Amicalola Falls to Dick's Creek hike

[Crazy_Al]

Amicalola Falls to Dick's Creek hike

What about transportation for hiking from Amicalola Falls to Dick's Creek OR
Dick's Creek to Amicalola Falls ???


I could drive to one of these locations, park my car, then hike to the other location, but how do I get back ???
What is the easiest way ???
How do you arrange for transportation ???

Life is a mystery, and this is one of them.

[shoregirl75]

You can try the hiker hostel in delonegah - they shuttle all over the place and are very reasonable - check out their website at www.hikerhostel.com.

We stayed there about a month ago when doing our section hike in GA - awesome place.



Sassafras

[BlueSky]

There are several people who proved shuttle services... here's a list.
hthttp://www.appalachiantrail.org/hike/pdfs/ATshuttle_05-11-04.pdf
I used Pittsburgh for a Springer-Unicoi Gap section hike this spring and he's great... the info I got from picking his brain alone was well worth the cost.

Have fun!

[JimSproul]

I am going to hike from Amicalola Falls to Franklin starting July 9th. I have arranged for a ride from Franklin back to Amicalola. Depending on your schedule you might be able to something with her trip back to Franklin. It is with a commercial company so it ain't cheap but should be reliable.

Email me if you want details.

[max patch]

couple points:

1. whenever possible, do the shuttle first and hike to your car.
2. amicalola falls would be a safer place to spot your car for a week.

[smokymtnsteve]

very safe parking available at Rainbow springs CG

[Kerosene]

You'll find that the logistics are the hardest part of section hiking, amarkell.

I hiked from Amicalola to Rainbow Springs Campground, just south of Wallace Gap and the road to Franklin, back in April. I parked my car at the Campground next to the office for $5 a night. We had arranged a ride back to Amicalola with friends, but I know that there are a number of shuttlers in the area who would gladly pick you up. I concur with max_patch that you're better off walking to your car. There's nothing worse than arriving at a road crossing and waiting around for hours hoping that the shuttler didn't get lost, had another emergency, or simply forgot about you. You have more options if that happens when you still have your car.

One nice option of parking at Rainbow Springs CG is that you add an early "bail out" option. My hiking partner screwed up his knee and left the Trail early, so I picked up the pace and got off the Trail at Deep Gap, 4 miles north of Muskrat Creek Shelter. I took the lovely Kimsey Creek Trail a quick 4 miles down the mountain to Standing Indian Campground where the caretake shuttled me the 3 miles down the road to Rainbow Springs for $5. This cut off the 1-2 days it would have taken to hike the 15+ mile loop over Albert Mountain.

Food resupply is another logistical consideration. When you have a limited amount of time to hike a section you don't want to be spending a lot of time off-trail. I left food caches at Walasi-Yi in Neels Gap (actually at the Blood Mountain Cabins just down the hill where 4 of us shared a cabin on night #3) and in Hiawassee (stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on night #5, but there are 2-3 other good options). Actually, one of my hiking partners left his car at the Dick's Creek Gap parking lot (there's a nightly fee here also) with the food in his trunk. Mice got into his trunk and built several nests out of the roll of paper towels he had in there, plus gorged themselves on some of the food. Pretty funny. You shouldn't have to carry more than 3 days of food at any one time through this section (so only about 4-6 pounds of weight max).

I ran into Pittsburgh on the first night out at the Hickory Flatts Cemetary where you can camp (a quarter mile left on the gravel road you cross after Laurel Creek Falls). He was shepherding a half-dozen newbies through Georgia and knew a lot about the Trail and seemed adept at helping his troop stay motivated. Between us, we helped one aspiring thru-hiker shave 5+ pounds off her weight but tossing a bunch of superfluous footwear and a bag of extra batteries!

[smokymtnsteve]

I agree have your automobile waiting at the end of your hike..

the parking at USFS Standing Indian campground is fairly safe at this time of year also..