Day #4 - The End of the Beginning

Me and Daddy before the hike today - because I'm worried no one will believe he's actually with me unless there is photographic evidence.

Top of Blood Mountain in the snow

After two days of holing ourselves up in the cabin watching the hail pelt the front porch and the weather warnings and watches accumulate one by one, we decided we would journey out for one last day in the mountains before we have to wrap up this spring break adventure. The forecast looked relatively promising for today, and we decided we would go hike come hell or high water.

And come it did. It rained steadily during most of the drive over to Woody Gap (where we last left our noble adventurers), but by the time we got unloaded and geared up, the shower had broken up and things were looking up. It was partly cloudy and about 5o degrees for the first two hours of the hike, which was absolutely wonderful. We started out at about 11:30am and our goal was to reach Neel's Gap, the next place where the AT crosses a major highway, by dark, for a total trip of about 10.5 miles. Because things were looking so nice and the trail in the section was a relatively forgiving traverse rather than intense climbs and descents, we were able to hike almost 6 miles in the first three hours. We were feeling confident and enjoying ourselves when the fog rolled in and the sleet began. The temperature dropped about 12 degrees, but we were wearing our raingear preemptively and it was really only a slight drizzle (of sleet?). We encountered some other hikers, a group of boy scouts out for a backpacking trip and a group of friends hiking with two disgustingly adorable little dogs (named Grits and Banjo).

We were a little bit cold and damp but relatively happy when we got to the bottom of Blood Mountain - the highest peak in Georgia. Climbing from the base to the summit is an increase in elevation of over 1,000 feet. The ascend started innocently enough, then the sleet picked up. As we climbed higher and higher the temperature dropped more and more, and the fog became increasingly dense. The trail up the south side of Blood Mountain is a beautiful trail lined by trees and shrubs on both sides and containing many "stairways" of slate stones and boulders. When the sleet turned to a legitimate snow towards the summit, the landscape almost seemed otherworldly. We wandered around the summit for a bit, checking out the shelter that was built there in the early 20th century by forest servicemen. Dad fell right on his backside trying to take a picture of me in front of it (at least we weren't close to the cliff edge at the summit) My only regret is that the fog and snow were so thick that we couldn't see the view from the top. It's supposed to be spectacular on clear days.

Eventually, the snow picked up enough that we started to get seriously chilled, and decided to get off of the bare rock faces of Blood Mountain and begin our descent to Neel's Gap. Easier said than done. The descent down the north side of Blood Mountain was the hardest, most time consuming hike yet. It took us two and a half hours to climb the 2.5 miles down from the summit - a pace that can be politely described as a crawl. The rapidly melting snow made the boulders, rocks and stone slabs making up the steep descent incredibly slippery, and the ground in between them nothing more than gooey mud stew. It was excruciatingly slow going and getting colder by the second. Despite all this, I couldn't ignore how eerily beautiful everything was. I really wish we had been more comfortable and had better weather so I could've experience Blood Mountain in all of it's true glory.

Around 6:00pm we were soaked and freezing from our fight with the mud-painted north face of Blood mountain, and the sun was setting. We finally reached some relatively flat trail through the woods and high-tailed it the last half mile to Neel's Gap. Neel's Gap is the home of the only store to be directly on the AT. I mean this in the most literal sense possible. The AT passes straight through the center of the store/hiker hostel, and it's unique location has made it famous. Neel's Gap was crowded with chilled hikers, and a hot meal was being cooked for the masses under a large tent. The owner of the store has written a book called "Just Passing Through," and I highly recommend it for those interested. Mom met us in the parking lot, and we couldn't have been happier to jump into the clean sweatshirts and shoes she brought us and head back to the cabin. I do want to go back to Neel's Gap and explore the area under more accommodating circumstances though. It's a fascinating little place.

All in all, our plan to wait out the weather failed miserably. It was a pretty miserable day to be out. For all of you who probably thought I was a complete wimp for trying to wait for better skies, touche. You told me so. I definitely got a healthy dose of foul-weather trekking today. However, I can't complain. It was painful and frustrating, invigorating and encouraging. Over the course of my spring break, I have completed a little over 30 miles of the AT. Shy of my original goal of 76 miles, but I am satisfied. I tried out my legs and my gear, explored the southern Appalachians, and got a good taste of the wonders I am in for for the next six months. Now I just have to go back and graduate. I'm not sure which is harder...

Quote of the Day: "If the Jedi can levitate the X-wing out of the swamp, why can't they levitate themselves? I guess what I'm really asking is...why can't Jedi fly?" - Me (Dad thought it was funny...we have some pretty random conversations during our treks...)
Miles Traveled: 10.6
Miles from Springer: 30.7
Miles from Katahdin: 2,146
Feeling: Wonderfully Tired