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shades of blue
12-09-2003, 13:51
I am begining a section hike in early June 2004. I'll be going from Springer to Deep Gap one week....taking Sunday off, then Leaving Deep Gap and go to Fontana dam. Here are the questions: Should I take the approach trail to Springer or start at USFS 42, hike south to Springer, then North to Deep Gap. I'll have around 4 hours to hike the first night...if I do the approach trail...is it likely to get to Black Gap Shelter (7.3 miles) that first afternoon. Last summer my max distance was 18 miles, average around 14. Just unsure on how difficult the approach trail is. My main AT experience has been from Davenport Gap to Fox Creek, VA. Thanks

Tabasco
12-09-2003, 15:06
As much as I hate Nike: Just Do It! Easy hike, (after the first mile or so) 4 hours is a very doable hike.

sloetoe
12-09-2003, 17:10
As much as I hate Nike: Just Do It! Easy hike, (after the first mile or so) 4 hours is a very doable hike.

*Exactly*: "Just do it." I didn't, and was haunted for years-n-years-n-years, till I finally did.

Seeing that first white blaze is just oneeeee special feeling.

But the *really* big reason to do it is this: that approach trail is [like, man] the *perfect* distance to separate yourself from your city-self and to decompress and allow your own bad trail-self to come out -- Leave the stress of getting *to* the trail behind... ON THE APPROACH, and start the trail *truly* in the right mode. DO the approach trail.

Sloetoe

Rain Man
12-09-2003, 17:15
... I'll be going from Springer to Deep Gap one week..... Here are the questions: Should I take the approach trail to Springer or start at USFS 42, hike south to Springer, then North to Deep Gap. ....

I can only tell you what I did. I had fewer days than you. I figured I could spend that time on the AT or I could spend that time on a side trail (the approach). I chose the AT. Simple as that. I wanted to be on the AT. It was my first time.

If I were thru-hiking, or had more time (as you do?), I'd go for the whole experience, and stay at Amicalola Falls the first night and hike up the first morning, though.

Choices, choices! :)

Rain Man

max patch
12-09-2003, 17:27
The first mile (hiking up to the top of the falls) is strenuous, after that its no big deal to the shelter. You may want to hike the extra mile and get to Springer that first day.

gravityman
12-09-2003, 17:36
Stay at the lodge. It is GREAT. Walk the waterfall, it's pretty cool. Other than that, the approach trail is just another hike. If you can't get a ride to springer, just walk the approach trail. Otherwise, if you can easily get a ride, it's no big deal to miss the approach trail. There is nothing partically nice about it.

That's our plan for our next thru.

Gravity man

A-Train
12-09-2003, 20:27
basically regarding the approach, hike it if it is important to you, otherwise forget it. People who hiked it were "counting" it in their overall mileage for the first 4-5 days until the miles started to pile up and no one gave two poops/it was insignificant compared to the hundreds of miles ahead.

Definately stay at the lodge night before if you've got the loot. Spent a great night and dinner with my folks before my start day. Great relaxing night and i met my hiking partner there for the first 700 miles

B Thrash
12-11-2003, 22:02
I am begining a section hike in early June 2004. I'll be going from Springer to Deep Gap one week....taking Sunday off, then Leaving Deep Gap and go to Fontana dam. Here are the questions: Should I take the approach trail to Springer or start at USFS 42, hike south to Springer, then North to Deep Gap. I'll have around 4 hours to hike the first night...if I do the approach trail...is it likely to get to Black Gap Shelter (7.3 miles) that first afternoon. Last summer my max distance was 18 miles, average around 14. Just unsure on how difficult the approach trail is. My main AT experience has been from Davenport Gap to Fox Creek, VA. Thanks

The shuttler would not take me to the USFS 42 because he was scared he would be caught by the USFS Personnel for shuttling on USFS land and would be fined or jailed. In short I had to do the approach trail, about 8 miles, started at 4:00 PM and got to the first shelter at Springer just about dark. My advice is if you can catch a ride to parking lot on USFS 42 take it.

Ender
12-12-2003, 18:21
I did the approach trail back in '98, and I'll never regret it. It hurt at the time (I was amazingly out of shape) but well worth it, and looking back, really not that hard.

Doctari
12-12-2003, 19:35
IMHO

For a section hike, if you have a ride up the FS RD. I would skip the approach trail.

If I ever get to do a thru, I am thinking of doing the approach. I am leaning about 49/50 in favor of starting at the lodge with 1% leaning towards trying to start at the original Southern terminus of Mt Oglethorp.

Starting at the FS Rd gives you a quicker start. Starting at Amilacola gives you a "warm up" or shake down hike.

Doctari.

Shadowman
12-12-2003, 20:02
Take the approach trail. I did a section hike over a three year period and started at Amicalola Falls State park at the base of Springer. Started at 7:45 and arrived at the summit at 2:30 and picked up my first enjoyable bad trail habit: stopping to talk to too many people along the way. If you don't as others have alluded to, you will regret it. I plan on coming back in March for my second round on the AT and plan on doing the approach trail to Springer again.

