Unicoi Gap to Neels Gap
Unicoi Gap to Neels Gap
May 19 – 21, 2005
May 19, 2005
After a long 9 months of staying close to home caring for sick folks, Tripper and I finally got away to do a weekend of hiking. We were not in trail condition at all. We decided to do a 20-mile section in North Georgia albeit not rated as an easy section by anyone who has hiked it. I had made arrangements with Josh and Leigh Saint at the Hiker Hostel near Dahlonega, Georgia to do our shuttle and they reserved us a private room in their hostel. For any hikes on the Georgia section of the AT as well as other activities in that area they are well situated to take care of whatever you need. I made the arrangements a couple of weeks in advance and they furnished directions right to their door. We were very pleased with their service and will use them again when in that area.
It started pouring down rain just as we arrived at the hostel, 2:36 p.m.cst, which by the way, is also Josh and Leigh's home. It is a beautiful log cabin with a full porch across the front and back. We sat in the car for almost 30 minutes waiting for the rain to slack. Finally it did and we loaded our gear in Josh’s vehicle and were on our way to Unicoi Gap. Josh and his wife, Leigh, thru-hiked in 2000 as Profile and Almanac. The conversation with Josh made us forget about the curvy roads through the North Georgia Mountains. Tripper is prone to motion sickness and I was afraid the winding, twisting turns would make her sick. But she made it this time without any ill affects.
Josh helped us unload at Unicoi Gap, elevation 2949 feet, and warned us of approaching bad weather. He advised us to stay at a shelter for the night, which we intended to do anyway. One reason we decided to hike this section north to south was the first shelter, Blue Mountain, is only 2.2 miles away from our starting point. I knew we would get a late afternoon start. It was 3:33 p.m. when we started our hike. The temps were just about right; low to mid 60’s with partly cloudy skies.
The trail leaves the highway and starts up hill quickly, climbing through switchbacks. Tripper stopped after just a short distance and unzipped the bottom half of her pant legs off. There were wildflowers everywhere and Tripper identified the ones she recognized as we continued to hike. The Azaleas were opening up in beautiful blooms. A friend, Bookburner, on the website WhiteBlaze told me it had been cooler than normal in the North Georgia mountains and that showed in the foliage. The hardwoods have not leafed out nearly as much, especially at the higher elevations. At 4:15 p.m. we stopped at a huge tree that has been cut out of the trail and ate a Snicker's bar. We each had a quart of Gatorade with us. There is a spring close to the shelter so we didn't pack any extra water.
We finally reached the ridgecrest at 4:48 p.m. There is an established campsite just as the trail reaches the ridgecrest. We heard what we thought was a bear not far down trail from the first campsite. Something big ran downhill off the trail just a short distance in front of us. It made much more noise than a deer. We stopped and listened but never could see anything. I didn't go off trail very far as the sides of this section were covered with poison ivy. And I didn't want to meet the bear coming back uphill to see who disturbed him. A few yards up the trail and we found his scat and tracks. I don't know if we scared the scat out of him or not but he probably would have out of us if he hadn't run. So we had come close to seeing a bear. We've never seen one on the AT.
The trail across the top of Blue Mountain, elevation 4025 feet, follows the ridgecrest for almost a mile. There are a couple more established campsites before the ones at the shelter. We turned off onto the blueblazed trail to the Blue Mountain Shelter at 5:23 p.m. It had taken us an hour and 50 minutes to hike the 2.2 miles from Unicoi Gap. The shelter is only a couple hundred feet off the AT. As we approached the shelter the smell of mothballs filled the air. Someone has thrown several dozen mothballs under the shelter. My guess is to help control the mice that are active in most shelters. If that is the case, it worked. We didn't see or hear the first mouse while at Blue Mountain Shelter. Apparently mice have been a problem here as there is a "Mouse Kill" tally marked on the shelter wall. Currently the tally stands at 34, which may also be the reason there were no mice.
Blue Mountain Shelter was built in 1988 and has the reputation of being very windy. We found that to be true during our stay also. The shelter was clean and has a porch with small pea sized gravel to walk on under the porch overhang. The shelter might have room for 8 hikers but it would be tight. There is the normal graffiti on the shelter walls. The bear cables are just a few feet away from the shelter. There is no privy. The shelter faces almost due East and is near the end of a point off the ridgeline.
