(Mouse over highlighted text for distance from Springer Mtn.)
10 Feb– Sat Cold start in the morning from Hawk Mountain Shelter, temps around 17 degrees. Elevation at the shelter is about 3000 feet with two water sources nearby. Finding water isn’t the problem, pumping with waterproof mittens is. I’m starting to get the hang of assembling/disassembling my pump with waterproof mittens to avoid the chilling water that dribbles from the pump at temps below freezing. I believe water in the filter freezes making it difficult to force water through. Making breakfast with cold fingers is a challenge as well. Thank heaven for the Jet Boil stove I got at the recommendation of my nephews, Joel & David Antes, during our Fall Yellowstone Park hike. Today’s hike is through a beautiful part of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Plan on doing around 7 ½ miles to the Gooch Mountain Shelter. I decided to shelter hop on the trail until cold weather lets up a bit. It minimizes tent stand-up & take-down. Elevation today ranged from 3400 feet down to 2700 feet at the Gooch Mountain Shelter. Passed Hightower Gap, Horse Gap before climbing Sassafras Mountain. After a quick drop to Cooper Gap, I scaled Justus Mountain and Phyllis Spur. Don’t know why, but Justus Mt. was more of a challenge than expected. Beautiful drop into the Justus Creek valley where I met two hikers having coffee. I also met Darlene, who is the trail maintainer for the section leading up to the Gooch Mountain Shelter. Darlene is a hiking friend of June Engel’s, and said she had just cleaned the Gooch Shelter for my arrival. It was clean and neat when I arrived around 2 PM. Shortly after, I met Sky (young man) and Blue (his dog) who were in training for their Appalachian Trail hike starting in March. He shared some of his havarti dill cheese with me as I was laying out my bed pad, sleeping bag, and cook stove. Blue gave me a long look as I ate the piece of cheese he would have gotten had I not been there. The Dahlonega Boy Scout Troop 36 arrived around 4 PM and made the night memorable. Quickly assembling necessary twigs, branches & logs, they quickly had a roaring fire going which warmed us all. Scoutmaster David O’Rear is the civilian trainer for the Frank D. Merrill Army Ranger School near Dahlonega and cooked a mean supper for the group and shared excess food. After dinner two additional thru-hikers Bo and Austin Harris squeezed into the shelter. Austin slept on the table as there was no more room in the shelter. The night was cold but not particularly so as we slept side by side in our sleeping bags like hibernating bears in a cave.
11 Feb 2007 – Sunday – I was far from civilization and church as I got up to make breakfast. One of the scouts, Jacob Sullivan, got up with me and we quickly started the campfire to warm things up. I boiled water for my breakfast (oatmeal with nuts, dehydrated berries and shaved coconut then hot chocolate) and prepared to leave camp early. Bo and Austin were the first to leave. I followed them out of camp as the scouts were taking down the US flag. I knew they would be quickly at my heels as I left camp heading for Gooch Gap and then Ramrock Mountain. I ran across Austin who was medicating a bad blister at the Forest Service Road #42. He joined me as I hiked toward Woody Gap and a planned overnight rendezvous at Josh & Leigh Saint’s Hiker Hostel (www.hikerhostel.com). Was able to get a ride from a local lady, Jennifer Canupp, whose family has mountain home nearby. She dropped me off at Josh and Leigh’s hiker hostel - a wonderful place, nice view of the area surrounding Dahlonega area. I invited Josh and Leigh to dinner in Dahlonega and we were accompanied by “Beeline Bob” who was also staying at the hostel as he packed to go home. He had medical problems and had decided to abandon his 2nd AT thru-hike. Had a wonderful night’s rest before leaving the following morning.
