View Full Version : Starting out PLEASE Help :0)
Ok so I am only 19 years old and have the urge for the last two years to thru hike the AT. I am in pretty decent shape. And on August 1st my friends are giving me a ride from Ohio down to Georigia to Hike this thing. First off don't harass me by telling me it's not the best time to go. I realize this but it's just the only time frame I can reach in befor school.
ANYWAYS! What is the name of the city that I should be programming my GPS to lead us to Springer Mountain? I know the national park is Chattahoochee National Forest. But what city is it in? This would help a lot! This is the only question I have.
thanks guys
mike
SGT Rock
07-23-2008, 18:15
City? I wouldn't go to a city - I would see if it could find Amicalola State Park first.
yea but that is not on my GPS i just need a city and then I'm sure when we get there we can also ask for dirrections
SGT Rock
07-23-2008, 18:18
Dahlonega GA
mister krabs
07-23-2008, 18:19
dahlonega GA or suches are the closest, you'll be coming in from chattanooga and will go through ellijay.
Dahlonega GA
thanks so much! also one more things??? I was reading about people gettined finned for not having a proper hike licence? why do you have to have one and how do you get one? also what is considered illegal camping LOL??? thanks again guys!
mister krabs
07-23-2008, 18:21
34°37′36″N, 84°11′37″W (http://toolserver.org/~magnus/geo/geohack.php?pagename=Springer_Mountain¶ms=34_37_36_N_84_11_37_W_type:mountain_region: US)
thanks mister krabs that helps a lot ALSO!
SGT Rock
07-23-2008, 18:26
thanks so much! also one more things??? I was reading about people gettined finned for not having a proper hike licence? why do you have to have one and how do you get one? also what is considered illegal camping LOL??? thanks again guys!
Not down there. It is all good. When you get to the Smokies in a couple of weeks you will have to get a permit - but they are right there on the AT and it is free.
greentick
07-23-2008, 18:30
Apply with the Georgia DNR for your GA hiking license;) ...just kidding.
You need to fill out a free permit to go through the Smokies, they are in a box at the Fontana Dam visitor center.
thanks a lot guys! you all helped me out!
Lone Wolf
07-23-2008, 18:50
yea but that is not on my GPS i just need a city and then I'm sure when we get there we can also ask for dirrections
a road atlas works fine. no GPS needed :-?
Blissful
07-23-2008, 20:34
Mike No harassing is intended, but what is your goal? Because I'm sure you know you can't complete a thru hike of the entire trail before the snows fly and Katahdin closes. If it's just to hike and see where you end up before bad weather hits, have a super time! But it will be hot, muggy and buggy in the south to start. Carry a good size water system.
greentick
07-23-2008, 20:42
Carry a good size water system.
good point. Inquire about water on the trail ahead from hikers you run into or pop onto WB. Last year was dry in the SE. Not sure about this year. I moved to deep SE GA this spring and we are getting drenched a couple times a week here. Keep an extra 2.5L platypus in your pack for dry stretches and camel up when you do hit a water source.
Mike No harassing is intended, but what is your goal? Because I'm sure you know you can't complete a thru hike of the entire trail before the snows fly and Katahdin closes. If it's just to hike and see where you end up before bad weather hits, have a super time! But it will be hot, muggy and buggy in the south to start. Carry a good size water system.
YEA. I am not quite worried about snow. But what is Katahdin? and why does it close? and does this mean I can't hike on the trail? what happens if I hike anyways :-? thanks guys
Pedaling Fool
07-27-2008, 21:33
YEA. I am not quite worried about snow. But what is Katahdin? and why does it close? and does this mean I can't hike on the trail? what happens if I hike anyways :-? thanks guys
I would go to the home page (Here: http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php) and read the various information under the Articles section (On the left side). Some of the best info can be found under Data and Schedules and Thru-Hiker Advice.
modiyooch
07-27-2008, 22:14
google Amicalola State Park for map and directions. Then put one foot in front of the other and follow the white blazes north. Katahdin will be at the last white blaze.
