellow Illinoisan of a certain age, best of luck.
If you are going as far as Roan Mt, I highly recommend Mountain Harbor for the breakfast. Can get busy during leaf season.
MamaKatBrigid
08-22-2022, 10:33
I've done the first 52 miles of it so far. Going back Labor Day weekend to do Unicoi Gap to Dick's Creek Gap. The first 52 miles have been do-able... a few really tough spots (Sassafrass Mountain and Tesnatee Gap in particular), but do-able. :) My theory is, go slow (as if I have a choice... I'm super slow) and just keep moving forward. :-) I'm super nervous about this next section, as my son told me it's the most difficult part of GA. :o But I'll git-er-dun... and if I can do it, literally anyone can. :)
Seatbelt
08-22-2022, 11:56
I've done the first 52 miles of it so far. Going back Labor Day weekend to do Unicoi Gap to Dick's Creek Gap. The first 52 miles have been do-able... a few really tough spots (Sassafrass Mountain and Tesnatee Gap in particular), but do-able. :) My theory is, go slow (as if I have a choice... I'm super slow) and just keep moving forward. :-) I'm super nervous about this next section, as my son told me it's the most difficult part of GA. :o But I'll git-er-dun... and if I can do it, literally anyone can. :)
Your son is correct. This is arguably the "toughest" stretch of the AT in GA. But it has its rewards also! Divide it up into 2 days and enjoy!
Your son is correct. This is arguably the "toughest" stretch of the AT in GA. But it has its rewards also! Divide it up into 2 days and enjoy!
I'm actually dividing it up into three days - all of labor day weekend. Day one, Unicoi Gap to Tray Mtn Shelter; Day Two, Tray Mtn Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter; Day 3, Deep Gap Shelter to Dick's Creek Gap. I have my shuttle scheduled for a bit later in the day so if I need to go ever slower, i still have plenty of time to make it there. :-) I've not hiked nearly as much this year as I did last year - got COVID over memorial Day Weekend and it cut my weeklong section hike short (it didn't hit till i was on trail, because of course it didn't, lol). The illness and recovery threw my hiking schedule off by quite a bit. :-/
Seatbelt
08-26-2022, 14:50
I'm actually dividing it up into three days - all of labor day weekend. Day one, Unicoi Gap to Tray Mtn Shelter; Day Two, Tray Mtn Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter; Day 3, Deep Gap Shelter to Dick's Creek Gap. I have my shuttle scheduled for a bit later in the day so if I need to go ever slower, i still have plenty of time to make it there. :-) I've not hiked nearly as much this year as I did last year - got COVID over memorial Day Weekend and it cut my weeklong section hike short (it didn't hit till i was on trail, because of course it didn't, lol). The illness and recovery threw my hiking schedule off by quite a bit. :-/
Sounds like a winner! Should be doable.
MamaKatBrigid
09-13-2022, 12:06
49571
Sounds like a winner! Should be doable.
Good news - I DID IT! Unicoi to Dick's Creek over labor day weekend. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time. Everything from mist to torrential downpour. Somehow, I didn't mind Kelly Knob's incline at all... i was too busy wading UPSTREAM during the heaviest rain of the entire weekend, LOL! I was more cranky about the rain than the incline. But, I did it! Going back at the end of this month to knock off the last nine miles from Dick's Creek to Bly Gap. :-)
TwoSpirits
09-13-2022, 13:14
LOVED northern GA when I was there in February, and can imagine myself doing that section repeatedly, at different times of year (but February was awesome!) Glad you had a good trip -- and embraced the suck! [emoji4]
Dan Roper
09-13-2022, 15:15
I grew up in Florida but came to Georgia for college and stayed. It was a dream from my 20s on to do the Georgia section of the trail. Started sectioning in my mid-40s with my two sons. Then we kept going, year by year, always drawn to the next big thing: the Nantahalas, the Smokies, Max Patch, the balds, the Roan Highlands, the Grayson Highlands. Then my boys grew up and found work or college or life calling them at the same time I wanted to hike. I've continued on solo, reaching James River Footbridge in VA this year. One of my favorite memories, through all those years of sectioning, was doing Dicks Creek Gap northward back in 2007. At Cowart Gap, perhaps 2-3 miles into that hike, I met a southbound elderly lady, probably in her late 70s or 80s, and her great-grandson, early teenager. It was awesome to see them together and to see a comparatively "old" person still on the trail and in challenging terrain. (If I was the father of that teenager, it would've worried me the responsibility he had on his shoulders if great grandma should have a mishap.) As long as I live, I'll think of those two whenever I think of Cowart Gap.
I slack packed most of GA the first week of May this year. My adult kids were backpacking most of the state. At the time trees were beginning to bear leaves so the deep woods flowers were amazing. I didn't know there were so many kinds of Trilliums.
as a NH person I have to ask is that rough section on GA anything like the whites? Working on planning part of GA for next summer. Need to know what I am getting myself into.
Thanks
RDL
Dan Roper
09-14-2022, 09:22
Georgia is nothing like the Whites. Georgia is challenging for newcomers just starting who don't yet have trail legs. It's wooded, lovely, cold in winter and hot in summer, but it's not the Whites.
Kevin
As a fellow Illinoisan of a certain age, best of luck.
If you are going as far as Roan Mt, I highly recommend Mountain Harbor for the breakfast. Can get busy during leaf season.
Thanks Hank, sorry I missed your response. Mountain Harbor is on the list of places to stop for sure.
thanks, as a older slow person who is not smart enough to quit, I can handle challenging. But I am not a big fan of crazy stupid rocky. I also heard that cold keeps the bugs away.
Thanks