12 Feb 2007 – Monday – After a pancake, grits, and scrambled egg breakfast made by Josh for us, Josh shuttled me to Woody Gap at 8:30 AM with water and a full pack. With the early start, I hoped to make 10.5 miles to Neels Gap by nightfall. Terrain all day was fairly rugged with elevation ranging from 3100-4500 feet. Big Cedar Mountain was my first climb of the day to 3650 feet, a gentle drop to Dan Gap and Henry Gap. Hiking difficulty increased as I approached the southwestern face of Blood Mountain. On my approach to the top of Blood Mountain, I passed Burnett Field Mountain, then Jarred and Bird Gaps before turning to East to make the final approach to the summit of Blood Mountain. Ice and snow made the final ascent slick and difficult. I finally reached the 4500 foot summit and the old stone shelter where many campers have stayed in the past. Indian tales of the Creek and Cherokee indicate that the two nations fought a significant battle on the slopes of this mountain. The mountain was named to commemorate that many warriors who died and were wounded on the hillside. I took several pictures of the picturesque surroundings and decided to try and make Neels Gap and the Mountain Crossing Walasi-Yi hiker hostel before sunset. I was surprised at how slow my descent from Blood Mountain was. Josh Saint had warned me about the huge boulders (the size of a 4 bedroom house) that were strewn across the Northeast face of the mountain. Going was slow, but after passing Flatrock Gap I finally reached Neels Gap and made reservations for a bunk at the hiker hostel. After dumping my pack and laying out my gear, the hostel owners, Winton and Marjorie Porter invited me to their home for dinner with their family. Several other hikers including Otto and Lucas were driven to the Porter’s mountain home several miles from the Neels Gap Walasi-Yi hostel. Alpine, the driver and store clerk, gave us a tour of back country roads on our way to the cozy Porter cabin. As we bounced along the back roads, my companions gave me a tour of the local gaps, streams, landmarks, mountain features and lore. We had a wonderful dinner at the Porter’s and stayed to play computer games with the family and friends. It was a delightful evening after the grueling Blood Mountain earlier that day. As I was preparing to return to the Walasi-Yi hiker hostel, I received news that my mother had fallen and fractured her hip at my sister’s (Judi) place in Layton, Utah. I was impressed with the Winton and Marjorie Preston’s willingness to help in my situation. They immediately offered to drive me to the Atlanta airport that evening. I discussed my mother’s condition with Judi who recommended that I continue my hike during my mother’s surgery and contact her when rehabilitation started in a day or so.
13 Feb 2007 – Tuesday – This was an anxious day for me as I stayed at the Walasi-Yi hiker hostel awaiting word on Mom. I received word that Mom was safely through surgery and recuperating in hospital intensive-care, I decided to resume my trek the following morning – a delay further complicated by the weather.
14 Feb 2007 – Wednesday – I awoke at the Walasi-Yi hostel to a howling wind outside. Icy sleet then snow were swirling through Neels Gap and visibility was poor. I was tempted to wait out the storm, but a fellow hiker, David Rose “Rambling Rose” from Maine decided he had to start and left the hostel about 8 AM. I was sorry to see him go as I had hoped to hike with him. However, I had to wait for the Mountain Crossing Outfitter store to open at 9 AM to pick up last minute supplies and I decided I would follow Rambling Rose as soon as I was packed. I departed around 9:30 and almost regretted leaving my bunk. The wind chill was below 0 and was blowing so hard it took my breath away when hiking into the wind on the west side of Levelland Mountain. I reached Swaim Gap and there was a bit of a reprieve. However, I missed an AT white blaze on the trail and wandered for about a ½ mile in the blowing snow when I cam across Dave Rambling Rose going the other direction. He had missed the same turn in the AT and had walked for several miles looking for an AT white blaze marker. By making the same mistake I had, he saved me walking miles out of the way as he had done. He was out of water by this time and looking for an unfrozen stream to collect a bit of drinking water. There was none available – everything was frozen. I still had two bottles of partially frozen water by this time and shared contents of the drinkable water I had. With the strong winds still blowing, I moved my one remaining water bottle inside my jacket to keep it from freezing as we entered the Raven Cliffs Wilderness area. As we hiked farther we met with some of the bitterest cold winds during the day – passing Turkeypen Mountain, Corbin Horse Stamp, Rock Spring Top, Wolf Laurel Top, and finally, Cowrock Mountain before dropping into Tesnatee Gap. After stopping at the Whitley Gap Shelter for water and lunch, we started a ridge run (Elev. 3500) between Wildcat Mountain to Sheeprock Top before dropping into Low Gap (Elev. 3000) where we camped at the shelter. We made 12 miles that day and were happy to find the shelter empty when we arrived. Three other hikers finally did arrive later that evening and a late arriver came around 8:30 PM and nearly froze to death due to a light sleeping bag he had. Because of the strong wind blowing that night Rambling Rose pitched his tent inside the Low Gap Shelter to minimize drafts and keep him warm. Since my tent was not self supported like Dave’s, I had to pull my tent over my down sleeping bag to keep warm that night. I slept with two water bottles, my water bag, a camera, watch, gas canister and mittens in my sleeping bag that night to have them warm enough to use in the morning. I felt like I had my pack on my back each time I rolled over in my sleep.
