Date: 2009-11-01
From: Hightower Gap/USFS 42 GA

To: Springer Mountain GA
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Access:North--Hightower Gap--see 10/31. It was an hour from Amicalola Lodge where we were staying.South--Springer Mt Parking Lot--This is located down USFS 42 from Hightower Gap.The Hike:What a feeling...this is our last day on the trail, and it was a picture perfect Fall day in Georgia!We split today in two, doing the major part of the hike going south to north, then returning to the Springer Mt parking lot for the final .9 miles up to the southern terminus of the AT!The trail started out on a downhill slant for the first 3 miles. We stopped at Stover Creek Shelter for a snack and to write in a shelter journal one last time. This is getting emotional...After the shelter we crossed several creeks, Stover Creek on a bridge, and came to the Three Forks where USFS 58 crosses the AT. We then started a 2.5 mi ascent of Hawk Mt. We met Rabbit who is finishing his southbound hike. He had a big smile on his face! Way to go! We later heard that he had done the journey in 120 days...wow!We met a family with several small children who were hiking towards the falls at the creek where we had just been...more on them later.We usually yak away on the trail, but today we were both quietly contemplating our last 2,100+ miles...The trial was level to down for the next 1.5 mi as we rounded a mountain and went down to our car at Hightower Gap. We drove to the Springer Mt parking lot and sat for a moment before loading a bag with M&Ms for our peak celebration.The trail to the top of Springer was a steady rise but nothing difficult. We got up there in 1/2 hr, but it was a very long 1/2 hr! We finally reached the huge stone with the Springer Terminus plaque. We had several pictures taken, enjoyed our M&Ms and met a very nice guy named Will who is the chef at the Hike Inn. When he heard our story, he took a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew out of his backpack and said 'I knew I brought this up here for a reason'! The three of us enjoyed a toast from the bottle of Trader Joe's red. Thanks Will! We signed the trail register and stayed for a while, savoring the end of our very long 20-year journey.On the way down we passed Rabbit, almost at a running pace, with his parents not too far behind. Almost back at the parking lot, we saw the family with the small children walking up the Springer trail. They had survived the waterfall hike and were now heading up to the top of Springer Mt. The little girl proudly told us that they were off for another five miles....more on this later...So back in the parking lot, our journey is done!!Bugsy and Burly Girl...DID the AT one day hike at a time... Stay tuned for our wrap up thoughts once we reach home and can reflect.PS On 11/2 we saw the family with the small children while checking out of our hotel. Apparently they were still hiking yesterday when darkness fell and their party became separated. We didn't hear the whole story, but it involved a ranger rescue! At any rate, they were still very excited about our adventures on the AT and they were looking forward to continuing their own adventures, but with no more nighttime rescues!