It is the steep descent after a long day which gets my attention (and whack-a-mole's). I thought Blood to Woody SOBO was exceptionally easy: soft, smooth, well-graded dirt trails except for the initial 1300 ft ascent. Got a late start (Easter Sunday), so it was relatively hot, 75 F or so. If I were heading the other way, and carrying a heavy pack, and was new to this hiking thing, I would bomb down Blood Mtn to get to Walasi-Yi to get that Klondike bar before closing. And I would awake the next morning with a knee injury (or worse, if I fell on that descent). Of course, after several hundred miles on the trail I would not do that, but thse NOBOs have 30 miles of AT experience at that point.
An unprepared hiker isn't very likely to be helped by even more information being available.
Its 5 miles. Sunrise is at 7; sunset at 8. 13 hours of daylite.
And if someone can't make that kind of mileage then they can always go off trail for 1/4 mile and camp legally.
This is really a non issue.
There is plenty of info for hikers on this issue or any section on the AT. What ever happened to being self sufficent, engaging the brain and being responsible for one's self?
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
JD,I know that your comments were born out of concern for hikers only,and like AWOL's guide book it would be helpful to have the next three stops laid out.But for me ,I don't follow or think about man made geographical lines(state lines)when hiking,and bears don't either,they don't care that the sign says "The Line is Here".I think more along the terms of peaks,valleys,upland,piedmont.When hiking the trails a little adversity is a character builder IMO.But hey,I hear what your saying....I would like it to revert back to this.No more signs,no more books,no more town folks dirty looks,no more shelters,and no more feeds,all we need is the Mountains,sky and the trees.Have a great hike,wishing you well.
It is actually 7+ from Lance Creek. You cannot camp in Jerrard (a fact that was hand written onto the provided maps), and exclusion zone appears to be more than a quarter mile from trail. You can stealth camp, though likely not too comfortably in the rolling hills between Lance Creek and Jerrard, which would be the smart thing to do for the low mileage folks (IF they knew of this possibility).
Maybe a nonissue for most, but with proper information. Plus, engaging the brain when tired on Blood would entail setting up camp which...oh, can't do that... 5-7 miles may be easy for us, but perhaps not for the 70 plus seniors, and the 70 lb packers.
Rocketsocks +1. Get rid of those signs, and no need for handholding these new NOBOs. They can unpack their camp chair, axe, trowel, cot, etc and get along just fine until they get to Neels and get properly instructed...
first, if the alleged nbob "thrus" are only averaging 6 miles per day, they definitely will not be a "THRU" for long, they will be lucky to make it to Harpers Ferry by October.
a lot more information should be given??? perhaps he is correct, the AT should be reconfigured with Disney World type "guides", snack bars, water fountains, etc, and why can't the ATC install escalators on those darn hills?? it's too hard!! and there are too many rocks on the trail darn it!!! get those GA appalachian trail work crews out of the Dunkin Donut shops and out on the trail removing all those darn rocks!!
no trail magic at Jerrard Gap??? I never saw squat from Amicalola Falls to Hiawassee, no church group cookouts, no hamburgers, no ice cold sodas, NOTHING, it wasn't fair!!!!!! BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
the trail was in great shape from Unicoi to Woody???? but that section includes the section you were criticizing at Lance Creek and Jerrard Gap, so which is it?
why not reroute the trail thru Helen, GA where the hikers can bed down at the Swiss chalets? why not have full time masseusses at the shelters awaiting every "thru" with a relaxing massage, maybe a happy finish??
it's just not right ! its too hard!!
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." Isaac Asimov
Veni, Vidi, Velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
todays hikers don't know what real trail magic is. feeds ain't magic
Escalators and massuesses really do sound like great ideas!!!
Wow...much angst against those NOBOs. And for me, A SECTION HIKER, the trail was great...could not be any better.
I guess the regulation does state a quarter mile, the provided map makes the area look bigger than that. Wish I could make it to a trail register...but at my dayjob now...
I can just see all these newbs wandering a 1/4 mile off the trail to camp. SAR would be VERY busy......
Last edited by ChinMusic; 04-11-2012 at 11:24.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.