Blissful
07-27-2008, 22:22
Read up on the trail and about hiking it. White Blaze is a good place to be to learn all about it. Lots of good info. Also check out your local library for books from people who have hiked the Appalachian Trail. And there are some good DVDs on it too made by hikers who have done it. Like "Trek."
Also, Katahdin doesn't close per say but Baxter State Park does. Oct 15th, I think.
modiyooch
07-27-2008, 22:29
he is leaving friday.
minnesotasmith
07-28-2008, 09:20
he is leaving friday.
But, as someone who has extensive time as an adult living in both the North and the South U.S., and has hiked on the AT in Georgia in July, I just don't think you'll have a very good time if you start a thruhike in GA in August.
The heat and bugs will commonly be absolutely insufferable. You will have trouble sleeping at night with both, and the day? You'll swear you're in a bug-infested sauna from about 9 in the morning to well after dark, day after day after day.
Water supply may not be reliable.
Forget ever catching ONE hiker feed, or much (other) trail magic.
If your experience on the AT in Georgia during deep summer goes similiarly to mine, practically the only people you'll meet on the Trail for over a month will be short-distance dayhikers (mostly retired) and the occasional miserable Boy Scout troop from the North whose planners didn't know much about climate in the South (or they wouldn't have scheduled their trip for that season). So much for the social part of thruhiking, which many thrus (especially young first-timers) usually seem to cherish...
You don't have time to finish as a straight shot, so you're either set up to fail, or to be forced into a flipflop. If the latter, I suggest you begin with a flipflop, starting somewhere further north, like southern Vermont, say. Go north towards Katahdin, then flip back to where you started and head south to finish.
Please let us know what you end up doing. Good luck.
BookBurner
07-28-2008, 10:50
If you are heading out on the trail in hopes of stumbling across free meals, free sodas, meeting lots of interesting people, and avoiding inclimate weather and pesky bugs, then perhaps Minnesotasmith has a point. Spend your summer on a cruise ship. On the otherhand, if you simply wish to experience living in the woods for a few months and all that that entails, go for it and best of luck.
BookBurner
07-28-2008, 11:01
I've got to think before I type! Minnesotasmith has some good points about what to expect during a hike in the summer heat of the south. It all helps in deciding whether your expectations will be met by reality. My apologies for the smart aleck tone.
The Solemates
07-28-2008, 11:05
let the kid be a kid and go hike for a few days....
budforester
07-28-2008, 11:17
let the kid be a kid and go hike for a few days....
Yeah; he's got my envy. It's been many years since I could just jump into an adventure without all the worrying and planning. But some studying here on WB could be helpful to him.
Pedaling Fool
07-28-2008, 11:24
...But what is Katahdin?...
let the kid be a kid and go hike for a few days....
Yeah, let him be. If there’s one thing you can say, it’s that he definitely has an adventurous spirit. Much more than a lot of us that research the hell out of our hike before stepping out there.:)
modiyooch
07-28-2008, 19:44
But, as someone who has extensive time as an adult living in both the North and the South U.S., and has hiked on the AT in Georgia in July, I just don't think you'll have a very good time if you start a thruhike in GA in August.
The heat and bugs will commonly be absolutely insufferable. You will have trouble sleeping at night with both, and the day? You'll swear you're in a bug-infested sauna from about 9 in the morning to well after dark, day after day after day.
Water supply may not be reliable.
Hey, I live here, NC that is. It's not terrible. It's not lonely either, just look at all the Florida tags coming to the mountains for coolness. It kind of ironic, too. I'm headed to Maine on Wednesday, and one of my concerns is the bugs.
minnesotasmith
07-28-2008, 20:24
Hey, I live here, NC that is. It's not terrible. It's not lonely either, just look at all the Florida tags coming to the mountains for coolness. It kind of ironic, too. I'm headed to Maine on Wednesday, and one of my concerns is the bugs.