15 Feb 2007 – Thursday - I was warm in spite of the winds sweeping through the shelter that night but woke up in the morning with frost all over my sleeping bag and tent. It took me some time to strip frost from my tent and outer surfaces of my sleeping bag. Because it is a goose down bag, it has to be dried each morning to keep its insulating factor. Breakfast was a challenge but we were up and on our way from the Low Gap Shelter by 8:30 with a goal of making Unicoi Gap 9 miles away with snow and ice covering most of our early trail hike that morning. We were now hiking along the Blue Ridge in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It was nice hiking weather and we quickly passed Poplar Stomp, Cold Springs, and Chattahoochee Gaps followed by the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. It is hard to believe that the pristine water here turns into the mess floating through Atlanta and points south. After Red Clay Gap (elev. 3400) we started our ascent up the Rocky Knob and finally Blue Mountain (elev 4000+). We both purified water at Rocky Knob and had lunch at the Rocky Knob Shelter in preparation for the climb and final descent into Unicoi Gap (elev. 3000). Since we both planned to re-supply in Hiawassee, we opted for a ride from a local bear & boar hunter to the Post Office in the center of Hiawassee, GA. Thanks to John Phillips, my two packages had arrived in two days from Douglasville and were waiting for me when I arrived. I exchanged maps from the first package and bumped the packages up to my next stop north of the Smokey Mountains. My second package included next week’s provisions which I stored in my backpack before calling Laura and Frank at the Cloud 9 Hiker Hostel and Trout Farm (about 9-10 miles from Hiawassee, GA). I can’t say enough good about these people as Dave and I stayed there through the night in their Great Room. I checked on my mother’s status and found that she was out of Intensive Care and being moved to the Rocky Mountain Nursing Care facility for her Physical Therapy. My sister approved another two days of hiking and I prepared to leave in the morning for my two day hike (16.25mi.) from Unicoi Gap to Dicks Gap.
16 Feb 2007 – Friday – Frank from Cloud 9 dropped Rambling Dave and me off at Unicoi Gap around 8:30 for our start up Rocky Mountain. I remember wishing the ascent were a bit less steep but the descent into Indian Cave Gap was welcome after our first three mile start. We proceeded up the slope to Tray Mountain passing the Cheese Factory Camp Site and Tray Gap before reaching the 4500 ft. summit of Tray Mountain. Dave’s methodical climbing wore me out on the Tray Mountain ascent and I fell back to a slower pace. Because of our unsynchronized stops, we leapfrogged each other during lunch break at Tray Mountain Shelter (Dave) and my extended water stop (Steeltrap Gap) where I failed to realize that the stream was ¾ miles off trail and all down hill. I made the mistake of taking my pack with me to the stream and I ended up struggling back up the steep incline with a fully loaded pack and plenty of water. I missed Dave as he passed by me when I was down stream loading water. when I returned to the trail, Dave was at least a half mile ahead of me and still going strong at his 1 ½ mile per hour pace. I could just about set my watch to his pace – it never seemed to vary whether he was going up or down hill. I had decided to stop at the half-way point between Unicoi and Dicks Gap which was Addis Gap. There was a camp site with water (ha-ha) but no shelter. I pitched my tent, made supper, strung my pack up a tree to protect it from bears and then gathered my water purifier/pump and trekked the half mile (down hill again) to a wonderfully swift South Fork of the Moccasin Creek. It was the sister branch (Perry Creek Branch) that I had used earlier (at Steeltrap Gap) for my water that day and in both cases, I had to hike back up the trail with my water bottles and pump. This time, I had left my pack up a tree and I only had to carry my water back up the hill. However, as I was walking back up the trail to my campsite, I found out that bears liked this trail also. As I was returning to my camp site, I noticed that the bumps I had encountered in the trail on my way down were actually bear scat – some quite fresh – and this caused me some concern as I shed my clothes and slipped into my tent and sleeping bag for the night. No late night treats for this guy that night to draw unwanted guests.