We had just laid our bags and pads out when a young man, trailname Snot, came up, threw his pack down and fell to the ground in exhaustion. He was tired and said he and a friend had hiked just over 16 miles since morning. His friend, trailname Cambridge, had stopped at the shelter water source before coming to the shelter. Later as they were finishing supper, we talked a while and they told us they only have 95 days left to finish the entire trail. Cambridge, from New York, is a Finance Major at St. Bonaventure and Snot is a bio chemist major at Clemson in South Carolina.
Tripper and I ate at the nearest fire ring to the shelter. We were trying a no-cook trip this time. I had brought my alcohol stove and 6 ounces of fuel just in case we needed it but we didn't intend on using it except to heat water for coffee or hot chocolate. Our supper was grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread with mustard and mayo (made at home), a fruit snack and we shared a snicker candy bar. We drank Gatorade with the meal. Not our usual supper fare but it was good.
We've made it a practice to hang our packs and food on the bear cables each night. I usually bring a contractor size heavy-duty garbage bag and both our packs fit inside. We tie the packs together with a short cord through the hand hold strap, twist and tie the bag closed around the cord, slide a CD over the cord and tie the bag to the bear cable hangers provided at some of the shelters. Under the CD I tie a hitch knot around a small stick that supports the CD between the top of the bag and the hanger. This acts as a mouse shield. We've never had a mouse to get into our bags doing them this way.
The temperature was nice as darkness fell. At 9 p.m. I could still see good enough to tell the time of day from my watch. After sundown, the near full moon lit up the ground around the shelter. Another couple, a man and lady with a pair of dogs, arrived just a few minutes before sundown. We found out later that they were thru hikers also. I failed to get their names. They set up a tent and never came to the shelter. The dogs were well behaved and carrying their own backpacks. Cambridge and Snot joined us the shelter before dark.
May 20, 2005
A terrible storm moved in around 1 a.m. and continued for over 3 hours. Strong winds, loud thunder, vivid lightning and heavy rain made me very glad we were in the shelter. I thought the guys in the tent would join us to escape the storm but they rode it out in the tent with their dogs. The first wave of storms ended about 3:30 a.m. but another one came through just about day break and lasted for an hour. More of the same but this time it didn't last as long.
I dropped our bags from the bear cable after the storms finished around 6 a.m. Patsy and I ate granola bars for breakfast, packed our gear and were on the trail again by 7 a.m. Cambridge and Snot hadn't even started packing to leave. I mentioned to Tripper that with the mileage they've got to make, they couldn't afford to have very many late starts if they hoped to finish the entire trail in 95 days. They had been on the trail for 5 days, covering only 48 miles so far. Good luck to them.
The spring that is the nearest water source for the shelter in just off the trail on the right as we head south. It is flowing well and I took a picture of it as we passed. The trail is very rocky and I was looking for some trees to be blown across it after the storms of last night. We made it to an established campsite the Guidebook calls the former location of Rocky Knob shelter in 22 minutes. The trail was surrounded by wildflowers along the entire section. Tripper identified them for me and I took several photos as we hiked. The first colorful flowers were Azaleas. We saw orange, yellow and pink colored azaleas. Tripper said the pink ones were called Flame Azaleas. They were beautiful and plentiful.
The next landmark we could recognize was Chattahoochee Gap, elevation 3500 feet, mainly because there was a sign there. We had hiked 1.7 miles in one and half-hours. I have trouble knowing where I'm at while on the trail. The guidebooks gives mileage and names of the various locations the trail winds through but after a while all the gaps and peaks get mixed up in my mind. I usually have to wait until a definite landmark or sign before I know where I'm at along the trail.
Chattahoochee Spring is located a couple of hundred yards down a steep blue blazed trail. Wingfoot's handbook said it was a half-mile off the trail but we made it in less than 10 minutes so it can't be that far. It is a very steep trail however. And disappointing. The Thru Hiker Companion says this spring is the source of the Chattahoochee River that provides Atlanta and a large portion of Georgia with drinking water. We expected a grand spring with maybe a cascading water fall but no, just a small spring flowing from underground and running off down the mountain side. We got a couple of bottles of water and climbed back to the Gap.
