[at-l] N. Georgia Hike - October 17

October 17
More shelter to shelter hiking is the plan for the day. This means that our destination would be the
Deep Gap Shelter in Deep Gap.  People started rising just after 07:00.  The night had been quite
warm after a little wind that had been blowing into the shelter died away. I think my thermometer
never dipped below the low 40s. Just after the sunrise it was reading around 50 degrees. The
sunrise, as it came into view around 07:30, revealed  wispy clouds and a fair  amount of haze. The
colors though were still pretty good and I think some of my photos will turn out pretty well
especially the ones I took from a small rock outcropping near where a few people had set up tents.

The clouds did look a bit threatening even though according to Ron's watch the pressure had been
rising over the past twelve hours so we hurried our departure from the shelter. That process was
aided by the fact that we were not cooking any meals since our water supply was low and we couldn't
count on water until we reached Addis Gap some 6 miles away.

We were striding down the side trail to the AT around 08:45.  The trail immediately started to
descend. Perhaps an eighth of mile down the trail I stepped over a tiny spring. If John had not
pointed it out to me I doubt I would have seen it myself.  I saw a darker spot but did not realize
it was a small dripping spring.

The trail continued to descend but eventually it flattened out and I knew we were entering the "Swag
of the Blue Ridge." The "Swag of the Blue Ridge" is a 3 mile stretch of trail that gently undulates
over the knolls and gaps in the region. I really enjoyed the section. The footing was superb and the 
views of the forest were pretty good. It is clear that in this area fall has most definitely come of
age. Many many trees have dropped quite a few leaves, causing the trail to be rather leaf covered,
and it is equally clear that it has been dry for quite some time since a lot of foliage is dead.

The Swag ended with a climb of Round Top. I'm not sure how much of a climb was involved but it did
get the blood flowing and it was a fine way to end the Swag of the Blue Ridge.

At Sassafras Gap I put my pack down and waited for John and Ron to catch up. I handle the ascents
much better than either of them. I only had to wait for about 10-15 minutes before they came into
view.  I suppose I got to take a good half hour break at that gap. If water was available there it
would make a nice campsite, but it was dry.

We had a gentle descent into Addis Gap. I arrived just a couple minutes ahead of John and Ron and we
struck out on the old woods road to the site of a former AT shelter where a stream was known to be
flowing. We arrived at the stream around 12:15 and spent about two hours there  filtering water,
having lunch, and just relaxing.  The day had warmed up and when the sun was shining down on us it
was really quite warm. We were making very good time even with the breaks we had taken. I know I was
doing a bit more than 2MPH and the others, dispite their protestations of being slow were not
terribly far behind me. 

Just as we were getting ready to go we were treated to a very short fall shower. The sun was still
visible and it was really just a sprinkling of rain, but I would not have minded if it had continued
to sprinkle as we had to climb up the major mountain of the day: Kelly Knob.

We arrived at the base of the knob around 14:25 and found Mitch and Verlie there deciding  whether
they should camp at the campsite at Addis Gap or get water  and join us at the shelter. We told them
it was an easy 0.5 mile walk to the stream, barely 10 minutes.  

SInce I handle ascents better than the others, partly because I just keep going and going, I knew
I'd reach the summit long before they would.  I arrived at the top of the knob, which really is not
the summit (that is reached via a side trail which I followed part way to take some pictures of the
mountains in the distance) at 14:55. I had covered the 1.1 miles and 970 feet of ascent in about 30
minutes.  I was tired, but not overly so, and I was damned pleased with myself. I spent about 15
minutes soaking in the view and then began the final 0.6 miles of descent to the shelter.

That descent took almost as long as the ascent had. At least it seemed that way though in reality it
was not. I reached the shelter just after 15:30 and that included strolling down the 0.3 mile side
trail (total distance from the peak of Kelly Knob was 0.9 miles).  

This is a really nice shelter. There is a small loft, a front porch with a bench, and picnic table.
The shelter also has a privy, something the last couple have not had, which was  a nice change of
pace (I have yet to find a privy in Georgia that has a door). Unfortunately the spring here is also
dry, but we had carried extra water just in case so that should not be an issue.

It was nice getting to the shelter so early. John and Ron arrived 25 or so minutes after I did,
started calling my "young bull," for how I plug up the trail, and we settled in to do our setup
chores while we wondered if Verlie and Mitch would come up to the shelter or not.

As we finished our meals, around 18:00, they strode down the trail having finished their shelter to
shelter hike for the day too.

It's now  18:55 and I'm all done with my day except for the sleeping. We're chatting with each other
as we get ready for bed. I am hoping I'll be able to catch a bit of the baseball game tonight, but
since we're in a gap I have my doubts.  In a way, I wish I had not gotten here quite so early since
it seems so terribly early and I'm not ready for the day to end. Of course, if I were doing this
trip be myself I probably would have just continued to hike the remaining 3.5 miles into Hiawassee,
but that is not what our schedule dictates . It has been a very good day and I am certainly not
complaining.

©copyright 2000, Kenneth Knight
**  Kenneth Knight    Web Design, IT Consultant, Software Engineer  **
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To:            "Billie H. Cleek" <cleek@csc.smsu.edu>
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