17 Feb 2007 – Saturday – I really didn’t think much about the fact that I had made it to another weekend when I arose at 6:45 AM this morning. I was anxious to catch up with Dave so I dried my sleeping bag and liner, disassembled my tent and found that I had problems with one of my tent poles. It had frozen in the ground and pulled apart as I tried to pull it out. My tent poles have internal elastic cording so they can be broken down and reassembled easily each day. The ground pike at the end of the pole froze in the ground and pulled the cord out of the pole so I will need to repair at Cloud 9 if I get there by night fall. Otherwise, I’ll have to sleep in the open or find a shelter for tonight. I felt I could make Dicks Gap as it was a little over five miles away. As I started my climb up Kelly Knob, I remembered the warning “Crutch”, a seasoned hiker at Cloud 9 had given me regarding Kelly Knob. Crutch described the Knob as the unending mountain ascent with three sharp turns to the right and more mountain at each turn. I found the early morning climb to be difficult, but it was the long stretch of climbing covering nearly 4 miles of hills including Deep Gap (where Dave had camped for the night), McClure Gap and Powell Mountain at the 4100 ft. elevation that took more time than I had anticipated. I welcomed the 1000 ft. descent to Moreland Gap where I picked up water before proceeding down to Dicks Creek Gap at the 2700 ft. It started snowing and blowing as I reached State Route 75 and 17 and waited at a roadside park area for Dave in case he was still on the trail. After 45 minutes, I decided to catch a ride to Cloud 9 to see if Dave had preceded me to the hostel. I quickly got a ride from a young man who supervised cell phone tower installations throughout a 4 county area. He was nice enough to drop me off at the hostel even though I missed the turn and had to return a mile back up the road to unload my pack from his truck. I was relieved to find Dave already at the hostel changing his clothes and preparing for the fish feed that evening. Laura and Frank, owners of Cloud 9 had invited guests to a fish dinner with the stipulation the guests had to catch their own fish for dinner that evening. After cleaning up a bit, I put on my jacket and sauntered down to the stream where Frank provided me with a spin cast rod and reel for my use. Dave quickly caught two mid-sized rainbows and I luckily caught the “monster” of the day at 3 lbs on my second cast. Frank, “Sticker” and “Wonder” all three gave advice and suggestions as the fish were caught and cleaned. The fish I had that night for our supper I savored for many days afterward. There were extra trout for all guests Crutch, Wonder, Rambling Rose, Sticker, Walrus, and me “Castanets”. Laura had run to town to buy groceries and drinks to feed the group salad, corn on the cob, squash, fish and baked potatoes with brushetta.
Later that night I received a call from my sister, Judi, on Mom’s condition. She asked for help and I made plans to leave the trail to help her with my father’s care the following week in Layton, Utah. Again, Laura and Frank offered me a ride to Flowery Branch near Atlanta if I could make necessary flight reservations to Utah. Frank and Laura loaned me their computer for flight reservations and offered to store my backpack and food until I returned at the end of February.
18 Feb 2007 – Sunday - Earliest flight arrangements I could get were from 20 – 27 Feb and I departed the following morning with Laura on her way to Flowery Branch GA. I caught two successive rides to the Atlanta Airport and made my way to Douglasville for clothes and then to Birmingham, AL where I caught my Southwest Airlines flight to Utah.
2 Mar 2007 – Phyl, my wife, and I will take a late evening ride to Hiawassee, GA and stay the night at Cloud 9. I plan to re-enter the trail at Dicks Creek Gap by 8:00 AM on 3 March heading for the GA-NC border 11 miles away. If I make good time, I will stay at the Muskrat Creek Shelter in NC 12 miles from Dicks Creek Gap.
Next: 3-11 Mar 2007