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Here's a summary of my 2007 Appalachian Trail Section-Hike Journal entries:
Trip overview:
I flew into Atlanta, arriving at about 7:40 AM. From the ATL baggage claim area I took the MARTA shuttle
to the North Springs Station where I was picked up by Gil of North Georgia Mountain Outfitters. On the way, he stopped
for gas and I purchased two miniture lighters and a pull-cap-bottle of "Bug Juice" - about 12 oz of a kids drink. The
drink is foul, but the bottle closes really well and is perfect for carrying enough denatured alcohol for 1 week of trail
cooking. Gil took me to his store where I made a few minor purchases, filled up on water, filled my stove fuel bottle,
and then we took off for the Forest Service Road Trailhead one mile from the Souther Terminus of the AT on Springer Mountain.
| AT plaque with white titanium oxide trail blaze |
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Then, I hiked about one mile South to the end of the AT, signed the trail registry, then retraced my steps
and headed North. I hiked North for several very, very beautiful and very, very dry days. The South end of the
trail had lots of week-end hikers on it. I saw kids as young as (I'm guessing) 4 years old. Passed a scout group
and one of those outfits that takes urban kids on nature outings. I met a lot of dogs hiking with their owners and seeming
having a ball too despite some fairly substantial packs on the animals. ("Valentine", a backpacking dog, was hilarious
- read the journal entries.) I met another section hiker from Vermont who was about to finish up the very last bit of
his very last section of the entire AT. (Congratulations, Romer!)
| The Official Souther Terminus of the AT |
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| There is a trail register in a metal drawer inside rock. |
It's hunting season. I had noticed that during my web surfing for trail information before the hike.
Now at each trail-head and road crossing where there is a sign-board, there are cautions posted notifying hunters to beware
of not shooting hikers (thanks so much!) and notices advising hikers to wear hunter orange to help prevent being shot.
I hadn't been too worried since the hunting season that started in Georgia on the 14th is archery season for deer. To
hunt deer with a bow means one has to get close and place one's shot well, so it's not that likely that a hunter will shoot
a person.
| Georgia Black Bear Hunter Jerry with his home- |
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| made, double-barrelled, black-powder rifle. |
It turns out that I really didn't need to worry about deer hunters. The real issue was the bear hunters.
However, the one bear hunter that I met and talked to in Georgia, Jerry, said that I needn't worry about bear hunters either
due to all the restrictions on bear hunting. Only males can be shot. So one has to actually study the bear to
"sex" it. It's not as easy as with deer that either have horns or they don't. Also, there is a size limit.
The bear has to weigh so much to be legal to shoot it. Don't even ask me how they tell that before they shoot the bear.
It's not like with fish where you catch it, measure it, then "throw it back" if it's not big enough. "Throwing back"
a dead bear just doesn't work the same. But in any case I felt much better about not wearing hunter orange. And
almost every other hiker I met did not have on orange either. Until I crossed into North Carolina.
| "Trail Magic" hat given to me by a Walasi-Yi guy |
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| who didn't want to see me get shot - I agreed! |
In North Caroline I think the rules may be different. I met hikers with hunter orange pack covers.
Others had orange ball caps. While talking to NC bear hunters I got the feeling that maybe the restrictions on shooting
bears might be not as strict. See more on my NC bear hunter encounters below. But, again, as on other section
hikes, since I usually hike alone and don't make a lot of noise. I got to see more bears than any of the hunters I talked
to. More on that below also. However, this year I didn't get any bear pictures. But I did luck out and get
some photos of wild pigs. I'll post them below where they fit in the trail journals.
| RV camper and Harley Rider "CB" |
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| Very interesting guy to talk to!!! |
I stopped into the Enota Resort for 24 hours. The extra layer of clothes and extra food, along with
the amount of water it seemed necessary to haul - due to the drought - was wearing me down and I was having some touble with
my feet. I was the only guest in their two-story hiker dorm. I did my laundry, took three hot showers, and socialized
with some of the RV campers who were there. I slept on a bunk and during the night it rained. The next day I got
a ride into Hiawasee, GA. I stopped by an outfitters and bought a hiking stick, sent the extra clothes and some
other stuff home from the Post Office and was dropped off at the trail again.
| Trial Signs and Mileposts |
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| Hikers in the Mist |
Now the woods were damp and foggy due to the overnight rain, yet there had not been enough rain that I could
afford to reduce the amount of water I was packing. However, with the reduced pack load from the extras I had shed,
I made good time and good mileage. That night it rained again. The next morning, it was still raining so I slept
in. Finally I decided it wasn't going to stop for my convenience, so I packed up and hiked out. Then I hiked in
the rain, drizzle and fog for a couple days. Now there was water everywhere, so I didn't have to pack very much.
All the good summit views were gone. From Tray Mountain, all you could see was cloud.
On Friday, I checked my position on the map and decided that I needed to hike out of the woods and find
a phone in order to contact my friend who was coming down to pick me up. I exited the AT on Friday, well short of my
extremely optimistic goal of Fontana Dam. I'm not a super-strict "white blazer" but I also don't want to skip any parts
of the trail and the next part of the trail for me was Standing Indian Mountain, and I didn't want to miss it, nor did I want
to miss the views from the summit, so I decided to save it for another trip on another day.
| Section Hiker Chuck, trail named "Romer", at |
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| Plumborchard Trial Shelter near completion of AT. |
I find that one thing that most folk don't expect in regards to hiking, especially on the AT, is the social
aspect of the trip. If you meet someone on the AT, they're almost guarenteed to be interesting to talk to. Take
me for example. (just kidding!) I could and possibly should have simply hiked the trail to a road-crossing in
a gap, but instead I decided to hike out on a Forest Service road. There I was given a flying lift down the "single-track"
in a monster-truck slightly smaller than the Ford "Bigfoot". My benefactor was a good-ole-boy who was bear-hunting with
his friends. Bear-hunting dogs were in cages in the back of the truck. On the way, he explained their methods
of bear hunting with dogs. Half-way down the mountain he stopped and let me out while he went up a side-road.
In a bit I could hear dogs howling and imagined them chasing a bear right at me. I pictured a tree with dogs all around
it, a bear half-way up, and me in the top. I only had to walk about five minutes, then here he came again. Picked
me up again and off we charged. Someone had spotted a bear crossing the forest service road lower down. When we
got there and stopped, there were at least a dozen trucks. Many of them had two or three people in them. All had
dogs in cages in the back. I thanked my driver and beat feet. For a bit I thought that the dogs I could hear in
the woods were parallelling me going down the other side of the ridge across the creek that the road was following, but in
about 10 minutes I had left them behind.
Anyhow, I hiked out. Walked the highway for a couple miles in the rain, then got picked up by a guy
driving a flat-bed truck. He had just finished delivering log home materials and was on his way back into town.
He dropped me off right at the Microtel Inn, but they were full. I hiked on into town and got a room at a Motel.
The next day my buddy drove down with my truck and his motorcycle trailer and spent the night. The next day we
rode our motorcycles to Deals Gap and rode "The Tail of the Dragon" a couple times, then returned, loaded up and drove home.
Under Construction
Daily Trail Journals coming soon.
to be continued...
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