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TrueTrue
09-12-2004, 14:55
Hello. I've been reading a lot here but haven't posted till now. Hopefully I'm not posting this in the wrong place... I'm wondering how plentiful the water sources are in Georgia, mid-October. I'm starting from the approach trail and hiking north to Dicks Creek Gap. Thanks for any input!

orangebug
09-12-2004, 16:39
Let's see. We just had Frances and expect Ivan to crontribute to our water table next week.

The problem will be keeping enough water on you during the approach trail. You shouldn't have any real trouble.

Bill...

Dances with Mice
09-12-2004, 18:12
[QUOTE=1TrueTrue]...I'm wondering how plentiful the water sources are in Georgia, mid-October. I'm starting from the approach trail and hiking north to Dicks Creek Gap...../QUOTE]

No problems whatsoever. Water sources I've seen dry this time of year are flowing. Sources not even mentioned in the Trail guides are flowing. It's still a long dry stretch between Hawk Mtn and Justus Creek, tho.

Rain Man
09-12-2004, 20:15
Don't forget the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. You can Google for them. They are a wonderful source of info, and glad to share, for the AT in GA.

Rain Man

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FatMan
09-12-2004, 20:43
You will have plenty of water. The Georgia AT is ripe with water sources and most are right on the trail or are well marked. The only danger here is in dry summers when many go dry. But with the wet summer we are having everything is running now and no reason for it to stop until next summer.

Expect some crowds on the weekends in mid October because the trees should be quite colorful in the higher elevations. Don't plan on staying at shelters on Fri/Sat as most will be flooded with weekend warrior groups.

Just a quick note about mid october weather. You will likely find it to be lovely with highs in the 70/80's and lows in the 50/40's. In my opinion it is a wonderful time of year to section hike Georgia. But the weather can change fast that time of year so you will need to carry your cold weather clothes and gear. I bet you won't need it but be ready. It can get crappy real quick.

Nightwalker
09-12-2004, 21:44
Water water everywhere, and etc. ad nauseum.

I don't think finding water will be an issue. Getting away from it may be. I was looking forward to leaving today on a SC/GA/NC hike of the Bartram Trail, but decided to wait (hopefully only) another week because of the Ivan forecast. Frances gave us 9 inches of rain locally, and Ivan may do as bad or worse!

Well, the longer it takes, the more likely I am to see some leaf color. :)

hacksaw
09-12-2004, 22:13
Hey Frank,

I live at about 2500 ft up by Amicalola Falls State Park. As I sat at the dinner table just this evening I made comment that the giant oak tree just outside the window is already beginning to color up and drop leaves (we live on a steep slope and we look out the window into the canopy of trees around the house-kinda like living in a tree). It is already starting. October in the mountains should be a sea of colors!

Enjoy!

Hacksaw

RockyTrail
09-12-2004, 23:19
Hey TrueTrue,

October is a great time to hike, but there is one caution I tell folks to watch out for; hunting season. In North Georgia, primitive weapons (that's arrows and black-powder muskets) starts on Oct 9th and the full gun season starts one week later on Oct 16th. Those two Saturdays (especially the 16th) there will be more hunting going on than any other day as everybody wants to get the jump on the game. Google "Georgia DNR" for more info on the seasons.

What does this mean for hikers? While not mandatory, it's not a bad idea to have some blaze orange on just in case. An orange ball cap on your head, or orange vest thrown over your pack is OK (see Wal-Mart). In the entire history of the AT there were no hiker-hunter accidents until a couple years ago, one was near Suches GA. Don't worry about it too much, but I like to have some orange on just in case (TN Vols fans will be pleased). After the first weekend the hunting activity dies down a lot. Have a great time!

TrueTrue
09-13-2004, 07:32
Thank you so much everyone! I'm so glad water won't be a problem. And thanks for the weather info too.

Dances with Mice
09-13-2004, 08:37
October is a great time to hike, but there is one caution I tell folks to watch out for; hunting season. In North Georgia, primitive weapons (that's arrows and black-powder muskets) starts on Oct 9th and the full gun season starts one week later on Oct 16th.

Maybe somebody here knows - once a black powder weapon is loaded, is there any way to unload it short of firing the weapon?

Because I've been on the AT in GA during the hunting season and right at sunset gunshots rang out from all different directions. It was in the area where the Rangers train but it wasn't them, they really know how to make noise. It sounded like a bunch of large caliber weapons being discharged, not all at once, not all in the same place.

My theory is that it's the black powder hunters unloading their weapons before heading back to their camp or vehicle. Does that make sense?

RockyTrail
09-13-2004, 11:34
You may have a point there DWM, I dunno. I've shot a few (borrowed) but never had to unload it, just target shooting.

By the way, the legal hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. The dawn and dusk hours usually provide the best deer hunting and also represents the most dangerous times to be walking around in the woods. Most hunters out in the late afternoon want to take full advantage of the 30 mins after dusk rule (that's when the deer move) so if that's when you heard the booms you may be right. At 30 mins past sunset it's darn near pitch dark anyway.