It was 9 a.m. and we decided to take a break. We sat down on a log in an abandoned roadbed and Tripper surprised me by pulling out a Mountain Dew and a Pepsi she had packed in. We ate another grilled cheese sandwich and Snickers candy bar. Just as were finishing our snack, the rain started. We started out of Chattahoochee Gap at 9:22 a.m. in the rain. It rained for the next 2.5 hours although not a continuous heavy rain. The trail became a steady stream 2 and 3 inches deep. We met several hikers along the section between Chattahoochee Gap and Low Gap shelter. We didn't talk much more than a greeting as we passed each other because of the heavy rain. Even with the rain falling this section was very fragrant. Tripper thought it was because of the Azaleas blooming everywhere. Other wildflowers in abundance were May Apples, Umbrella leaf, all kinds of Trillium, False Solomon's Seal, ferns of all sizes, Blackberries, Squaw-root, Daisies, and even a few Rhododendrons blooming out. The trail climbed out of Chattahoochee Gap and after a couple of steep ups and downs followed the old road bed starting in Cold Springs Gap, elevation 3450 feet, for almost 3 miles. It was 10:19 a.m. when we made it to Cold Springs Gap. It was almost noon when we turned toward the shelter at Low Gap, elevation 3050 feet.
Our original intentions were to spend the night at Low Gap Shelter. We had made it so early that after lunch we decided to hike further. A couple of guys from Maryland had spent the night at the shelter and were waiting the rain out before hitting the trail again. They told us the hike from Neels Gap to here had been the toughest of their trip so far. One of them said," besides being steep, someone has thrown a bunch of rocks in the trail too." They were heading to Blue Mountain Shelter for the night. They warned us that the mice here had learned how to get around the bear cable mice guards somehow and each of their packs had been invaded last night by mice. I boiled some water for hot chocolate as the rain had chilled us to the point of being uncomfortable. Peanut butter, wheat crackers, beef jerky and another candy bar with hot chocolate warmed us quickly enough. This shelter had a table available but no privy.Another man and his wife joined us as we ate lunch. They had tented last night on the ridgecrest and said the wind was terrible; almost collapsing their tent during the storm last night.
We left Low Gap Shelter at 1:17 p.m. and began the steady climb to Sheep Rock Top, elevation 3575 feet. As we started down toward Wide Gap, we met a thru hiker want-to- be, James from Santa Cruz, California. He was very excited about thru hiking and we wished him well. Just a few minutes behind James we met, not all together, Dave, Dan, Nick (Flatus), Ryan (Cherry Bomb) and Omri, from Israel. Omri was disappointed when we told him he was still a mile or so away from Low Gap Shelter. We reached Wide Gap, elevation 3150 at 2:25 p.m. covering the 1.7 miles in 68 minutes. For the first time today the sky has cleared and we finally got some views of the surrounding mountains. It had been overcast and rainy most of the day. Off to our left was a very tall mountain. I wondered if that was Brasstown Bald, one of the, if not the highest points in Georgia.
The trail turned up again leaving Wide Gap gaining 500 feet without switchbacks in 6 tenths of a mile to the top of Poor Mountain. Just a few hundred yards before Hogpen Gap a man and his wife from San Diego, California stopped and talked with us. They were visiting the area and just wanted to "hike a little on the famous Appalachian Trail." We stopped at the highway, the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway, for a photo beside the nice stone monument that identified this place as Hogpen Gap. It was 4:30 p.m.
The trail parallels the highway for a couple of hundred feet and then turns into the Raven Cliff Wilderness. A blueblazed trail marks the way to the next water source that was about 200 feet off the AT. I filled up a couple of our bottles while Tripper waited on the trail.
The climb up Wildcat Mountain was steep but is only 2 tenths of a mile and had switchbacks. Just as the trail climbed out on the ridge crest there was a sign pointing to Whitley Gap Shelter, 1.2 miles off the AT. Josh confirmed my suspicions later that the reason the shelter was so far off the AT was because the trail is in a designated wilderness area and no structures are allowed inside the wilderness. We decided not to add the extra mileage to our tired feet and looked for a space to set our tent for the night. Just a few yards up the trail we found an excellent spot on the ridgecrest. No obvious "widow makers" above and a soft bed of grass beneath. It has an overlook into Town Creek gorge, 1200 feet deep according to the Guidebook, and a view of Cowrock Mountain. With a little cooperation from the weather we could see the sunset and sunrise from our tent. It started to sprinkle as we were setting up our tent and we barely had it ready when the rain started to fall heavy again at 5:30 p.m. We set in the tent and made notes about our day in my journal as we waited for the rain to stop. The rain stopped after about 30 minutes.
