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This past weekend I went on my first ever camping trip in preparation for my second trip out west. Before I start I might as well plug my other trip journal on here, which was a trip that I took out west last May. So if you find this an interesting read at all, you might want to take a look at that as well.
But this journal is about my camping out for the first time. My backpack was not too heavy...coming in at around 20 lbs which included 3 litres of water, a tent, sleeping bag, cooking stove and 1.5 litre pan, rain jacket, some extra clothes, food, and a book (which I never read of course), plus some other various stuff like aspirin, band-aides, my trusty Kershaw 4" blade knife, and of course bear pepper spray along with my bear vault to store my food (ok yeah I'm paranoid about getting eaten by a bear).
My camping trip started when I left my home in Atlanta at around 7:00 AM this past Saturday. I drove up untill the end of 400, took a left on 19 and drove through Dahlonega, GA. I've driven through this
small town several times, but have never really stopped to see it. Hopefully that will change in the near future as there seems to be some restaurants, shops, and wineries in the area that I'd like to see. Once I pass through Dahlonega, GA, I take a left on to 60 towards the little town of Suches, GA. Once you get on 60 you start to actually head up into the mountains and the road gets fairly steep and curvy. So I reach the Woody Gap parking lot at about 8:30 AM and am ready for my destination approximately 12 miles away---Hawk Mountain Shelter on the Appalachian Trail.
Immediately upon entering the Appalachian Trail heading south I meet two hikers who are going to be on the trail for a few more days. They inform me that the trail isnt too tiring, but there are a few places that get somewhat difficult. With that in mind I leave the two hikers behind and continue on my journey. Initially the trail starts at 3,150 ft and begins a gradual incline with the side of the mountain to your right and a view to the left, although there are many trees
obscuring the views. However, about 1.5 miles into the hike you are rewarded with your first real view of the mountains and then again shortly thereafter with probably the best view of the surrounding mountains during the entire hike.
After this area begins a steep descent into an area with what appear to be fairly new tree growth, but its very green! The hike in this area is fairly flat with one notable fairly steep descent. At the 3.6 mile mark from Woody Gap I reached Gooch Gap where there is Forest Service Road #42. This dirt/gravel road will take you directly into Suches, which is 2.7 miles away. I've never driven this part of #42, but I did drive the section of #42 further west near Diamond, GA that took me to Springer Mountain earlier this Spring. I have to say it was the smoothest dirt/gravel road I've ever driven on. Even smoother then some streets in Atlanta. You can actually go
here for a map of all the Forest Service roads, trails, etc. in the area.
At Gooch Gap I take my first break of the day. There is a water source nearby (which I didnt
visit) and several spots to camp. So far today I've run across about 10 people total, most of them old men. And when I mean old I mean 70-80 years old. I'm always amazed by this. I head up out of Gooch Gap and soon I come across several flowering plants and my first views of a creek. At the 5 mile mark is the Gooch Mountain Shelter, but I didnt stop. There is a water source here as well. On hindsight I should of stopped here to replenish my water, as I went through 3 litres of water with about 2 miles left in the hike. Whoops.
A little further down the trail maybe about .5 miles is the last time you'll see water until the Hawk Mountain Shelter, which is roughly 6.8 miles from here. This would be a cool place to camp I think with the gurgling stream in the background. Evidently a lot of other people have the same mindset as there is no undergrowth in this area from so many people camping here. Let me also say this, if you are not prepared for a workout, you should camp here for the night and
return to Gooch Gap.
By now its about 11 AM...and its really steamy and its only going to get hotter. Of course this would be the perfect time to climb straight up the side of a mountain right? Good because thats what you'll be doing for the next 3 1/2 hours. And by straight up I mean no switchbacks. Well I guess you do get a break when you go down the other side of each mountain. But the time going down is always shorter then the time going up.
So after the first mountain I'm doing fairly well. I reach another gap (cant remember the name of it) where there is another forest service road. Then of course I get to go straight up another mountain. I thought for sure this would be the last one. Of course not! I've still got 4 miles to go and another hellacious mountain to climb up. In the background I can hear the army playing wargames in the area with helicopters flying overhead. I've seen the army out on a previous hike up to Blood Mountain, so I guess this is a fairly common site/sound for the area. As I'm
approaching the top of this mountain I can hear thunder in the distance and sees flashes of lightening and the wind picks up which is helping move the storm into the mountains. Its at this point I discover that I've run out of water. Also I'm getting hungry but I figure I dont have that much further to go. But only a 1/2 mile later I've GOT to get something to eat as I guess you could say I'm starting to get dizzy. So I break out the packaged tuna. Bad move, although the tuna helped with the hunger, I've now got to pack the tuna container back into my bear vault. Of course I couldnt drink all the tuna liquid (yes I was pretty thirsty at this point) so it gets over everything in my bear vault. I discover this when I open my bear vault later. So yeah I wont be bringing any packaged tuna along on any more camping trips.
