Date: 2012-12-26
To: Strenuous Steps: Part 1 & Part 2
Miles today: 0.0

We left home in north Mississippi right at daybreak today, switched over to Appalachian Trail time just before going around the end of Lookout Mountain, and turned into Amicalola Falls State Park around 2:30 p.m. When we began our hike way back in April, we breezed through AFSP only long enough to sign in on the Visitor Center thru hike register. With our late start and barely six months remaining until the fall closing of Baxter SP, we thought it safer to skip the approach trail, or at least postpone it for later. As it turned out, we summited Mighty Kathadin three weeks before the end of the season, and would have had plenty of time to do another 8.8 miles back at the start. But we didn¢t, leaving us some unfinished business at the end of the year. We crossed Amicalola Creek after a left turn at the VC and made our way up the steep drive to the lodge at the top of the falls. There had been some talk of hiking up to stay at a shelter (Black Gap, Springer Mountain, or maybe even Stover Creek) overnight, and then hiking back down the following day. However, as this trip coincided with our 37th wedding anniversary, we ultimately decided to continue our AT hiking tradition of Roughin¢ It Deluxe, and pamper ourselves with a bed, running water, and an excellent anniversary dinner buffet. In fact, we decided to do the Approach Trail ¢Seeks It¢ style, not only avoiding sleeping on the trail, but doing the distance in a pair of out and back day hikes. So, we checked in at the lodge, donned our hiking clothes, and headed out to ¢ultimate slackpack¢ (that is, carrying no gear at all) the lower 2.4 mile roundtrip section of the Approach Trail. The wind was whipping, and the spitting snow was sticking to the leaves, trees, and trail signage. The dirt trail was snow free, but the accumulating slush on the wooden walkways and even the metal grating of the famous 604 steps beside the Falls made the footing feel treacherous. However, the upside of the wet weather and bare branches was that we had really great views of all 729 feet of the ¢tumbling waters¢ (¢Um-ma-eolola¢ in the Cherokee language, from which the name Amicalola derives). By the second set of steps going downward, a slight rise in temperature brought an end to the frozen precip, and we made quick time down to the world famous arch at the Visitor Center. We had fun paging through the register to see all the folks who had signed in around the same time we did. As the majority of them did not start out with trail names, we probably missed a few familiar faces among the unfamiliar names. With a tinge of sadness, we noted Paul Bernhardt was not yet ¢Parkside¢ when he signed in with his 39 pound pack as Hiker #34 on February 17th. Wanting to beat the oncoming overcast sunset back to the lodge, we didn¢t linger long at the VC, but were pleasantly surprised to find our trail conditioning had not completely disappeared in the last three months. We conquered both sections of the Strenuous Steps with ease and no shortness of breath, something we could not have done (even slackpacking) this time a year ago. Somewhere along the return trip came the realization we were now the last two members of the NOBO thru hiker Class of 2012 to begin the Approach Trail! Now there¢s something to tell your grandchildren¢¦Our day ended with a very civilized glass of wine enjoyed between the lodge¢s fire place and its towering 24¢ Christmas tree.