Groucho
12-12-2003, 20:23
IMHO

For a section hike, if you have a ride up the FS RD. I would skip the approach trail.

If I ever get to do a thru, I am thinking of doing the approach. I am leaning about 49/50 in favor of starting at the lodge with 1% leaning towards trying to start at the original Southern terminus of Mt Oglethorp.

Starting at the FS Rd gives you a quicker start. Starting at Amilacola gives you a "warm up" or shake down hike.

Doctari.

Just curious. What about the other 1%?

max patch
12-13-2003, 10:47
IMHO

If I ever get to do a thru, I am thinking of doing the approach. I am leaning about 49/50 in favor of starting at the lodge with 1% leaning towards trying to start at the original Southern terminus of Mt Oglethorp.

I enjoy hiking the "brown or black" blazed trail myself, but you can't hike from Mt. O anymore. The former terminus is private property and posted; nature has reclaimed the former trail. I believe that the old monument has even been relocated from the top of Mt O.

Peaks
12-13-2003, 13:18
The answer lies in what type of hike do you want to have.

Many people are not concerned with hiking anything that does not have a white blaze on it, and have no desire to hike anything else.

But, like others have posted, the approach trail does give you a good chance to leave "civilization" and is a good warm-up for the adventure that lies ahead. Myself, I blue-blazed the blue-blazed approach trail at the start and went straight up the waterfall. Now, that gives you a good dose of reality right at the start.

So, it's your hike, enjoy it any way you see fit.

Footslogger
12-13-2003, 15:14
I used the approach trail for conditioning, well in advance of my thru hike. When I started my thru-hike this year I began at Springer. The approach trail is worth hiking, if you've never done it before. Whether you do it as part of your thru-hike or not is up to the individual hiker. It's not included in the "official" AT mileage so it should not be misconstrued as being any form of prerequisite for a thru-hike.

Preacher Dude
12-19-2003, 17:35
I did the same section hike from Springer to Dick's Creek back in April '03......parked my van at Springer. I regret not starting from Amicalola.....because it took so much time to drive to the parking lot at Springer....20 or so miles on country roads....then 6.5 miles up FS 42 which took about 30 minutes....then there is the slightly uphill hike .9mile south to the Sothern terminus ....then backtrack the same to the parking lot. So you are looking at @ 2hrs. of logistical maneuvering just to begin hiking......so if you are only counting on 4hrs that first day you will use up 2 of those just "jockying around"....I'd rather be hiking. The approach trail is no more difficult than sections of the AT that you will soon encounter and I found it to be inspirational....even saw a golden eagle on one of my trips on it. It is so much easier to get to Amicalola than it is to Springer. If you are concerned about time that first day....you can always start from the lodge parking lot at the top of the falls rather than the visitor center at the base of the falls. If you start from the top of the falls, you should easily be able to make Springer in four hours. In fact it is doable to hike the additional 2 miles to Stover Creek and camp along the creek near the shelter. Amicalola to Dick's Creek is easily doable in six days even at my modest pace of 10- 12 miles per day. Good camping sites and water all along the trail if you prefer not to stay in the shelter areas.
Stonewall

Footslogger
12-19-2003, 21:07
I hiked the approach trail as a conditioning hike a few times in advance of starting my thru-hike this year. It's not so bad but I'm glad I did it ahead of time. I vote with starting at Springer and if the Approach Trail is something that you feel is important then go knock it out in advance of your thru-hike. Just my opinion ...

hungryhowie
12-20-2003, 00:16
I am begining a section hike in early June 2004. I'll be going from Springer to Deep Gap one week....taking Sunday off, then Leaving Deep Gap and go to Fontana dam. Here are the questions: Should I take the approach trail to Springer or start at USFS 42, hike south to Springer, then North to Deep Gap. I'll have around 4 hours to hike the first night...if I do the approach trail...is it likely to get to Black Gap Shelter (7.3 miles) that first afternoon. Last summer my max distance was 18 miles, average around 14. Just unsure on how difficult the approach trail is. My main AT experience has been from Davenport Gap to Fox Creek, VA. Thanks


The first mile or so of the approach trail is really really well-worn. It is fairly strenuous, but it seems that all the weekend-warriors do it to get up to the falls. After that, there is a long road walk and then some pleasant but completely unremarkable woods-trail that meanders steadily up (more or less) to Springer. If your daily average was 14mpd last year, you should be able to accomplish this easily in June. Even if it DOES get dark, the trail is fairly-well trod here, a headlamp will get you to the shelter without too much adventure...

If you're wondering whether or not to do the approach trail based on it making your hike more "valid", it won't. Do it if you want to, and skip it if you don't. I didn't do it on my thruhike in 2000, but have since done it in a section hike from Fontana-Amicalola in 2001. I only did it so that I could stay out in the woods longer (umm....2 hours going down).

Fun fun.

-Howie