I finally reach Hightower Gap, which is the crossroads of FS #42 and #69. At this point the rain starts coming down pretty good, but I've only got 1/2 mile to the shelter. The rain brought
out this cool looking salemander. Just as the rain lets up I reach the shelter. Immediately I drop my pack off at Hawk Mountain Shelter and head for the water! Its located about 200 yards past the shelter---its a small stream. Of course I treat the water with some chemicals I bought from Aquamira. If you're into lightweight backpacking (why wouldnt you be???) you'll like this stuff. You combine 2 chemicals, let it sit for 5 minutes, then put it in your water, shake it around, and then let your water sit for 15 minutes. Then its ready to drink.
Soon after returning to the shelter a couple of hikers approach. It turns out they are two dudes from Wisconsin---one owns a hardware store and the other manages a bunch of Madison, WI area McDonalds. They are out hiking on the AT for two weeks...however far they get. Soon after two more dudes arrive. I know one was from just north of Knoxville but I'm not sure where the other guy was from. They are both going into NC/TN on the AT. All around nice people.
Before dinner I had initally wanted to hike to Long Creek Falls
and back which was roughly another 5.5 miles. But I'm just too wiped out. Instead I go searching for this cemetary that is supposedly in the area. All I know is there is an unmarked trail leading to the top of a hill where the cemetary is. Well after hiking back out a short distance to the AT I find an unmarked trail leading up a hill. However, I didnt find any cemetary. What I did find were a bunch of port-a-potties, a deer plot, a couple of campsites and what appeared to be an old helicopter landing pad.
After returning to camp I pitch my tent and begin to cook dinner. Of course I didnt take the rubber cover off the bottom of my Jetboil, so I burned through the plastic which made a nice tar like coating on my burner. Luckily the dudes from WI were there and they let me use their cooking gear. AND I put way too much water in my dried food so although it tasted somewhat like a Mexian Tamale casserole, it was the soup version.
After dinner 3 more dudes came into camp. They had just done the same hike
I did and they were pretty wiped out. One guy wasnt too cool but I wont go into that too much. Later that night he decides its a good idea to make a fire and burn some mice he finds. What a guy. Finally though I fall asleep around 11:30 PM. Around 4AM I wake up to something rustling outside my tent. Of course my adrenaline kicks in at this point as I can hear every step it takes. Eventually, though, I dont hear anything else and I somewhat drift back off to sleep until 6AM. Overall not too bad for my first night camping. Although I really could of used a shower. REALLY used a shower. But who cares at this point as I wake up and put back on the same clothes I wore the previous day. Hey, I didnt feel like carrying the extra weight of additional clothes!
So I head back out on the trail back to Woody Gap. Before I went to bed the previous night I'm wondering about the logic of hiking in 12 miles, but in the morning I seem to have more energy then I anticipated. A trail angel was also
cool enough to leave some food hung up in a bear bag, so I loaded up on some of that food so I'm fairly confident I have enough food for the next 6 hours.
The hike back was a really good hike. Going back I ran into a grand total of 2 people all day. And the trail seemed a lot easier going back, which was surprising. I think maybe part of it was because I started at 6:30 with a nice cool wind blowing through the mountains. It didnt really start heating up until about 10:30 or so and by that point I was through the most difficult part of the trail. I was glad to reach my car though at exactly 12:30.
If I were to do this hike again, I'd definitely do it from Hawk Mountain Shelter to Woody Gap. This hike has a lot to offer---great exercise, some nice creek views (although no waterfalls), and a couple of good mountain views.
When I returned home yesterday I thought that camping wasnt for me. Sleeping was uncomfortable, the food kinda sucks, I got a GIANT blister on my big toe (I'll save you from
the picture I took of it) etc. However, when I stepped off the train and onto the concrete this morning on my way to work, I realized about how I couldnt wait to get back again to the mountains of Georgia.
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Goodsue
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Georgia mountains are great
Hi, I found your blog by accident. I'm also from Atlanta and have a log cabin in north Georgia in McCaysville/Copper Hill area, near Blue Ridge. I rent it to friends for $50/nite. It's small, on a small creek. There are a few pictures on an old website of mine, www.susan.goodman.net. Email me if you're interested in going to the mountains, but not camping. traveling.today@yahoo.com. I'm in China right now and have a blog here, too.