Hiking the first 100 miles of the AT Southbound

[OutlawBlues]

Some friends and I are planning a section hike for June 2014. This will be our first time on the AT. We want to hike the first 100 miles of the AT southbound from Winding Stair Gap to Amicalola Falls, which makes the total mileage 118.7. Our plan is to hike it in ten days. We are all in moderately good condition. We are all runners (12-20 miles per week). Below is the tentative plan. We plan on resupplying twice to decrease food weight. We are trying to do shorter miles in the beginning and planning on camping/hammocking near shelters most nights. Since this is our first trip, do you have any thoughts, tips, advice about our plans?

Here is the tentative schedule:

Day 1: Monday, June 9, 2014 - 8.8 miles to Big Spring Shelter
Day 2: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - 9.9 miles to Beech Gap campsite
Day 3: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - 9.3 miles to Muskrat Creek Shelter
Day 4: Thursday, June 12, 2014 - 12 miles to Dick's Creek Gap (Stay at the Budget Inn)
Day 5: Friday, June 13, 2014 - 10 miles to Tray Mountain Shelter
Day 6: Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 15 miles to Low Gap Shelter
Day 7: Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 10.8 miles to Neels Gap (Stay in Blood Mountain Cabins)
Day 8: Monday, June 16, 2014 - 15.6 miles to Gooch Mountain Shelter
Day 9: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 - 12.4 miles to Stover Creek Shelter
Day 10: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - 11.5 miles to Amicalola Falls

[Datto]

That's about the right amount of total time for this stretch of the AT. It's similar to what it took for me to hike this stretch northbound from Springer Mountain on my AT thru-hike, including resupply and days off.


Datto

[Datto]

Here's a link to my northbound AT thru-hike trail journal -- it has detailed measurements of miles per day that you can reverse to see the mileage I was hiking over that stretch of Trail.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=162039


Datto

[OutlawBlues]

Thanks for sharing. I see you did 13.6 and 11.7 the first two days and then 5.3 into Neel's Gap. Seems like big mileage the first two days. How did you feel when you got into Neel's Gap? And I am assuming you skipped the approach trail?

[Datto]

After the first day of hiking on my AT thru-hike, I was certainly tired and a little sore (not real sore, just more sore than I was expecting since I'd thought I was in pretty good shape). Several of us who had started our respective AT thru-hikes at Springer Mountain that day, independently had done the 13+ miles that first day and ended up camping in the same spot the first night of our AT thru-hikes (some were in good shape, some were not but were motivated). I provided after-dinner aperitifs (airplane size Bacardi) so we celebrated the first day of our AT thru-hikes together with cocktails. One guy who was just out of college and headed to armor school eventually became known by his trailname of Mouse Daddy (some mother mouse had babies in his backpack hanging from a mouse hanger in a shelter further up the Trail). Mac and Michele had camped there that night and I'd listened to them in their tent discussing why Mac couldn't do more miles. Ha. From the sound of it, Mac was pretty exhausted and Michele hadn't even gotten warmed up with "only" thirteen miles hiked that day. Riddler may have been there at that campsite that night too.

I hiked up the Approach Trail the day before starting my AT thru-hike (left Amicalola Visitor's Center at about 2:00pm and arrived at the top of Springer Mountain at about 6:30pm the same day). Going up the Approach Trail the day before hadn't seemed all that difficult to me but I was pretty excited about starting my AT thru-hike.


Datto

[Datto]

When I'd arrived at Neels Gap, I was doing pretty well -- surprisingly well actually. I was a bit tired but not overly so (as I remember, I'd only stayed one night at Goose Creek Cabins from Neels Gap -- that was to socialize mainly and to get pizza and to take it easy). I'd headed out northbound from Neels Gap late the following day to continue northward about 6:00pm. If I would have been exhausted I would have stayed a second night at Goose Creek Cabins and just relaxed there.

What was really surprising, and something I hadn't expected at Neels Gap and so early in my AT thru-hike, was how disorganized I had become in just a matter of days. Later on, somewhere further north around Atkins, VA, another thru-hiker explained it to me that my aperture had opened up (as he had explained it). That was a perfect way of describing what I was experiencing -- my aperture would open up while I was hiking on the Trail. When I would get to town, the noise and task list and other disturbances would cause great confusion for someone like me who was used to beating through a task list/daily-made-to-do-list at work prior to starting my AT thru-hike.

I had noticed other AT thru-hikers mentioning similar things happening to them too -- the disruption in the flow of things when they'd got to town and the relief it was to have finally arrived back at the Trail and hiking northward again.

For me, what would happen, in the beginning month or two of my AT thru-hike, was when I would get to town I just couldn't get much done except vegging out most of the time. As if I would easily become mentally exhausted when I hit town. Not my usual personality but it was something I'd noticed in myself as well as in other hikers. At Hot Springs, NC you could pick out the AT thru-hikers -- an ambulance came through town with the siren on and all the non-hikers were looking to see where the ambulance was headed while all the AT thru-hikers were cringing with their hands covering their ears.

Much later on in my AT thru-hike I regained the ability to shut out much of the confusion from getting to town while still keeping my aperture well open so I could enjoy town, get my chores done and still not have to wait much to get back to experience all the peace from hiking on the Trail when I'd returned to the Trail from town.

Possibly people who don't have a stressful job wouldn't notice much of a difference.


Datto

[Datto]

One other thing to consider also -- my pack at the weigh-in at the Amicalola Visitors Center was 37 pounds with 2 liters of water and food to get to Neels Gap. That's pretty heavy considering todays standards but at the time it hadn't bothered me much.