We ate supper on the rock overlooking Town Creek Gorge. The sun peeked through the clouds and over our tent was a rainbow. I tried to take several photos of the rainbow but none of them turned out as vivid as it really was. I mess up a lot of "Kodak moments" by not knowing how to use a camera properly. We finished supper and got our bear bag ready. We have it secured in no time and walked around the area just a little. It had gotten much cooler since the rain and we headed for the warmth of the tent and sleeping bags around 7 p.m. We had hiked 11.6 miles today.
May 21, 2005
We both woke up several times during the night with the wind howling across the ridgecrest. The wind had cleared the clouds away and the near full moon was very bright. I woke up for good at 4:30 a.m. and set up looking out at the sky. The constellations were much clearer here away from the light pollution of city lights, especially after the moon had set. I watched the sunrise from the tent also. Then, while we were packing our gear, clouds roll in and we were swamped in a thick, wet cloud. Our tent, which had dried during the stiff wind of the night, was soaked again. Just a few minutes ago the visibility was probably 40 to 50 miles now it's not even 40 to 50 feet! We decided to skip breakfast until we hiked down off the ridge to Tesnatee Gap, less than a mile away. We left the campsite at 6 a.m.
Just a few hundred feet down the trail there are a couple more campsites that would have been protected from the wind but with the sacrifice of the East view. Tripper wanted to check out a hot spot on her foot and we dropped our packs while she put duct tape over the area that was bothering her. I didn't remember packing my headlight in the scramble this morning to get off the ridge. I know it was in the tent but neither of us remembered packing it when we cleaned the tent out. I started back to look for it after not finding it in it's normal spot in my pack. As I started up the trail, I zipped my raincoat up to keep the wind out and felt my headlight around my neck. I had pulled it on over my head to keep up with it and forgot all about it. We both got quite a laugh out of that.
The trail descended steeply to Tesnatee Gap, elevation 3138 feet. We moved off to one side of the parking area and prepared breakfast. I heated more water for hot chocolate and coffee and we finished off our bacon, beef jerky and granola bars. As we were finishing breakfast, another hiker joined us headed to Neels Gap also. It was Alaska Bob, from Fairbanks, Alaska. He was section hiking by himself. He said he moves his truck to a trailhead further north, hikes south until he reaches the last place he hiked to and then doubles back to his truck. He was friendly and a fast hiker. He was out of sight in no time as we left the Gap almost together, leaving at 7:32 a.m.
The trail reached to the top of Cowrock Mountain, elevation 3842 feet, and almost immediately dropped off again. We were completely covered with clouds so the views were not there. This part of the trail has much fewer trees. I wondered if this area had been clear cut 30 or 40 years ago and just had not recovered. Pig-weed was the most abundant weed along the trail mixed with a healthy portion of Poison Ivy which is everywhere in these mountains. Along one section of the trail we walked under a canopy of Basswood Trees and in another section a tunnel of rhododendrons some of which were just starting to bloom. We finally reached Rock Spring Top, elevation 3526 feet, at 10:05 a.m. and took a break. We covered 2.7 miles in 2 hours and 33 minutes. We knew today was going to be rough and were glad we decided to hike on instead of staying at Low Gap Shelter as we originally planned. The trail is steep and rocky.
We met another thru hiker after climbing Levelland Mountain, elevation 3942 feet. Brooks was from Dallas, Texas and had worked at Philmont Scout Ranch for a couple of summers. In just a few minutes we met Alaska Bob again, doubling back toward Low Gap Shelter where he planned to spend the night. We sat down to rest at Bull Gap, elevation 3644 feet, only 1.1 mile away from Neels Gap, at 11:30 a.m. We walked through the archway of the Walasi-Yi inn at Neels Gap at 12:05 p.m. Total mileage for today 6.2 miles. Jerry, an employee at the Mountain Crossing store, called Josh for us and he arrived in about 20 minutes. We ate a Klondike bar and drank a Coke while waiting on him. Another section of the AT completed. We really enjoyed this section of trail. Most of the time clouds and fog obscured the views but that kept the temperatures nice and cool. It is much tougher than the first section from Springer Mountain to Neels Gap. It was a real workout for us.