You're accustomed to the summer heat in the deep South. This kid isn't. He's likely NOT going to like finding that the hottest time of the hottest day of a typical week in the summertime back home, is going to be normal or exceeded for 10 hours a day, every day, while he's laboring to move a pack up hills. The Boy Scout troops from the North I saw in GA in July 2005 sure weren't...
modiyooch
07-28-2008, 20:36
I am acclimated to the heat and actually prefer it; but, I did survive the Whites last August when it snowed. I went from 95 degree Carolinian heat to 30 degree snow, sleet, and wind.
Pedaling Fool
07-28-2008, 20:39
Me too. I can tolerate very high temps. Many who can't have a hard time comprehending this toleration.
thanks a lot for all your consideration. I'm not quite sure what I am doing yet. Now one of my friends is talking about going and he thinks we should start off in Maine. The bus ticket is a little expensive and i was reading about landslides.. but still I think he will back out and I mean I only have one more day until I planned to go :0) i guess I am going to springer mountain and heading north... ha I guess we'll see how much I can handle the bugs, hot weather, cold weather, ect :) thanks guys
and yea this forums has been amazingly helpful to ask questions and study a little bit :0)
The Old Fhart
07-31-2008, 22:12
Why do I get the feeling that these two are going to be hiking buddies with Wild Cowboy?:-? Stay tuned.
Jim Adams
07-31-2008, 22:23
Yeah, let him be. If there’s one thing you can say, it’s that he definitely has an adventurous spirit. Much more than a lot of us that research the hell out of our hike before stepping out there.:)
Alexander Supertramp?:-?
geek
well one last question.... I am getting a bus into Dalton, GA.... I heard it was only a couple miles from there to Springer mountain. Say if I was to walk on some roadside or highway... which should i take? and how many miles would it be?
I figure I'll head tword Ellijay or what ever I have some maps to get there but is it easy to get on the trail once i reach that town? please answer back tonight I leave at 12:30pm tomorrow.
Skidsteer
08-01-2008, 06:52
I figure I'll head tword Ellijay or what ever I have some maps to get there but is it easy to get on the trail once i reach that town? please answer back tonight I leave at 12:30pm tomorrow.
Yes. From Ellijay you should be able to hitch to Amicalola.
thanks a lot for all your consideration. I'm not quite sure what I am doing yet. Now one of my friends is talking about going and he thinks we should start off in Maine. The bus ticket is a little expensive and i was reading about landslides.. but still I think he will back out and I mean I only have one more day until I planned to go :0) i guess I am going to springer mountain and heading north... ha I guess we'll see how much I can handle the bugs, hot weather, cold weather, ect :) thanks guysIf you are going to make the whole trail then your friend is right, you need to start in Maine.
BookBurner
08-01-2008, 10:25
A hitch should be very doable. If you've never hitched before, here are a few suggestions : 1) stick your thumb out loud and proud 2) dress as nicely as possible 3) make your pack look as small as possible 4) smile at the motorists 5) smile at the motorists 6) smile at the motorists!!! Good luck with your adventure.
dessertrat
08-01-2008, 10:47
YEA. I am not quite worried about snow. But what is Katahdin? and why does it close? and does this mean I can't hike on the trail? what happens if I hike anyways :-? thanks guys
Katahdin is the end of the trail, and a very large mountain. They will not allow you to climb it in winter without special permits, equipment, etc.
Can't hike the trail? You can hike it up to Baxter State Park, but after October, given your apparently limited experience, it is likely that you will die in the White Mountains or in Maine.
How long do you expect this hike to take? Do you think you can get to Maine before snow falls? Probably not, even if you travel very fast and light.
Good suggestions Minnesotasmith. The op is very new to the long-distance community, and could obviously use some more time for research. At least planting this idea of a flip-flop may help him out when he gets more info and experience.
Best of luck, whatever you decide.
Pedaling Fool
08-01-2008, 11:22
Alexander Supertramp?:-?
geek
Maybe, but we can't save everyone.