In later hikes after the AT I would realize that for the first couple of weeks of a long-distance hike, my appetite would disappear. That's probably not normal but it has been true for me on all of my long-distance hikes. Because of that, I can shave pack weight in the beginning of a long-distance hike because I know I won't be hungry.


Datto

[OutlawBlues]

Thanks for the info. This will only be a section hike so I am sure I will get things figured out on Day 10 when I am getting off trail! I have been hiking for about 5 years on two to four day trips and I have been working on going lighter each trip. Right now my base weight is 18-19 lbs and my goal is to get it down to 15 lbs by next summer. With food and water I want my total pack weight to be below 23 lbs.

[daddytwosticks]

Big Springs Shelter no longer exists (torn down) and camping is not permitted around the area. Long Branch Shelter - 2 miles north of the old Big Springs Shelter - is the replacement.

[Slo-go'en]

Once you get up and over Blood Mountain, the rest of the way to Springer is actually pretty easy, then heading down the approch trail is no big deal. Your itineray is pretty reasonable. Have fun!

[OutlawBlues]

No Big Spring Shelter? Well that changes everything. I don't know if I want to stop 2 miles north of Big Springs because, as we are traveling southbound, that will only be 6.8 miles on our first day. Maybe we press on South of Albert Mountain and camp at Betty Creek Gap (mile 97.8), that would make day one 12.1 miles. I am not sure if that will work, because we are getting a late start on Day 1 as we will be taking a shuttle from Amicalola to Winding Stair Gap on Day 1. Are there any other campsites close to Albert Mountain?

[OutlawBlues]

If there are no other places to camp then I may change the first four days to look like this:
Option #1
Day 1: 11.9 miles to Betty Creek Gap campsite
Day 2: 11.3 miles to Standing Indian Shelter
Day 3: 12.2 miles to Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Day 4: 4.6 miles to Dick's Creek Gap

This would mean 12s instead of 9s the first three day. And up and over Albert Mt (Day 1) and up and over Standing Indian Mt (Day 2).

The other possibility would be:
Option #2
Day 1: 6.8 miles to Long Branch Shelter
Day 2: 11.9 miles to Beech Gap campsite
Day 3: 9.3 miles to Muskrat Creek Shelter
Day 4: 12 miles to Dick's Creek Gap (Stay at the Budget Inn)

Easy miles Day 1 and then longer on Day 4, but I think I would prefer Option #1 with low miles into Dick's Creek so we have more R&R time in Hiawassee.

[MuddyWaters]

Distances will depend on your physical shape, your pack weight, water availability.

Why is a shelter always your destination for the night? No need to be close to a shelter. Although at that time they wont be crowded.

Normal modus operandi is to stop at a shelter around 4-5pm. Eat dinner and rest, then hike on a few more hrs and find a place to tent. Best hiking of the day.

Good idea to reduce your base weight. What about your hiking partners?

Personally, in that stretch Id just carry all my food and only resupply at Neels gap. Other resupplies arent convenient and will waste a lot of time.

If you are avoiding carrying food to keep your pack light, you are carrying too much other stuff.

If you are in shape runners, and can keep your packs under 30 lbs, you should be able to do 12-15 mpd no problem.

[OutlawBlues]

My thought is to hike to a shelter each night for the convenience of having water and a privy close. Plus it will be nice to have a a place to sit in order to rest and eat. My goal is to have my total weight under 23 Lbs (15 lb base, 6 lbs food, 2 lbs water). I could carry more food but why not resupply in Hiawassee?

I am encouraging my hiking partners to get their total weight under 30lbs. We are all in pretty good shape.

[MuddyWaters]

but why not resupply in Hiawassee?

You may find you hike farther than you are planning, such that Hiaw. is only 2.5 days from your start. Very soon to leave the trail.

More hassle than its worth.

~5 days food to Neels, 3 days to Amicalola is about right.

You wont be carrying breakfast the day you start, or dinner the day you get to Neels either. So even if it takes 6 days, you are only carrying about 5.33 days food.

But really all depends on your ACTUAL pace. Dont sell yourself short. Sitting around 1/2 the day with nothing to do is no fun. Theres nothing else to do out there but walk.

[OutlawBlues]

You know you are right. I see what you are saying. I could save the hassle of going to Hiawassee (plus the money) and increase our mileage and get to Neels in five days. I could cut a whole day from the trip (making it easier to get off work) and do the trip in nine days like this:

Day 1: 11.9 miles to Betty Creek Gap campsite

Day 2: 11.3 miles to Standing Indian Shelter

Day 3: 12.2 miles to Plumorchard Gap Shelter

Day 4: 15.5 miles to Trey Mt. Shelter

Day 5: 15 miles to Low Gap shelter

Day 6: 10.8 miles to Neels Gap

Day 7: 15.6 miles Gooch Mountain Shelter

Day 8: 12.4 miles to Stover Creek Shelter

Day 9: 11.5 miles to Amicalola

That would be 4 full days and 2 half days worth of food before resupplying at Neels. I think that will work. Thoughts?

[MuddyWaters]

Thats fair, and a bit to the low side actually for fit persons with light packs.

Remember that in June you will have about 14.5 hrs of daylight.

Much different from April thru hiker season.

Sunrise at 630am, sunset at almost 9pm.

Thats the problem stopping at 4pm, you have 5 hrs till its dark.

You can always do a couple more miles after resting for an hour and eating dinner

[OutlawBlues]

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't thought about all the daylight we will have. I think I will go with this nine day plan. I am glad it is on the low end of mileage. I don't want to be in a hurry. I want to have plenty of time to stop and look around! And obviously our schedule it tentative so we could hike longer if we want. Thanks for the help.

[OutlawBlues]

I would love to hear from anyone who has actually hiked the Georgia Section southbound. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?