Uncle Wayne and Tripper
May 19 – 21, 2005
May 19, 2005
After a long 9 months of staying close to home caring for sick folks, Tripper and I finally got away to do a weekend of hiking. We were not in trail condition at all. We decided to do a 20-mile section in North Georgia albeit not rated as an easy section by anyone who has hiked it. I had made arrangements with Josh and Leigh Saint at the Hiker Hostel near Dahlonega, Georgia to do our shuttle and they reserved us a private room in their hostel. For any hikes on the Georgia section of the AT as well as other activities in that area they are well situated to take care of whatever you need. I made the arrangements a couple of weeks in advance and they furnished directions right to their door. We were very pleased with their service and will use them again when in that area.
It started pouring down rain just as we arrived at the hostel, 2:36 p.m.cst, which by the way, is also Josh and Leigh's home. It is a beautiful log cabin with a full porch across the front and back. We sat in the car for almost 30 minutes waiting for the rain to slack. Finally it did and we loaded our gear in Josh’s vehicle and were on our way to Unicoi Gap. Josh and his wife, Leigh, thru-hiked in 2000 as Profile and Almanac. The conversation with Josh made us forget about the curvy roads through the North Georgia Mountains. Tripper is prone to motion sickness and I was afraid the winding, twisting turns would make her sick. But she made it this time without any ill affects.
Josh helped us unload at Unicoi Gap, elevation 2949 feet, and warned us of approaching bad weather. He advised us to stay at a shelter for the night, which we intended to do anyway. One reason we decided to hike this section north to south was the first shelter, Blue Mountain, is only 2.2 miles away from our starting point. I knew we would get a late afternoon start. It was 3:33 p.m. when we started our hike. The temps were just about right; low to mid 60’s with partly cloudy skies.
The trail leaves the highway and starts up hill quickly, climbing through switchbacks. Tripper stopped after just a short distance and unzipped the bottom half of her pant legs off. There were wildflowers everywhere and Tripper identified the ones she recognized as we continued to hike. The Azaleas were opening up in beautiful blooms. A friend, Bookburner, on the website WhiteBlaze told me it had been cooler than normal in the North Georgia mountains and that showed in the foliage. The hardwoods have not leafed out nearly as much, especially at the higher elevations. At 4:15 p.m. we stopped at a huge tree that has been cut out of the trail and ate a Snicker's bar. We each had a quart of Gatorade with us. There is a spring close to the shelter so we didn't pack any extra water.
We finally reached the ridgecrest at 4:48 p.m. There is an established campsite just as the trail reaches the ridgecrest. We heard what we thought was a bear not far down trail from the first campsite. Something big ran downhill off the trail just a short distance in front of us. It made much more noise than a deer. We stopped and listened but never could see anything. I didn't go off trail very far as the sides of this section were covered with poison ivy. And I didn't want to meet the bear coming back uphill to see who disturbed him. A few yards up the trail and we found his scat and tracks. I don't know if we scared the scat out of him or not but he probably would have out of us if he hadn't run. So we had come close to seeing a bear. We've never seen one on the AT.
The trail across the top of Blue Mountain, elevation 4025 feet, follows the ridgecrest for almost a mile. There are a couple more established campsites before the ones at the shelter. We turned off onto the blueblazed trail to the Blue Mountain Shelter at 5:23 p.m. It had taken us an hour and 50 minutes to hike the 2.2 miles from Unicoi Gap. The shelter is only a couple hundred feet off the AT. As we approached the shelter the smell of mothballs filled the air. Someone has thrown several dozen mothballs under the shelter. My guess is to help control the mice that are active in most shelters. If that is the case, it worked. We didn't see or hear the first mouse while at Blue Mountain Shelter. Apparently mice have been a problem here as there is a "Mouse Kill" tally marked on the shelter wall. Currently the tally stands at 34, which may also be the reason there were no mice.
Blue Mountain Shelter was built in 1988 and has the reputation of being very windy. We found that to be true during our stay also. The shelter was clean and has a porch with small pea sized gravel to walk on under the porch overhang. The shelter might have room for 8 hikers but it would be tight. There is the normal graffiti on the shelter walls. The bear cables are just a few feet away from the shelter. There is no privy. The shelter faces almost due East and is near the end of a point off the ridgeline.
