[at-l] Trip Report- Amicalola to Neels

[Christopher Vreeland <72102.3347@CompuServe.COM>]

Howdy Folks,

A little background info before I get down to business- 

your scribe = Chris Vreeland a.k.a. The KalamaZoo Gorilla GA->PA '88,
PA->ME '89

my partner in crime = John Sullivan  a.k.a. The Sheik GA->MA '88, MA-ME'89 
(John says "Back at cha, Ginny" re. greetings)


Friday, Jan. 8:  Was dropped off above the falls at Amicalola at 1pm. 
Temp. was low 40s/mid 30s.  Mostly cloudy. First reaction- Egads, what is
that hotel doing up there?  :->  It looks a lot like a very nice AMC hut. 
Didn't stop in as it was on a side trail and Springer was calling our
names.  Found an iced up pile jacket just this side of the new (well, new
since 1988 anyway) shelter.  I believe the shelter was the Blackwell Gap
shelter but since I'm too cheap to buy a new data book I can't verify that
for you.  The jacket only weighed about 5 lbs frozen solid and since I
didn't have enough weight anyway :->, I brought it along (I like free
stuff).  Made it to Springer shelter at 5 pm in visibility of about 20
feet.  Fog, rain and rime ice were beautiful.  The approach trail was solid
underfoot and clear of any significant blowdowns.  Met three fellows from
S. Carolina in the shelter and had a grand time eating dinner, discussing
affairs of state, etc.  Missed seeing Felix in person by a mere two days.
Rats.

Sat. Jan. 9:  Walked to Hawk Mtn. after blasting out of the shelter at the
crack of 11:30am.  The sleeping bag was mighty warm and I've never exactly
been know for early starts anyway.  The trail was in excellent shape. 
Again, no significant blowdowns for people under 6 feet tall (John had to
duck once).  

There were four completely empty registers at Springer shelter so I took
one of the nameless ones and left it at Stover Creek which didn't have one.
 There was a ton of canned food left at Hawk Mtn. shelter- at least six
cans of tuna in oil, a spam or two, vienna sausages (outlawed in Austria,
I'm sure), and several Lipton dinners.  I believe they came from the fellow
who wrote in the register "This has to be the stupidest thing I've ever
done" before he left the trail and went home.  Heck, if that's the
stupidest thing he's ever done, he's ahead of me :->.  

The weather Sat. was low 30s/high 20s and overcast with a few flurries all
day.  John and I were the only folks at the shelter for the night and it
was a cold one.  Had to be single digits by morning but we didn't bring a
thermometer so I can't give actual figures.

Sun. Jan 10:  Left Hawk Mtn. exactly at noon.  The day was clear and the
Hawk Mtn. privy has an excellent view for those of you who keep track of
such things.  The trail to Gooch Gap was, as on previous days, solid
underfoot and clear of significant blowdowns. Met two S-bounders with dogs
in the early afternoon.   Tented at Gooch Gap down by the road as I did in
'88.  Same result- excellent night's sleep, a few pickups roaring by in the
night. 

Mon. Jan 11:  Got up and out early (10am) today.  Beautiful day for hiking.
 High 40s/low 50s, clear skies.  Met five s-bounders including one fellow
finishing a yo-yo.  All of them had the lean, mean long distance hiker
look.  Got to Neels Gap by 6pm.  Saw two does at the very summit of Blood
Mtn.  They saw us and scampered off to parts unknown.  It was windy &
chilly and we were glad to spend the night at the Goose Creek cabins.

Tues. Jan 12:  Back to Atlanta for me to catch a plane home.  John was
shuttled up to Dick's Creek Gap so he can make it up to his brother's house
in TN.

General Observations:

1)  GATC has continued to do a great job over the last 11 years or so.  The
trail remains in excellent shape and the new shelters, privies, water
signage are highly appropriate for the crowds of folks headed that way in
the near future.

2)  For some reason, the walking was lots easier this time than I remember
it being the first time.  Perhaps the absence of all the extra clothing,
gear & food than I was lugging the first time had something to do with it
:->  Additionally, already knowing the trail and knowing that I could do it
was helpful.  Although the path was identical (amazing how some turns in
the trail stuck exactly in my memory), the grades seemed gentler than I
remembered. 

3)  For those who asked, there didn't seem to be a whole lot changes at
Amicalola compared to '88 except for the obvious one- that huge hotel
overlooking the falls.  Of course, my observations in '88 took place almost
entirely in the dark as I arrived late and left early (6am ish).

4)  For those headed that way anytime soon, all water sources were running
great as of the dates indicated.

5)  For prospective thru-hikers - don't let the approach trail from
Amicalola discourage you.  It seemed more demanding to me than the actual
AT.

6)  If you lost a pile jacket on the approach trail recently, describe the
contents of the pockets and I'll send it to you.

7)  A big thank you to all those who responded to my posting about rides
from Neels a few months ago.  Sorry I couldn't get back to each of you
individually before taking off.  Anyway- thanks for the offers and
assistance.

TTFN,

Chris 
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