Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Slackpacking Trip - Day 11

[left the hotel (after breakfast) at 0800 - my gas tank was nearly empty, but I thought I had enough to get up to Springer Mountain and back (famous last words) - after all, it was only supposed to be 12 miles... - I drove north on US-19 and then took Camp Wahsega Road (recommended by iPhone app) - used Forest Road 80 and Forest Road 42 (with help from the gate guard at the Army Base) and never found the parking area - decided that I was going to really run out of gas, so I turned around and drove the car "dead stick" (with the engine off) down the hill again - found that I had earlier crossed a section of the trail (Cooper Gap) without seeing it on the way up - there was actually a couple camping there (0900) and the girl asked me how far it was to get back to the parking lot (I guess she wanted to quit?) - I told her I didn't know and kept going - I made it to the bottom with a little bit of fuel to spare and filled up (0930) - took a look at the map again and found another route that looked better (around 14 miles of Forest Road) - drove back into Dahlonega and west on GA-52 to Nimble Will Church Road and then used Forest Road 28-1 and Forest Road 42 (other end) to get to the top of the hill (and the trail head) - the road was washed out in some places and I got worried that I might not make it - but I eventually (1045) came across a huge parking lot, full of cars and school busses! - I followed the signs to get to the top of the mountain - after about a mile of hiking (passing lots of groups of school kids), I found a rock with the first blaze on it (and a plaque that marked the Southern Terminus of the trail) - after a bit of time admiring the views (and my great trip, I backtracked to the parking lot and did a section NOBO beyond it - I encountered a couple that had just started the trail that morning (from the State Park on the south side of the mountain) - what a long trip they still have! - finished at 1210 - one of the rangers told me that I could get back to a paved road quicker by heading out a different way - she was right - it was only four miles to Big Creek Road (paved) and then Doublehead Gap Road (near Mollie Mountain Road) and I made it back to GA-52 soon after that - I actually found the town of East Elijay before I realized exactly where I was - had lunch at Arbys (1305) before heading deciding that this was the end of my hiking journey :-( - but I still had to get home... - from the restaurant, I used US-76, GA-386, GA-2/52 (crossed Fort Mountain), US-411, US-64 and got on I-75 (near Cleveland) soon after crossing into Tennessee (on the way, saw lots of great vistas and followed a huge funeral procession with police escort) - after getting through Knoxville on I-40, made great time as I headed north - I stopped for a break (rest area) at 1730 - finally on I-81 - stopped again for fuel (Marion, Virginia) at 1850 - also picked up a snack for the road - finished trip using I-66 and I-495 - arrived around midnight - Trip Summary: total for the day was only 1.78 miles (not counting backtracks) and Grand Total on the A.T. is now 64.72 miles - in total, I hiked roughly 120 miles (and biked around 7-10 miles) in 11 days - I left behind a lot of troubles (work, family, life, etc.) and body weight (I can't wait to get on the scale!) and (at least) one toenail - grew my beard nice and full (and gray) - this was the best choice for a vacation I've made in several years - next year, maybe I can do a northern segment of the A.T...]