Date: 2008-03-04
From: Woody Gap

To: AT Prep Hike Report - Early Spring 2008 
Miles today: 0.0

On Friday ¢ February 29 we left our car at the Unicoi Gap parking area, the planned ending point on this 30 plus mile hike. Our shuttle driver, Wes Wisson, arrived promptly at 10:00 am, ready to transport us to the Woody Gap trailhead. Woody Gap, about twenty miles north of Springer Mountain, where we finished this last three-day fall hike. Shortly after getting dropped off, we hit the trail and slowly climbed Cedar Mountain (elevation 3737). Once on top, the views on this cold and windy day were spectacular. The AT, which runs along the top spine of the Appalachian Mountain range, routinely offers constant ups and downs. This day was no exception. At about 4:00, 7.3 miles later, we arrived at the Woods Hole Shelter. After quickly setting up our Tarptent, we enjoyed socializing with four other hikers. This included Piddler, Memphis Tim (NOTE: Tim summited Katahdin on September 5, 2008. Way to go Memphis Tim!) , and Jonnie and Debbie ¢ all hopeful thru hikers. It rained throughout the night, but we stayed perfectly dry in our seam sealed Tarptent shelter. On Saturday morning we had coffee and breakfast, packed up, and hit the trail around 9:30. Little did we know that this would prove to be a very long and exhausting day! Our climb up Blood Mountain, the highest elevation in Georgia, didn¢t seem particularly difficult. Most hikers would probably agree that hiking downhill takes a greater toll on the body than hiking uphill. This proved to be true for us as we carefully negotiated the steep decent down Blood. After arriving at bottom, we took a break at the Mountain Crossing Outfitters Store at Neels Gap. Mountain Crossings, a well stocked outfitters store that caters to the needs of thru hikers. It is unique in that the AT passes right through the building. One free service that they offer is a backpack ¢shakedown¢. This involves going through every item in a hiker¢s backpack and recommending what can be done without. They ship out thousands of pounds of unneeded hiker¢s gear every year. The storeowner, Winton Porter, has been very helpful to Connie and I, helping us better understand what to take and what to leave home. As a result, we carry lighter packs than many of the hikers we meet. One question that most hikers constantly struggle with is how much water to carry. With numerous water sources along the trail, it is tempting cut weight through limiting the amount of water carried. Our trail guidebook made note of several water sources leaving Neels Gap, so I encouraged Connie to fill her 2 liter water bladder and empty her one liter bottle. That might have been a great plan except for the fact that we couldn¢t locate those water sources. In order to get to water, it became necessary to extend our planned eight-mile day to eleven to get the Whitley Gap Shelter, where a good water source was assured. The last two miles took us up Wildcat Mountain, so we were very tired hikers when arriving around 6:00 pm. We shared camp with about twenty University of Georgia students, there to conduct an outdoor wilderness project. All were very friendly, offering to share their campfireDay three turned out to be beautiful, with visibility as far as the eye could see. After filling all of our water containers, we hiked over eight miles before deciding to camp in a secluded spot near the trail. Our trail guide makes note of tent camping along the trail, but there are many other great sites available. We picked a campsite unnoted in the guidebook. Although it is the beginning of the thru hike season, we saw only one other hiker all day Sunday.Day four, our last day, took us through some beautiful wooded areas. We commented about how this scenery on this trip was far more spectacular than we anticipated. After enjoying a lunch break at Low Gap Shelter and replenishing our water supply, we hiked on to the Blue Mountain Shelter where we took a snack break and signed the trail register. After two more miles of hiking, almost all downhill, we arrived at the car.One of our goals of these extended weekend hikes is to test gear in anticipation of our AT thru hike. Just about all of our equipment performed exceptionally well. Our layered clothing system kept us warm in all conditions. We can¢t say enough about our backpacks (Granite Gear Ozone and ULA Catalyst), Tarptent, Brunton Flex Canister Stove, and Montbell sleeping bags. Our trail running shoes, Montrail Hardrocks, are superb! We¢ve had no problem with blisters whatsoever. The only item that I (Dane) may replace is my sleeping pad. I am a ¢side sleeper¢ which did not agree with my lightweight Pacific Outdoors pad. I¢ve decided to give up a few ounces and go back to the Big Agnes inflatable sleeping pad - the Cadillac of camping sleep comfort. Note: Dane (Tagless) did go back to using the Big Agnes Insulated Pad and never looked back!