Spring 2017 AT hike, day #15

Saturday, May 27, 2017
Start: Justus Creek
End: Springer Mountain
Miles: 14.4 (+0.2 for Long Creek Falls, +0.9 for return to USFS 42)

I went to bed really early last night, around 8pm, and slept soundly until I got up at 6am. I packed up camp and was on trail by 7am.

I climbed from Justus Creek (2589') up Justus Mountain (3219'), down to Cooper Gap (2929'), up Sassafras Mountain (3347'), down to Horse Gap (2681'), up to Hawk Mountain (3220'), and then down to Three Forks/USFS 58 (2530'). From there, I climbed up to Springer Mountain (3782'), arriving by 1pm. I hung out for a while at the summit before heading back to the parking lot to await my ride to Atlanta.

Today went by quickly; it was mostly overcast and humid, with occasional sun peeking through. There were a LOT of people out on the trail, since it's a holiday weekend. I saw two people open carrying, one of whom had his gun shoved into his butt crack without a holster. Beyond it being anxiety producing, it looked like chafe city. The summit of Springer was a bit anticlimactic, with poor views and a lot of other people. The last 5 miles were mostly wide gravel trail. It was quite a strange way to finish up this hike!

Spring 2017 AT hike, day #14

Friday, May 26, 2017
Start: Neel Gap/US 19/Mountain Crossings hostel
End: Justus Creek
Miles: 17.0

I went to bed pretty early last night since I was so tired. I was up by 6:30am and on trail by 7:30am. I focused on relaxing and taking my time today, taking plenty of breaks. I started out by climbing from the Gap (3125') up to Blood Mountain (4457'), which is the highest point in Georgia. I've been told it was a good thing I was climbing it today, as it will be very busy the rest of this holiday weekend. From there, I descended to Lance Creek (2865'), passing by Gaddis Mountain (3402') on the way. I then climbed Big Cedar Mountain (3737') and Preaching Rock (3593') and descended to Woody Gap (3198'). I passed by Ramrock Mountain (3222'), Gooch Gap (2824'), Gooch Mountain shelter (2789'), and then down to Justus Creek (2589'). I arrived around 3:30pm.

I debated where I should tent for quite a while, as I filtered my evening's water. In the end, I decided to be a bad kid and not camp at one of the "designated campsites." The campground area is 7 tent pads all right next to each other with maybe 6 feet between tents, the tent pads are on a hill and all slant, and with no privacy whatsoever. I had made the decision that I wanted peace and quiet for my night tonight, so I camped by the creek at one of the many, many spots people have used before me. It follows Leave No Trace in most regards - I might be a hair too close to the water but I'm not concerned. I'm going to try sleeping the night without my tent's rainfly. It's supposed to be a glorious night and I rarely get that opportunity. So we shall see how it goes. I was done with dinner and all packed in for bed by 6pm, so it's going to be an early night.

I have 14.4 miles left for this hike and expect to be at Springer by 3pm. I'm excited about tomorrow in many ways - I'm ready to go home to New England; I'm ready to see my partner and friends again; and I'm ready to see Springer (and I rather expect it'll be anti-climactic, rather like Clingmans Dome).