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Looks like you are aiming for a late February start? You might contact your shuttle driver about shipping to them. If you have any questions about the specifics of airport to Amicalola, DM me. ...

wrapping your bag is a great idea. even if you go with a garage sale duffel, wrap the poles to the bag.

You haven't mentioned how you are getting from the airport to Amicalola, but just before...

The Georgia section isn't bad. There are some tough areas, but you can usually make 2 mph, no problem. If you are used to Maine, 12 to 14 mile days shouldn't be a problem.

Bugs aren't bad, but...

You can get it down to 11.5 miles if you take the Jacks Knob trail down to GA 180 (base of Brasstown) from the Wolfpen Gap side. It is 6.5 miles from the Unicoi Gap side. While the 11.5 miles is...

Friday should be okay. Saturday or Sunday, probably not so much.

I saw a tweet from his son, then read about the death of Donal MacGillis after he was rescued from a fall on Katahdin earlier this week.
...

on Whitley gap, your days aren't that long before and after, and Whitley is a very nice shelter. Plenty of water, nice area, you won't have crowds. It's one of my favorites.

your first day is a...

My best answer is "maybe". Right now, every night is potentially Friday or Saturday and the road goes right by there. The good news is there are lots of other camping sites nearby for just in case....

If you think the OP is just a bitter troll who should move under a bridge, you should find and join one of the FB hiking groups. Some of them really are like ordering off the Burger King menu:
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it seems you have the opposite problem of many backpackers. it sounds like that once you find a meal you like, you can put it in a simple rotation and eat it repetitively for 5 months with little...

Fall is a great time to hike Georgia and most years the weather is cooling off the 3rd or 4th week of September. It is a little drier then, but that mostly means that it might take you 15 minutes to...

a lot of the news is similar, but here is another current article:
https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/badge-bar/dawson-county-authorities-searching-hiker-missing-near-appalachian-trail/

there...

If you are at Camp Merrill and you cross the landing strip, there are a couple of trails that lead back to Cooper Gap rd. One of them likely still comes out in the area of Hightower Gap, very near...

I nearly always swap up stuff sacks. This comes from the days of external packs when I needed a sturdier stuff sack and would line it with a garbage back for waterproofing. Now I'll pick a stuff...

I'm curious about the "road is in poor condition" part. One of the FS roads which leads to the Springer parking lot, Winding Stair Gap rd, is sometimes rough, but it was fine back in October. It is...

Here's a figure 8 loop that I think is about 26 miles:
Out of Vogel State Park, take the Coosa Backcountry trail, it is a loop and take the counter-clockwise side. It joins the Duncan Ridge trail...

How was the weather? Any rains from Tropical Storm Nestor or did that stay to the South? I imagine they picked National Forest lands to avoid the whole permit and campground fees. With a group...

+1 on the yellow jacket alert. though this cooler weather will keep them in their nests more and their numbers will start to decrease. our group had one guy with about 12 stings and we ran into a...

We hiked the AT/BMT loop from 3 Forks to Springer yesterday and there was water, but you had to plan. Stover Creek (just down from the shelter of the same name) was running with plenty of water. ...

You can use the spring below the Springer Shelter as your guide. If you need to dig out a little to get a pool of water there, you'll need to make sure you leave each water source with a couple of...

my opinion? waiting until you have just the right gear before you plan your first trip. if you have a pair of sturdy shoes you can comfortably walk 5 miles in, they'll be fine. depending on your...

I've hiked to Charlies Bunion in January and my experience was it is doable so long as the road is open. The first half mile from the parking lot is a little wet, a little shady and a little...

I'll try to make a drive over there in the next couple of weeks. I'm about 30 minutes from where Winding Stair Gap road begins off Nimblewill Church road. I'll let you know what I find.

Good...

if all else is equal, where is your wife headed after dropping you off? If she's headed towards Atlanta/Ellijay/575/75, then west is better. They way back out to the state hwy is a little winding,...

In Georgia, two wildlife management areas that flank the Blood Mountain cannister only/no campfire section recently held a 2 week bear/hog gun season. This was on the Chestatee WMA and the...