We had just laid our bags and pads out when a young man, trailname Snot, came up, threw his pack down and fell to the ground in exhaustion. He was tired and said he and a friend had hiked just over 16 miles since morning. His friend, trailname Cambridge, had stopped at the shelter water source before coming to the shelter. Later as they were finishing supper, we talked a while and they told us they only have 95 days left to finish the entire trail. Cambridge, from New York, is a Finance Major at St. Bonaventure and Snot is a bio chemist major at Clemson in South Carolina.
Tripper and I ate at the nearest fire ring to the shelter. We were trying a no-cook trip this time. I had brought my alcohol stove and 6 ounces of fuel just in case we needed it but we didn't intend on using it except to heat water for coffee or hot chocolate. Our supper was grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread with mustard and mayo (made at home), a fruit snack and we shared a snicker candy bar. We drank Gatorade with the meal. Not our usual supper fare but it was good.
We've made it a practice to hang our packs and food on the bear cables each night. I usually bring a contractor size heavy-duty garbage bag and both our packs fit inside. We tie the packs together with a short cord through the hand hold strap, twist and tie the bag closed around the cord, slide a CD over the cord and tie the bag to the bear cable hangers provided at some of the shelters. Under the CD I tie a hitch knot around a small stick that supports the CD between the top of the bag and the hanger. This acts as a mouse shield. We've never had a mouse to get into our bags doing them this way.
The temperature was nice as darkness fell. At 9 p.m. I could still see good enough to tell the time of day from my watch. After sundown, the near full moon lit up the ground around the shelter. Another couple, a man and lady with a pair of dogs, arrived just a few minutes before sundown. We found out later that they were thru hikers also. I failed to get their names. They set up a tent and never came to the shelter. The dogs were well behaved and carrying their own backpacks. Cambridge and Snot joined us the shelter before dark.
May 20, 2005
A terrible storm moved in around 1 a.m. and continued for over 3 hours. Strong winds, loud thunder, vivid lightning and heavy rain made me very glad we were in the shelter. I thought the guys in the tent would join us to escape the storm but they rode it out in the tent with their dogs. The first wave of storms ended about 3:30 a.m. but another one came through just about day break and lasted for an hour. More of the same but this time it didn't last as long.
I dropped our bags from the bear cable after the storms finished around 6 a.m. Patsy and I ate granola bars for breakfast, packed our gear and were on the trail again by 7 a.m. Cambridge and Snot hadn't even started packing to leave. I mentioned to Tripper that with the mileage they've got to make, they couldn't afford to have very many late starts if they hoped to finish the entire trail in 95 days. They had been on the trail for 5 days, covering only 48 miles so far. Good luck to them.
The spring that is the nearest water source for the shelter in just off the trail on the right as we head south. It is flowing well and I took a picture of it as we passed. The trail is very rocky and I was looking for some trees to be blown across it after the storms of last night. We made it to an established campsite the Guidebook calls the former location of Rocky Knob shelter in 22 minutes. The trail was surrounded by wildflowers along the entire section. Tripper identified them for me and I took several photos as we hiked. The first colorful flowers were Azaleas. We saw orange, yellow and pink colored azaleas. Tripper said the pink ones were called Flame Azaleas. They were beautiful and plentiful.
The next landmark we could recognize was Chattahoochee Gap, elevation 3500 feet, mainly because there was a sign there. We had hiked 1.7 miles in one and half-hours. I have trouble knowing where I'm at while on the trail. The guidebooks gives mileage and names of the various locations the trail winds through but after a while all the gaps and peaks get mixed up in my mind. I usually have to wait until a definite landmark or sign before I know where I'm at along the trail.
Chattahoochee Spring is located a couple of hundred yards down a steep blue blazed trail. Wingfoot's handbook said it was a half-mile off the trail but we made it in less than 10 minutes so it can't be that far. It is a very steep trail however. And disappointing. The Thru Hiker Companion says this spring is the source of the Chattahoochee River that provides Atlanta and a large portion of Georgia with drinking water. We expected a grand spring with maybe a cascading water fall but no, just a small spring flowing from underground and running off down the mountain side. We got a couple of bottles of water and climbed back to the Gap.
