Date: 2006-11-18
From: Gooch Mtn Shelter

To: Len Foote Hike Inn (also, Springer Mtn)
Miles today: 19.5

I'm writing this on 4/25/07, as I neglected to keep up with my journal the last 2 days of my trip, it's a bit as the details are now all fuzzy. Anyway, I woke up in the morning as usual, had some breakfast (I assume), and hit trail ahead of everyone. I stopped in at Hawk Mtn shelter around 11:00 and met a father and son out for the weekend. Link and Easyrider caught me at Long Creek falls about an hour later, and we played some hackeysack by the very nice falls. They passed me by at some point while I was reading shelter journals. The trail the rest of the way to Springer was pretty easy and uneventful, a very gradual ascent, and not much of a climb at all (1200' over 4 miles). There were a lot of weekenders out, including a group of kids on the AT for the first time and I got several congratulations along the way. At USFS road 42, 0.9 mi N of Springer, there was a huge party going on. Boots, Kansas, the Bear Mafia, Easy Rider, Lynk, and Supernova were all there, along with probably 20 of Easy's family members (he lives nearby), and various people there to pick up their hikers. I drank some champagne and a beer and hung out and said goodbyes before heading off on my own to finish the trail, around 2pm. The party was very much the highlight of the day (thus far), and the actual summit itself was pretty anticlimatic. (Everyone else had already summitted and was back by the time I got to the road). I stopped by Springer Mtn shelter, and read my last shelter log; I may have written something witty and/or sentimental; I don't really recall. At the summit, I saw a few weekend backpackers (3), and casually mentioned that I had just completed the AT, and would they mind taking my picture (disposable camera I picked up @ Neel's Gap). They did and congratulated me and asked how it felt. I said good, but there was no overwhelming flood of emotions that I'm always reading about. It was moderatly exciting. I spent a few minutes at the summit; was hoping to get in some good reflection there, but the weekenders didn't really afford me the desired solitude (I had plenty this trip by now anyway), and they seemed to be having more of a moment at their summit than I was, so I left them for my rendezvous with Kellee at the Len Foote Hike Inn. I traded a few calls with Kellee (service was a bit spotty), and finally met her on the approach trail, about a mile N of the Inn. (She had already checked in). The Inn was VERY nice, a "wilderness" retreat for many, and a great transition back to civilization for me. It's a LEEDS gold certified facility, and we took a facility tour, where I learned a lot about environmentally sensitive construction techniques, as well as worm composting. The facility is kind of like the huts in the Whites, only larger, and more tranquil. There's private rooms instead of bunkrooms, and the lobby, library, and kitchen are all separate, connected buildings. I recommend it to anyone finishing at Springer (or starting there if logistically feasible and you're not too concerned about spoiling yourself before you get going). www.hike-inn.com. Dinner was very good, and I ate a lot of it (salad, roast beef, vegetables etc served family style). After about my 3rd serving, I mentioned to our server that I just finished hiking the AT, and he invited me to help myself to anything in the kitchen if I got hungry in the middle of the night, which was nice (the kitchen is generally off limits to guests). After dinner, we heard a talk about shape note singing, and watched a bit of the meteor shower. In bed around 12pm, but up a few times thoughout the night to catch up on my journal and because I was a but too excited to sleep.