On February 14th I left the comfort of my home for the Amicalola Falls Lodge. The plan is to get a good night sleep at the lodge before starting the Appalachian Trail on February 15th. To get to the lodge I took a plane to Atlanta, a Marta train from the airport to the northern most train station, and a Dave’s Trail Shuttle Service to the Amicalola State Park.
Note: If you plan on hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) starting from the Amicalola Falls lodge, make your reservation for a shuttle with Dave’s Trail shuttle. He took time to walk me thought the train schedule and what to do if my flight was delayed. Dave’s Trail Shuttle Service website is: atsurvivordave.com.
Once I arrived at the Amicalola State Park, I stopped by the visitor center to pick up the hiking tags and take a quick look at the Appalachian Trail Arch before I started up the path to the lodge.
Below are some pictures I took as I hike to the lodge from the visitor center.
On February 15th, I woke up to the view below. It was cold but the sky was clear, so it was a perfect day to start the hike.
From the AT Arch to the Springer Mountain starting point it is an 8.5 miles hike. Elevation of Springer Mountain is 3782. My plan was to hike to the starting point and spend the night. I fell short, I made it to Black Gap Shelter. I knew this would not be easy for me, because I had spent the last 41 years behind a desk. Regardless, of my current physical state I decided to hike the trail at my own pace.
February 16th , made it to Springer Mountain. The AT starting point. Hike 10 miles from the start before setting up camp. Legs were tight in the morning but felt better by the end of the day.
February 17th , hiked to Hawk Mountain. It rained all day and all night. Everything is soaked, but that did not stop me from noticing how spectacular the old trees were. Nor could I miss the Army Ranger training. Army Ranger Training is going on 24/7. Explosions, gun fire, helicopters, medics in trucks are all around. I even saw a candidate running through the woods. Other hikers on the trail stated they saw more candidates with rifles and heavy packs.
February 18th, Temperature dropped overnight from the 50’s to the high 20’s. In the morning, I woke up to freezing rain. There were 6 of us at the camp site; Rollo, Aaron, Pixie, Wayne, Leaf blower and of course me. We decided to dry out at the next hostel; Above the Clouds Hostel in Suches, GA. So, we hiked to Gooch Mountain Gap. Lucky, one of the Above the Clouds Hostel hosts picked us up. On the way to the hostel, we stop for BBQ at the Wildcat. I highly recommend the Wildcat BBQ. If you ever get to Suches GA, you should try it. At the hostel, we met Nimrod the other hostel host. Both hosts did a great job getting us cleaned up and settled in. The hostel that night was full of hikers. After dinner, there was no shortage of stories. It was a great night of storytelling.
February 19th, Great day to hike. It was sunny and scheduled to go to 50 degrees. However, we were all still drying out from the day before. So, not to lose momentum, Lucky drove us to Neels Gap. This is 15.9 miles from Gooch Gap were Lucky picked us up on February 18th. We hiked from Neels Gap back to Gooch Gap. Lucky picked us up again. We spent another night at the Above the Clouds Hostel.
February 20th, Feeling stronger today. Lucky drove us to Neels Gap again. This time we did not hike back. We hike to Lower Gap Shelter 12 miles from Neels Gap. Lower Gap Shelter is mile marker 42.8 on the AT.
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