It was 9 a.m. and we decided to take a break. We sat down on a log in an abandoned roadbed and Tripper surprised me by pulling out a Mountain Dew and a Pepsi she had packed in. We ate another grilled cheese sandwich and Snickers candy bar. Just as were finishing our snack, the rain started. We started out of Chattahoochee Gap at 9:22 a.m. in the rain. It rained for the next 2.5 hours although not a continuous heavy rain. The trail became a steady stream 2 and 3 inches deep. We met several hikers along the section between Chattahoochee Gap and Low Gap shelter. We didn't talk much more than a greeting as we passed each other because of the heavy rain. Even with the rain falling this section was very fragrant. Tripper thought it was because of the Azaleas blooming everywhere. Other wildflowers in abundance were May Apples, Umbrella leaf, all kinds of Trillium, False Solomon's Seal, ferns of all sizes, Blackberries, Squaw-root, Daisies, and even a few Rhododendrons blooming out. The trail climbed out of Chattahoochee Gap and after a couple of steep ups and downs followed the old road bed starting in Cold Springs Gap, elevation 3450 feet, for almost 3 miles. It was 10:19 a.m. when we made it to Cold Springs Gap. It was almost noon when we turned toward the shelter at Low Gap, elevation 3050 feet.
Our original intentions were to spend the night at Low Gap Shelter. We had made it so early that after lunch we decided to hike further. A couple of guys from Maryland had spent the night at the shelter and were waiting the rain out before hitting the trail again. They told us the hike from Neels Gap to here had been the toughest of their trip so far. One of them said," besides being steep, someone has thrown a bunch of rocks in the trail too." They were heading to Blue Mountain Shelter for the night. They warned us that the mice here had learned how to get around the bear cable mice guards somehow and each of their packs had been invaded last night by mice. I boiled some water for hot chocolate as the rain had chilled us to the point of being uncomfortable. Peanut butter, wheat crackers, beef jerky and another candy bar with hot chocolate warmed us quickly enough. This shelter had a table available but no privy.Another man and his wife joined us as we ate lunch. They had tented last night on the ridgecrest and said the wind was terrible; almost collapsing their tent during the storm last night.
We left Low Gap Shelter at 1:17 p.m. and began the steady climb to Sheep Rock Top, elevation 3575 feet. As we started down toward Wide Gap, we met a thru hiker want-to- be, James from Santa Cruz, California. He was very excited about thru hiking and we wished him well. Just a few minutes behind James we met, not all together, Dave, Dan, Nick (Flatus), Ryan (Cherry Bomb) and Omri, from Israel. Omri was disappointed when we told him he was still a mile or so away from Low Gap Shelter. We reached Wide Gap, elevation 3150 at 2:25 p.m. covering the 1.7 miles in 68 minutes. For the first time today the sky has cleared and we finally got some views of the surrounding mountains. It had been overcast and rainy most of the day. Off to our left was a very tall mountain. I wondered if that was Brasstown Bald, one of the, if not the highest points in Georgia.
The trail turned up again leaving Wide Gap gaining 500 feet without switchbacks in 6 tenths of a mile to the top of Poor Mountain. Just a few hundred yards before Hogpen Gap a man and his wife from San Diego, California stopped and talked with us. They were visiting the area and just wanted to "hike a little on the famous Appalachian Trail." We stopped at the highway, the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway, for a photo beside the nice stone monument that identified this place as Hogpen Gap. It was 4:30 p.m.
The trail parallels the highway for a couple of hundred feet and then turns into the Raven Cliff Wilderness. A blueblazed trail marks the way to the next water source that was about 200 feet off the AT. I filled up a couple of our bottles while Tripper waited on the trail.
The climb up Wildcat Mountain was steep but is only 2 tenths of a mile and had switchbacks. Just as the trail climbed out on the ridge crest there was a sign pointing to Whitley Gap Shelter, 1.2 miles off the AT. Josh confirmed my suspicions later that the reason the shelter was so far off the AT was because the trail is in a designated wilderness area and no structures are allowed inside the wilderness. We decided not to add the extra mileage to our tired feet and looked for a space to set our tent for the night. Just a few yards up the trail we found an excellent spot on the ridgecrest. No obvious "widow makers" above and a soft bed of grass beneath. It has an overlook into Town Creek gorge, 1200 feet deep according to the Guidebook, and a view of Cowrock Mountain. With a little cooperation from the weather we could see the sunset and sunrise from our tent. It started to sprinkle as we were setting up our tent and we barely had it ready when the rain started to fall heavy again at 5:30 p.m. We set in the tent and made notes about our day in my journal as we waited for the rain to stop. The rain stopped after about 30 minutes.
