[at-l] N. Georgia Hike - October 10

October 10
I woke up just before 07:00 and knew I wasn't going to fall back to sleep so I decided to run an
impromtu gear test. Although the sky was lightening it was still pre-dawn. I put on my pants,
capilene t-shirt, Paramon Mountain Shirt with the fuzzy side facing in, hat, Patagonia R1 vest,
fleece gloves, Stephenson poncho, socks and boots so I could go forth and face the new day.  There
was a still some wind and I expect the temperature was around freezing (more likely above than
below): a perfect morning to run this test.  The poncho blocked the wind, the hat kept my head warm,
the gloves worked well, and my torso and legs were toasty. I wandered around utside for 15 to 20
minutes and was fine. The gear test was a success and I no longer needed to agonize about my
clothing choices. When I returned Ryan was laying in bed watching TV. A typical American in a hotel
room (just like  me).

We headed down to breakfast around 08:00 and found that the place was virtually empty. There was
remarkably little traffic during the hour we spent enjoying the buffet and figuring out what our day
should include. We had already decided that the main goal of the day would be to hike to the Len
Foote Hike Inn. That decision was re-enforced as we read park literature about the inn and we
determined that we would go there no matter what John and Ron ended up doing (we knew they were
planning on staying at a shelter just a few dozen yards from the visitor center). We were in no
hurry to leave the visitor center ourselves so we hung around the gift shop, the phone to make calls
home and check email, and use the all important pack scale. We learned that Ryan's pack with water
came in at 35 pounds (32 without) and mine  registered 32 pounds with water and 29 pounds without.
Those weights without water included everything else that would hang off our shoulder. For Ryan that
included his belly bag and for me the 2 pound camera pouch. Considering I am carrying a solid week
of food and Ryan is carrying more gear than he normally would so he can better test his pack we 
came in quite well.

We did not go to the falls. The trail to the bottom of the falls was closed and neither of us was
interested in bothering with a top-down view of the waterfall. Iıll just note that the name
"Amicalola" is Cherokee and means "tumbling water."  That rather makes "Amicalola Falls" redudant,
doesnıt it?

We left the visitor center at 13:10 and began our hike to the Hike Inn which is about 6 miles away.
To reach the inn  we had to climb up to the top of the Amicalola  Falls. This climb is on the
Springer Mtn. Approach Trail and we ascended some 800 feet over a mile.  The hike certainly got the
juices flowing on this clear, bright,  yet cool day. I expect the temperature was around 58 degrees
when we left. Part of the climb followed what must be a fire road. The road is composed of gravel
and I know I really felt that as I plodded along. We reached the Amicalola Falls parking lot just
over a half hour after we departed the visitor center and a half hour later we were at our lunch
spot.  We were managing a 2.0MPH pace and I was feeling pretty good.  

The trees have only just begun to show some fall colors. The vast majority are still green, but now
and then you can spot a brilliant red, orange, or yellow leaved specimen.  For Ryan the sheer number
of deciduous trees was awe inspiriring.  There is, I gather , nothing comparable in Montana. Our
lunch spot looked out west over the forests of the Chatahoochee National Forest . It was a fine
view. And I now have a vauge idea of what a sassafrass tree looks like since there was a grove of
them at our location (some were showing fall color).

Ryan decided to hike on ahead while I finished my lunch so we decided to meet at the Hike Inn. I
left the lunch spot around 14:45 and continued along the well maintained and fairly gentle trail.
The hardest part of the trail had been the first mile.  As I hiked I kept hearing little rustling
sounds near by. I stopped and tried to figure out what was making them. It sounded tantilizingly
close and of modest size, but I could not see it. I even aimed my camera in the general direction of
the sound in the hope that I would capture the animal on silicon, but I doubt that will pan out.  

I caught up with the father of two kids a few minutes after trying to track down my mysterious
animal. This small family had left the visitor center not long after we did.  He was a nice fellow
to talk to and he was taking his kids on an overnight trip since they are out of school for the week
(fall break I suppose).  I soon realized that I was maintaining a pace substantially over 2.3MPH and
I decided to slow down. There was no reason to hurry. Besides, after one of the few 300 or so foot
climbs I was feeling a bit tired and my left leg was cramping up a bit. I still pulled away from the
father and his kids as I wandered through the trees I could not identify though knew had to be
poplar, chestnut, and other deciduous trees.  

