Appalachian Trail, Section One

Before I start my section hike in a few days with hiking buddy, Diane, I wanted to include a few posts about our other sections on the AT.  This first section was my first on the AT, but Gene had previously done several hundred miles from Springer to somewhere in Virginia as well as the 100 mile wilderness in Maine.  This story took place in September, 2003.

The Southern terminus of the AT--Springer Mountain, GA

Most folks who aspire to thru-hike (complete the entire length of the trail in one season) the Appalachian Trail begin at the southern terminus, Springer Mountain in Georgia. They start at Amicalola Falls State Park and hike the approach trail to the beginning of the AT. Even though we were doing only a small section, we thought we might as well begin at what most would consider the beginning. Gene had previously hiked the approach trail which is a difficult climb and personally I just can’t see doing a bunch of hard miles that won’t even count toward the AT mileage. So we opted to drive up US Forest Service road 42 and hike the mile back to the beginning at Springer Mountain. We were already in Georgia for a family reunion over the Labor Day weekend and my parents were kind enough to go with us to the trail and drive our car back to Nashville.

Repacking food at Neel's Gap, GA

My mother is real fond of picnics and to get us started we had a little tailgate party. She is also a hiker and began our journey with us as we hiked back to the beginning of the trail. We all signed the trail register. Then we were on our way north. This first section was from Springer Mountain, GA to Newfound Gap in the Smokies—a distance of some 200 miles. We had the month of September for the hike.

Our new tent which we bought at Neel's Gap.  Sierra Designs Astroid

We had read book after book written by those who had hiked the trail and we had soaked up all the information we could from the internet. We were as prepared as well as we felt we could be, however, no amount of reading can prepare you for the real thing. For that matter, no amount of day hiking can prepare you for the long distance hike. Perhaps the best thing we did was to keep our daily mileage low. We didn’t go out there in race mode. We set a pace of about 8 miles a day and gradually increased to 12 a day. The mileage was low enough, especially in the beginning, that we were not totally exhausted when we got to our camping place at the end of the day. We had time to relax and clean up before dinner. It made the whole hike more pleasant.

Drying out very wet boots at Fontana.

We were lucky with the weather that first section. It rained several times, but often the worst rains were the day before we were in town. Being able to dry out gear and wash wet clothes is a big morale booster. Of course, two of the worst rain storms I have ever been in occurred on this section, but in both instances, we were just a day out of town. How lucky can you get. The first of these was the night before going into Neel's Gap when the tent leaked and we had to buy a new one. The other was the day we went down into Fontana.

Albert Mountain

Although we had been on many weekend backpacking trips and had spent a week in the high Sierras, this was the first time for a hike of this length. We quickly learned we needed to become for efficient, especially in pitching and taking down camp. Our tasks emerged and we soon became a good working team. When we arrived at our camp site for the night, Gene would usually help me pitch the tent then he would fetch water while I got sleeping gear unrolled and organized inside the tent. We like getting into camp early enough to wash up before dinner, which meant many mornings we were up before daylight. Gene would get the food down and start coffee while I stuffed sleeping bags and rolled pads. We were satisfied with our routine in the afternoon, but we never got the morning to where we were completely comfortable with our performance.

On the trail as it goes through the breezeway at Walasi-Yi Center at Neel's Gap

The whole trip was a great learning experience. Perhaps my journal entry for the last day of our trip says it best.

Looking toward the Smokies from Wayah Bald fire tower.

Gatlinburg—BestWestern. 203 miles. I did it!! What a great feeling. The trail was a challenge right up to the last step—up and over Clingman’s Dome in a misting rain and cold wind. As we passed Little Indian Gap the sky opened up and the rain poured down on us as we went over the last mountain before Newfound Gap. Salamanders shared the trail with us. Once again, soaked to the bone. But what a wonderful sight mother was as we crossed Newfound Gap Road. I am filled with mixed emotions. The shower and dry clothes are wonderful. I want to see family and friends. But I don’t want to leave the trail. It has been a great experience and I don’t want to let go.

At Nantahala Outdoor Center

It was on this first AT section that I discovered I enjoyed long distance hiking.