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View Full Version : Where to find out How many leave Springer each day



takethisbread
02-02-2010, 19:45
Is there a site that tracks who leaves each day?

Like how many left today?

Spokes
02-02-2010, 20:14
Now that's a novel idea.

Praha4
02-02-2010, 20:31
you could try calling Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center and asking, they keep a hiker register there... granted not all thru hikers are going to stop at the Visitor center, but a pretty good percentage stop there before heading up the Approach Trail, or just to get their picture at the "archway"

white_russian
02-02-2010, 20:49
It would be nice if they had a twitter feed. Wouldn't be too hard to send out a SMS with the numbers.

Skidsteer
02-02-2010, 21:02
Is there a site that tracks who leaves each day?

Like how many left today?

Yeah. White Blaze.

Keep an eye peeled for threads from mountain squid. He tries.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37611

Lone Wolf
02-03-2010, 05:22
Is there a site that tracks who leaves each day?

Like how many left today?

no. there is no accurate number

DapperD
02-03-2010, 10:47
Is there a site that tracks who leaves each day?

Like how many left today?You can figure it out by knowing how many start out at the visitor center and quit by the time they reach the top of the falls:D

Peaks
02-03-2010, 17:23
Probably the best record of starts is at Mountain Crossings/Neils Gap. Not perfect, becasue it's 30 miles up the trail.

If you do get the daily count for a full season, please PM me with it. I'd like to see it on a day by day basis to prove or disprove some of the perceptions frequently posted.

The Flatulator
02-03-2010, 17:31
I think "Peaks" has a good measuring point. I know there are a few that bail out before getting to Neals Gap, but this would at least give everyone a good idea of how many to expect at the shelters over the course of the next few weeks. I, for one, am not looking forward to any crowds. I know it will be busier than my previous two thru-hikes, but I hope not by a ridiculous amount. I see the Southbounders leaving Maine each year and the numbers remind me of the early years. I'd consider hiking South, but there's nothing like walking hoME.....

Jack Tarlin
02-03-2010, 17:39
In recent years, there actually is a caretaker up on Springer, who is in residence at the shelter/campsite for several weeks each year, and one of his principal jobs is to collect precisely this information.

But I'm not sure when he starts each season, and he certainly doesn't encounter everyone who passes by, as some folks never visit this location and don't encounter him.

The "count" at Amicalola is entirely unreliable as with every passing year, more folks skip the approach Trail and go up Springer from the North, i.e. from Forest Service road 42. These folks for the most part never even see Amicalola Park or a Ranger and thus, never "sign in."

The logs at Neel Gap are extensive, but not everyone signs in there, and every year, many folks have dropped off the Trail beofre they even get there, like at Woody Gap, etc.

So Lone Wolf, who said "there is no accurate number" is entirely correct.

The actual number of folks who start a thru-hike every year is essentially an estimate and a guess.

JustaTouron
02-03-2010, 18:32
The AMC could go a long way towards fixing the incompleteness of records by requiring that in order to get the coveted "patch" you must sign in both the Baxter and Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center.

Yes, this could cover sectionals. No requirement that those sign-in be the first and last parts of the trip and sectionals need to pass those two points as well.

Frosty
02-03-2010, 18:37
The AMC could go a long way towards fixing the incompleteness of records by requiring that in order to get the coveted "patch" you must sign in both the Baxter and Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center.Why? Who the hell cares?

WalkingStick75
02-03-2010, 18:46
Why? Who the hell cares?

What if we setup an buried metal detector sensitive enough to pickup the filling in your teeth at springer approach 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 1500 miles all hard wired into a server to keep track of how many hikers pass that point.

Hmmm problem with that, this method would pickup section hikers and day hikers too.

Ok, Frosty..... what you said.

JustaTouron
02-03-2010, 18:49
Why? Who the hell cares?

The OP for one.

sasquatch2014
02-03-2010, 19:22
By the middle of Feb when he is on the trail he won't care. Digger if you still care call me and I'll make something up for you.

Digger - "Sasquatch how many started out today?"

Sasquatch - " About 75 today and they are moving fast you better hurry up or all the good camping spots will be taken"

Digger - "you are lying!"

Sasquatch - " No I am not and if you don't hurry they will run out of the Pecan Waffles at the new Waffle house at Neels Gap!"

Lone Wolf
02-03-2010, 20:09
The AMC could go a long way towards fixing the incompleteness of records by requiring that in order to get the coveted "patch" you must sign in both the Baxter and Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center.

Yes, this could cover sectionals. No requirement that those sign-in be the first and last parts of the trip and sectionals need to pass those two points as well.

what's the AMC have to do with it? :-?

max patch
02-03-2010, 20:12
The AMC could go a long way towards fixing the incompleteness of records by requiring that in order to get the coveted "patch" you must sign in both the Baxter and Amicalola Falls State Park visitor center.



Why? AFSP isn't part of the trail.

Dances with Mice
02-03-2010, 20:45
Is there a site that tracks who leaves each day?

Like how many left today?You can get summaries of the trail reports from the Springer caretaker sent directly to your mailbox.

Just join the GATC. (http://www.georgia-atclub.org/)

JustaTouron
02-03-2010, 20:47
what's the AMC have to do with it? :-?

Opps meant ATC.


Why? AFSP isn't part of the trail.

It sorta is.

Lone Wolf
02-03-2010, 21:03
It sorta is.

it most certainly ain't. fact

Jack Tarlin
02-04-2010, 16:16
Wolf's right. Amicalola Falls State Park does not contain one foot of the Trail and is therefore not part of it. The Trail starts at the summit of Springer.

And as for compelling people to "sign in" or sign out at any point, what does this prove at the end of the day?

People that make a conscious decision to hike the Trail in its entirety will find a way to do so.

People that do not view this as an important goal will find a way to skip chunks in between Springer and Katahdin.

Why the ATC or anyone else should waste time compelling people to sign in or out, well this mystifies me.

Even if someone "signs in" in Georgia, what does this mean if they decide to start skipping stuff a few miles later?

There's no "sign in" place on the A.T. There's no "sign out" either. People that have hiked the whole Trail know what they've done, and people that haven't felt the need to do so, well they know what THEY'VE done as well.

People can do what's important and what matters to THEM.

But making people "sign in" is a little silly.

Helios
02-04-2010, 16:25
I'm starting March 9th this year. I do not plan on signing any register, log, or whatever other than my own journal. It's my hike, and I could care less if someone knows I'm out there or not. I don't plan on submitting for a patch or certificate when I complete either. I could do that now without hiking the trail, so I see no value in it. The ONLY value will be to me, for me. What's a register have to do with that?

Miner
02-04-2010, 16:33
I'm starting March 9th this year. I do not plan on signing any register, log, or whatever other than my own journal. It's my hike, and I could care less if someone knows I'm out there or not. I don't plan on submitting for a patch or certificate when I complete either. I could do that now without hiking the trail, so I see no value in it. The ONLY value will be to me, for me. What's a register have to do with that?
It doesn't have to be for someone else, writing in the register at the beginning and end of a trip can just be about you and your hike done for your own personal reasons.

When I did the PCT, I spent some time writting an entry for the start and at the end of the trip trying to put into words my desires and feelings at the time. The end though was also for my friends so that they'd know when I finished in case I might still be in the area. I then took a photo of my entries and still like looking at it occasionally reliving what I was going through at the time. I also kept a daily journal, but it somehow wasn't the same.