Springer Mountain to Dicks Creek

[foxiedoxie]

ok...getting closer to my hike and I loaded up my pack last night. It weighed 30lbs without my 2L platypus reservoir. Which will add roughly 4lbs...I was hoping to get my pack to 25-30lb total. I have a light weight sleeping bag synthetic to 32 degrees, fleece liner. REI sleeping pad, and 65 Liter REI Crest Bag. I have taken a weeks worth of food, mostly ramon noodles and dried vegs and pepporoni in quart freezer bags to pour hot water into, instant oatmeal for mornings, pop tarts, and cliff bars along with GORP. Lunch corn tortilla's with peanut butter and nutella. I have a platypus gravity filter as well. My extra clothes are cold gear top and bottom for sleeping or unexpected cold weather, a long sleeve, 2 warm gear short sleeves, 3 pair of socks and panties, pair of shorts, extra sports bra. Batteries for my headlights and phone charger.
I think i can handle the 35lbs but was hoping to reduce. Any suggestion? My husband is taking the Big Agnes Cooper spur 2ul and the MSR stove. His is about 40lb without the water weight.

[maptester]

Your weight & equipment sound similar to mine--to reduce weight at this point I think you would have to change out some of your gear and that can be pricey. The only suggestion I can think of is to not carry a week's worth of food. Resupply at Mountain Crossings at Neels Gap. We might see each other on the trail--I'm planning on starting out Sat. 11th at Woody Gap heading north for about 7 days, and don't plan on speed hiking.

[foxiedoxie]

ok maptester.....maybe we will run into you....and you aren't kidding about pricey stuff...I didn't think my food weighed that much as it is so thin in the ziplocks but plan on weighing each item...the other item that may be extra weight that I forgot to mention was my first aid kit...a little bit of everything from blister management to bug spray......otherwise each night should get lighter as I eat some of my food....I may find myself stuffing my face to get rid of some of the food...lol....

[FatMan]

You can leave the bug spray at home. No bugs this time of year. If you should see a fat guy wearing an orange shirt and a dog with an orange vest and maybe a wife (never know if she comes along) say hi. It will be me. I am out on the trail somewhere between Woody Gap and Justus Creek most everyday. Sadly it used to be two dogs, but I had to put my beloved Cooper down last week.

Enjoy your hike.

[foxiedoxie]

so sorry to hear about cooper...been there and done that....so sad....
ok..no bug stuff and I have already removed some stuff that weighed about 2lbs...(letting my husband carry the pnut butter) and got rid of the nutella.
We will look for you. OK one last question...at neels gap do you need to make reservations for the hostel or is it first come first serve....is the hostel bedding or just tent set ups?
Thanks to all...getting excited....

[daddytwosticks]

You can leave the bug spray at home. No bugs this time of year. If you should see a fat guy wearing an orange shirt and a dog with an orange vest and maybe a wife (never know if she comes along) say hi. It will be me. I am out on the trail somewhere between Woody Gap and Justus Creek most everyday. Sadly it used to be two dogs, but I had to put my beloved Cooper down last week.

Enjoy your hike.

You are a lucky guy to be able to hop on the trail when you please WITH either a two legged or four legged (or both) companion!

[maptester]

foxiedoxie, here is the link to the Mountain Crossings website--to answer your questions, no reservations, "Rate Includes bunk, shower, and a towel. Bring your own bedding/sleeping bag." & "If no bunks are available, or if you have a pet, there is free camping available just off of our property. It's 200 yards behind the building on the AT, just beyond the "Raven Cliffs Wilderness" sign. You are welcome to get water from the tap under the bay window on the south side of the shop.
Camping anywhere on our property is not permitted. This includes behind the hostel and on the lookout." https://www.mountaincrossings.com/Articles.asp?ID=253#b

[foxiedoxie]

wow...thats looks like a cool place....thanks for the link. and all the info...see you soon.

[rwd111]

I'll be on the Neels Gap to Winding Stair section beginning Sunday. Until I read this thread, I had been thinking the trail would be relatively empty in comparison to the summer. I realizing now that there'll be shortage of hikers this time of year.. Good info on the water sources and camp sites too. You on the trail!

[rwd111]

Make that no shortage of hikers!

[daddytwosticks]

In my opinion, the North Ga section of the AT gets busy during leaf season. Certainly not like the spring, but traffic picks up significantly after September.

[foxiedoxie]

ok...I am out of the woods and wanted to update all of you on our trip. We started out as planned and got just short of woody gap on the 2nd day from Hawks Shelter. The weater was pretty nasty with rain everyday and or night. The visibility for views was zero except for the first day from Springer to Hawks. We hiked a good bit in the rain or mist or fog or whatever you want to call it. When we saw huge thunderstorms predicted for late Monday night (midnight) and 90% thunderstorms Tuesday we hiked to hogpen gap and got picked up to complete the trip another time. We did stay at neels gap hostel and we were the only ones so we had the place to our selves....we only had 5 minutes to spare before they closed as did not know the time they closed down. The philly Cheese sandwiches and cokes were to die for. We washed clothes and got a hot shower which was heaven...the only problem i really had was the blisters on the bottom of my metatarsal heads of the big toe...I used mole skin but each day they got worse so before I return I will have to research a bit on how to prevent. I did wear wright socks but that didn't help. The trip was great except for the rain, and no beautiful sites...couldn't see anything off blood mountain. Definately tested my physical, emotional, and mental states.....pretty streneous but nothing we couldn't handle...thanks for all the tips prior going....we will return at a later time to finish Georgia.

[FatMan]

You had some crappy weather for sure. You chose wisely to get off the trail. We had over 5" of rain Monday night through Tuesday here at Grassy Gap.

[foxiedoxie]

yea...now i've got to try to plan to go from hogpen to dicks...I've got the fever as it was an adventure that was pretty hard but I enjoyed the challenge.
Got to look at schedule and try to complete this section soon. Thanks again for all of the advice...my rookie self appreciated it all.

[maptester]

foxiedoxie, I bailed out too. Aside from some of the hardest rain/thunderstorm I have tried to sleep thru on Saturday night, I had some equipment issues that made continuing the hike difficult. I have come to see that being a successful hiker requires more skill (esp. in the fit of pack) than meets the eye. I will be back too, for a shorter hike soon. Good luck on finishing your section hike.

[Bubbabuzz]

Even though this post is fairly old, I truly appreciate the comments, as my buddy and I are looking at doing it the first week of July 2016. It will be my first "big" hike. Hope to see some of y'all on the trail!

[Florida Mike]

Same here, I plan to go around the 17th of April. thanks for the info on where to camp and get water. This will be my first trip as well.

[flatgrounder]

I really got a lot out of this post also. Was planning on Springer to NC but only have six days so just going to do what we can. Daughter is due with first baby on 17th. If all is well we will try to start a few days later. May see fellow floridian on trail.