We ate supper on the rock overlooking Town Creek Gorge. The sun peeked through the clouds and over our tent was a rainbow. I tried to take several photos of the rainbow but none of them turned out as vivid as it really was. I mess up a lot of "Kodak moments" by not knowing how to use a camera properly. We finished supper and got our bear bag ready. We have it secured in no time and walked around the area just a little. It had gotten much cooler since the rain and we headed for the warmth of the tent and sleeping bags around 7 p.m. We had hiked 11.6 miles today.
May 21, 2005
We both woke up several times during the night with the wind howling across the ridgecrest. The wind had cleared the clouds away and the near full moon was very bright. I woke up for good at 4:30 a.m. and set up looking out at the sky. The constellations were much clearer here away from the light pollution of city lights, especially after the moon had set. I watched the sunrise from the tent also. Then, while we were packing our gear, clouds roll in and we were swamped in a thick, wet cloud. Our tent, which had dried during the stiff wind of the night, was soaked again. Just a few minutes ago the visibility was probably 40 to 50 miles now it's not even 40 to 50 feet! We decided to skip breakfast until we hiked down off the ridge to Tesnatee Gap, less than a mile away. We left the campsite at 6 a.m.
Just a few hundred feet down the trail there are a couple more campsites that would have been protected from the wind but with the sacrifice of the East view. Tripper wanted to check out a hot spot on her foot and we dropped our packs while she put duct tape over the area that was bothering her. I didn't remember packing my headlight in the scramble this morning to get off the ridge. I know it was in the tent but neither of us remembered packing it when we cleaned the tent out. I started back to look for it after not finding it in it's normal spot in my pack. As I started up the trail, I zipped my raincoat up to keep the wind out and felt my headlight around my neck. I had pulled it on over my head to keep up with it and forgot all about it. We both got quite a laugh out of that.
The trail descended steeply to Tesnatee Gap, elevation 3138 feet. We moved off to one side of the parking area and prepared breakfast. I heated more water for hot chocolate and coffee and we finished off our bacon, beef jerky and granola bars. As we were finishing breakfast, another hiker joined us headed to Neels Gap also. It was Alaska Bob, from Fairbanks, Alaska. He was section hiking by himself. He said he moves his truck to a trailhead further north, hikes south until he reaches the last place he hiked to and then doubles back to his truck. He was friendly and a fast hiker. He was out of sight in no time as we left the Gap almost together, leaving at 7:32 a.m.
The trail reached to the top of Cowrock Mountain, elevation 3842 feet, and almost immediately dropped off again. We were completely covered with clouds so the views were not there. This part of the trail has much fewer trees. I wondered if this area had been clear cut 30 or 40 years ago and just had not recovered. Pig-weed was the most abundant weed along the trail mixed with a healthy portion of Poison Ivy which is everywhere in these mountains. Along one section of the trail we walked under a canopy of Basswood Trees and in another section a tunnel of rhododendrons some of which were just starting to bloom. We finally reached Rock Spring Top, elevation 3526 feet, at 10:05 a.m. and took a break. We covered 2.7 miles in 2 hours and 33 minutes. We knew today was going to be rough and were glad we decided to hike on instead of staying at Low Gap Shelter as we originally planned. The trail is steep and rocky.
We met another thru hiker after climbing Levelland Mountain, elevation 3942 feet. Brooks was from Dallas, Texas and had worked at Philmont Scout Ranch for a couple of summers. In just a few minutes we met Alaska Bob again, doubling back toward Low Gap Shelter where he planned to spend the night. We sat down to rest at Bull Gap, elevation 3644 feet, only 1.1 mile away from Neels Gap, at 11:30 a.m. We walked through the archway of the Walasi-Yi inn at Neels Gap at 12:05 p.m. Total mileage for today 6.2 miles. Jerry, an employee at the Mountain Crossing store, called Josh for us and he arrived in about 20 minutes. We ate a Klondike bar and drank a Coke while waiting on him. Another section of the AT completed. We really enjoyed this section of trail. Most of the time clouds and fog obscured the views but that kept the temperatures nice and cool. It is much tougher than the first section from Springer Mountain to Neels Gap. It was a real workout for us.
Uncle Wayne and Tripper
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Uncle Wayne
Uncle Wayne
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"It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it while you can, while it is still there. So go out there and hunt and fish and mess around. Ramble out yonder, explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air. Sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. I promise you this one sweet victory, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by calculators. : you will outlive the bastards." Ed Abbey
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