With just a couple tenths of a mile to go as I strolled through the forest the kids caught up to me
and zipped on by. The father said they thought I was moving fast, but they really flew by me.
Perhaps they were just very eager to reach this incredible complex that is the Hike Inn. I arrived
around 16:20. This means I spent at most 2 and a half hours hiking.  

The HIke Inn  is made up of several buildings. The first building contains the lobby and twenty
rooms they have to rent. Next comes the shower house and worm-hole technology bathrooms (i.e., worms
help the with the decomposition process). The kitchen and dining room are reached by descending to
ground level and crossing a small pathway  and are followed immediately by a reading/gaming room
which is where I am right now sitting by an incredibly efficient wood burning stove typing this
journal. There is going to be a facilities tour in a few minutes and from what I can tell they
really do try to keep their impact low. After the tour the staff will serve dinner and then there
will be some educational programs and Ryan and I will likely show off some of our lightweight gear
during that time since it is already clear there is some interest (at least from the staff).

It has been a very good day and it is still just possible that John and Ron will surprise us and
arrive in the near future. If they don't we'll meet them either at Black Gap Shelter or Springer
Mtn. ShelterŠ

Bill, a staff member here, gave us a brief tour of the facilities. The Len Foote Hike Inn opened in
1998. It was supposed to be built and opened several years before then but construction of the park
lodge took longer and went considerably over budget so the walk-in Hike Inn project had to be
delayed. The DNR asked Georgia Appalachian Trail Club if they would manage the inn. GATC declined,
but did create a non-profit organization devoted to outdoor education  to run and maintain the inn.
Profits from the inn go to grants  that focus on outdoor education topics such as conservation. 

Len Foote was a noted outdoor photographer, writer, and conservationist in Georgia. His impact on
Georgia and south-east conservation/environmental movements is, I gather, extensive and he is
honored with this inn. They work very hard to be environmentally friendly.  The lighting is provided
by high efficiency flourescent (daylight spectrum mostly) lights; toilets are composting toilets
that use red wriggler worms to compost waste; the same worms also ocmpost other organic wastes such
as kitchen scraps;  disposable products like paper napkins and plates are not used to reduce trash.
Cloth or china is used instead. Rooms are heated with high effiiency wood stoves or propane heaters.
The showers use reduced flow shower heads though you would never know it when standing underneat
one. Bill mentioned several other things too. 

The inn even has its own celestial calander known as the "star base." On the vernal and automal
equinox the sun shines through a triangle shaped obolisk into the back of a small constructed cave.
It actually turned out that when they built the structure that they mis-aligned it by about a
degree, but it would have been too costly to re-position the stones. Of course, I am here some 20
days too late to see how well the clock actually works, but it is supposed to be a site for lovely
sunrises and tomorrow morning I shall find out.

There are 12 guests here tonight and we were served a fine dinner of biscuits, salad, potato
chowder, chicken, rice, stuffed tomatoes, brocoli, and strawberry shortcake ala mode. It was
delicious (I did not have every dish). The staff do a good job. They have some help from GATC
volunteers but I bet they're exceedingly busy when the inn fills up.

After dinner a GATC volunteer presented a short program on Cumberland Island. This is a barrier
island near the Georgia/Florida border. I had actually heard of it and know at least one person who
has backpacked on it. The presenter spends considerable time on the island helping the park service
run various programs such as monitoring loggerhead (?) tutrles or counting wild horses. The island
has been home to indians, then briefly spaniards, french, and english. It had cotton plantations in
the 19th century before becoming a place for the very rich to build mansions. After people like the
Carnegie's deeded property to the park service the bulk of the island became part of the national
park services domain. Today there is a $400/night hotel , some vacation residences, and park service
land. 

İcopyright 2000, Kenneth Knight
**  Kenneth Knight    Web Design, IT Consultant, Software Engineer  **
**       krk@speakeasy.org        http://www.speakeasy.org/~krk     **
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