View Full Version : Advice on section hike
flair4040
07-06-2008, 22:45
My wife and I will be doing a section in Georgia this coming September. Any input or advice will be appreciated.
On day one will will leave Neels Gap adn hike to Whitley Gap Shelter and camp there or near the shelter.
Day two, we will go from Whitley Gap Shelter to Chattahoochee Gap and camp in the area near water.
Day three, we will go from Chattahoochee Gap to Unicoi Gap.
My only concern is regarding day two. Is there camping at Chatt. Gap?
Survivor Dave
07-06-2008, 22:55
My wife and I will be doing a section in Georgia this coming September. Any input or advice will be appreciated.
On day one will will leave Neels Gap adn hike to Whitley Gap Shelter and camp there or near the shelter.
Day two, we will go from Whitley Gap Shelter to Chattahoochee Gap and camp in the area near water.
Day three, we will go from Chattahoochee Gap to Unicoi Gap.
My only concern is regarding day two. Is there camping at Chatt. Gap?
Absolutely. You will pass Low Gap, Poplar Stamp Gap(actually 3 different campsites), and then Chattahoochee Gap. You can't miss it, it's pretty big and marked with a sign. Camel up good.
As far as Whitley Gap Shelter, it's 1.2 miles on a blue blaze trail AND 1.2 BACK. I would reccomend tenting at a site on the blue blaze trail about 75-100 yard or so unless you are desperate for water. A word of caution, water sources are slim pickin's right now.
If you go to www.mountaincrossings.com (http://www.mountaincrossings.com) , click on water on the Trail. It was updated a few days ago.
Have a great hike. It's really beautiful.
SD
Pedaling Fool
07-06-2008, 22:56
FWIW, Whitely Gap shelter is ~1.25 miles off the AT and the spring, I understand - never stayed there, is another 0.3 past the shelter.
Survivor Dave
07-06-2008, 23:04
This is the view on a great night off of Wildcat Mountain. It's just a bit past the campsite on the blue blaze. Hope you have the same luck.
SD
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/7/6/4/7/IMG_0099-1.JPG
Chattahoochee Gap can be very windy. My advice would be to go another mile or so (easy hiking) to Red Clay Gap where there are really good campsites near a water source. The water source there can be dicey, so I would still get water at Chattahoochee since it is reliable, though it is small, too.
I'd also second the suggestion to stay on Wildcat Mt., about 0.3m on the Whitley shelter blue blaze. After coming down from Cowrock, take the road at Tesnatee Gap instead of the trail up Wildcat and fill up with water at Hogpen Gap, then "go back" south on the AT up to Wildcat - your knees and wife will thank me!
Pedaling Fool
07-06-2008, 23:35
...I'd also second the suggestion to stay on Wildcat Mt., about 0.3m on the Whitley shelter blue blaze. After coming down from Cowrock, take the road at Tesnatee Gap instead of the trail up Wildcat and fill up with water at Hogpen Gap, then "go back" south on the AT up to Wildcat - your knees and wife will thank me!
I've known a few hikers that missed the spring at Hogpen, but it's there and according to the mountaincrossing website it's still good. As you're traveling south on the AT the spring will be off to your right just before you get to the road - if memory serves me it is about a 50 yard walk to the spring. Don't cross the road at Hogpen Gap.
A word of caution, water sources are slim pickin's right now.
If you go to www.mountaincrossings.com (http://www.mountaincrossings.com) , click on water on the Trail. It was updated a few days ago.SDThat's odd. Your post is after their last update, which says "THE WATER IS BACK STREAMS REPORTED GOOD TO EXCELLENT." :-?
Pedaling Fool
07-06-2008, 23:39
I've known a few hikers that missed the spring at Hogpen, but it's there and according to the mountaincrossing website it's still good. As you're traveling south on the AT the spring will be off to your right just before you get to the road - if memory serves me it is about a 50 yard walk to the spring. Don't cross the road at Hogpen Gap.
Correction -- Should have read: As you're traveling north...
Survivor Dave
07-07-2008, 00:29
That's odd. Your post is after their last update, which says "THE WATER IS BACK STREAMS REPORTED GOOD TO EXCELLENT." :-?
Hmm.. I was there last week. There have been some rainfall in the last week or so. I only report what I have seen hiking. I merely suggest going to the Mountain Crossings site as a reference. Most of their reports come from other hikers in the area. Some of the folks that work up there frequent that trek alot and will update the report.
As someone else had mentioned, the Blue Blaze was dry.
Unnecessary to shout to prove a point, it's a water report.
SD
Sorry you took that as 'shouting' Dave. I merely copied and pasted from the web. Call it lazy and my bad! I wasn't challenging you . . . just confused by the apparent conflict. I think there has been a good deal of rain in the last five days or so, so most likely water is getting pretty good in general.
whitefoot_hp
07-07-2008, 13:08
water cometh, water goeth. the streams and springs are low in the summer. a quick rain can change that, but it will be gone as fast as it came.
HikerRanky
07-07-2008, 16:26
That this is the Straight Forward forum, and the OP was asking about camping locations on his trip... While needing to know the status of water is a very good thing, it is not the subject of his thread....
Thanks everyone!
whitefoot_hp
07-07-2008, 21:37
camping locations and water sources are joined at the hip.
flair40, i second the advice given to not go all the way to whitley gap shelter. much better camping in the area, either cowrock mountain, or about a hundred yards past road crossing at hogpen gap, or wildcat mt.
HikerRanky
07-09-2008, 23:40
Since the thread has run it's course, and the OP is satisfied with the answers given, this thread is hereby closed.
Thanks Everyone!