GA AT in April

**SunshineHiker** · 02-13-2012, 22:55

Ok Friends! I'm putting the final dates down tomorrow as soon as I confirm with my boss but it's looking like April 13-16th with this as the tenative itenerary:

Day One:
Mile 0 - Start at Springer Mountain at aprox. 2pm
Mile 4.9 - Meet up at the blue blazes to hike up Long Creek and make camp at aprox 5pm
Total - 4.9 miles

Day Two:
Mile 4.9 - On Trail by 10am
Mile 7.6 - Stop for Lunch at Hawk Mountain Shelter at aprox 12pm
Mile 14.9 - Make Camp at Gooch Mountain Shelter at aprox 6pm
Total - 10 miles

Day Three:
Mile 14.9 - On Trail by 9am
Mile 19.9 - Stop at Woody Gap for Lunch 1pm
Mile 26.8 - Make Camp at Woods Hole Shelter 6pm
Total - 11.9 miles

Day Four:
Mile 26.8 - On Trail by 10am
Mile 30.5 - Arrive at Neels Gap 2pm
Total - 3.7 miles

I've calculated the distances and times based on a nice slow 1-1.5 miles per hour which should be doable by all. Let me know if any one has any suggestions or ideas!

**Mongo18** · 02-13-2012, 23:07

Im marking it on my calendar oorahh!

**Squidbilly82** · 02-14-2012, 16:56

Sounds like a good time. Definetely interested

**SunshineHiker** · 02-15-2012, 21:16

Bumping this up!

**n1ck0l3man** · 02-17-2012, 10:11

I wish I could go that week. I have to go the week before (I teach and that's spring break 1-8). Good luck with your new gear! I am going to do some test in my yard next week with my new hammock before I thru hike GA.

**deerfu** · 02-17-2012, 11:30

Gonna try my best to make this one as well as the Chattooga River hike at the first of March. Sounds like you've got a good plan Sunshine

**deerfu** · 02-17-2012, 11:32

BTW.... does anyone know what the water availability is on this section?

**Str1der** · 02-17-2012, 11:39

Originally Posted by SunshineHiker

Ok Friends! I'm putting the final dates down tomorrow as soon as I confirm with my boss but it's looking like April 13-16th with this as the tenative itenerary:

Day One:
Mile 0 - Start at Springer Mountain at aprox. 2pm
Mile 4.9 - Meet up at the blue blazes to hike up Long Creek and make camp at aprox 5pm
Total - 4.9 miles

Day Two:
Mile 4.9 - On Trail by 10am
Mile 7.6 - Stop for Lunch at Hawk Mountain Shelter at aprox 12pm
Mile 14.9 - Make Camp at Gooch Mountain Shelter at aprox 6pm
Total - 10 miles

Day Three:
Mile 14.9 - On Trail by 9am
Mile 19.9 - Stop at Woody Gap for Lunch 1pm
Mile 26.8 - Make Camp at Woods Hole Shelter 6pm
Total - 11.9 miles

Day Four:
Mile 26.8 - On Trail by 10am
Mile 30.5 - Arrive at Neels Gap 2pm
Total - 3.7 miles

I've calculated the distances and times based on a nice slow 1-1.5 miles per hour which should be doable by all. Let me know if any one has any suggestions or ideas!

That seems like a very modest pace that could be doable for newbies. I'm very interested, especially if I can get my pack weight down in time. Also, I might meet you guys somewhere on day 2 or 3. I have never once been backpacking (only car camping or out-and-backs), so I'm still at the stage where I'm proud of myself for getting my total pack weight down under 50lbs (no chair or cooler this time, and I have a real pack instead of my old college book bag

)! I've got a few more purchases in mind that could get me down into the sub 30lb range where I feel that backpacking could be more realistic. Of course, I've never had to carry my gear further than a mile either....

**SunshineHiker** · 02-17-2012, 11:39

Water shouldn't be an issue as I think just about every shelter has a good water source. The Georgia AT Club has a report that gets updated. It lists where all the water sources are and how well they're flowing. It looks like it hasn't been updated in a bit but I have a feeling that come thru-hike season, it'll probably become more accurate.

http://www.georgia-atclub.org/trail/water.htm

Str1der, this is my first trip where I think I'm going to make it down to official Ultralight status and I've got quite a bit of my gear from my lightweight days that I would be happy to lend you.