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[at-l] Neel's Gap to Woody Gap - Trip report



Saturday I did a small section, with about every change in plans possible. 
The original hiking partner wimped out, possible to avoid HATT. POG agreed 
to go with me, originally to drive up Saturday and meet me at Woody to 
overnight on Saturday. I planned to overnight Friday and try my daughter's 
backpack as a day pack, short weekend pack.

I wound up driving up Saturday after POG slept at Dockery Lake in the rain 
and after a Chinese dinner at Dahlonaga. I got there late, car overheating, 
and drove over to Neels' Gap, leaving her car at Woody. Walasi-Yi told us 
the weather was bad and we could leave the car in their lot. Feeling happy 
and not pleased with the bulging book bag, I went shopping and got a Dana 
Bomb pack, a marked improvement over my TNF Beheamoth pack, I just found 
less than 3000 cu not enough for a weekend, and 3500 great and likely to be 
my main pack.

We strolled up Blood Mt., beginning 11:30. I enjoyed the pace, but POG was 
obviously not having fun and was ill. After sitting atop Blood about and 
hour, doing the Gatorade thing, talking to locals and tourists, she 
acknowledged she was ill and not making the trip to Woody by foot. About 
2:30 I went west and she went east towards the Skankmobile, with the plan 
to meet at Woody after 6PM.

The walk was easy off of Blood Mountain. The recent rain had a trickle of 
water at Slaughter Gap, and very good water at the spring toward Bird Gap. 
I did not check out Wood's Hole, but know that its spring is not likely to 
be useable by anything other than yellow jackets. There were a few seaps 
west of Jarrad Gap. There was a very good stream east of the trail to 
Dockery Lake, but a smaller spring west of that trail. I saw little 
wildlife although the birds were making a racket. I saw two turtles, 
and.passed one.

There were a few groups of hikers, a couple of camps and boy scouts, 2 
church groups. and only a scattering of solo hikers between Slaughter and 
Woody. I explored a bit at Woody and found a number of very neat campsites 
just off the road. The trail had been well maintained regarding litter, but 
appeared a bit overgrown between Jarrad and Granny Mt. The fire damage from 
last fall is visible between Slaughter and Bird Gap, with new ferns and 
wild flowers, trees in good shape, but everything else between them in size 
burned and dead.

It is very dry up in North Georgia this year. I was lucky to be there after 
very heavy storms and during 3 showers. Those of us HATTing will be wise to 
cache water if possible, and to encourage fire safety (or better, no fires) 
until we recover from 3 years of poor rains.

I finally got to Woody by 6:30 and found POG feeling a good deal better, 
but still in need of that section for her Georgia patch. The drive home was 
easy, but I was a tired hiker for Father's Day.

OrangeBug
Atlanta, GA

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