In May of 2001, I needed to make a business trip to Atlanta, GA. I took the opportunity to spend a day in northern Georgia on the way to Atlanta. I parked at Nimblewill Gap (3100 ft.), which is 2.8 miles from Springer Mountain along the access trail from Amicalola Falls State Park - 1700 ft. While a thunderstorm pounded the area of the gap (and beyond), I took a nap. After the storm subsided, I walked the 2.8 miles through the woods to the rocky summit of Springer Mountain - 3782 ft. Even though the trail was wet, it was a pleasant walk. A bronze plaque depicting a hiker with a pack on his back is embedded in rock at the summit. The rain clouds were gradually clearing, which made for a nice view. I then walked on to the Springer Mountain Shelter. As might be expected in early May, there seemed to be a good bit of activity there. I retraced my steps to Nimblewill Gap, then continued on to Atlanta.
Earlier in the day I had also stopped at Neels Gap - 3125 ft.) on US 19/129. Here the trail passes through an archway of Walasi-Yi Inn. These buildings now house an outfitter (store) and hikers hostel. I walked a short distance northbound on the trail from there, perhaps as much as .5 mile, then back to Neels Gap. That portion is a steady climb.
I enjoyed driving through the northern Georgia mountains. It was good to walk a bit of the trail there and especially to visit Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the trail.
At the end of the week, I had my first opportunity to attend Trail Days in Damascus, VA (May 18, 19). I won a pair of boots - at a Phil Oren boot fitting seminar, had them modified to fit my feet, i.e. altered so as to be "broken in" by stretching the leather and adding padding - between the laces and tongue of the boots. I also got fitted for Superfeet. I have continued to use the combination of these boots and Superfeet insoles ever since then (2001).
In the morning, I parked at Big Stamp Gap on USFS 42 and walked to Springer Mountain. I then returned to the parking lot, and after some waiting, obtained a ride from there to Hightower Gap, for the purpose of hiking back to Big Stamp Gap. The mile from Big Stamp Gap to Springer Mountain is very rocky - not a particularly pleasant walk. It was heavily overcast, however, there was no threat of rain.
This section begins in Hightower Gap, at the intersection of USFS 42 and 69. At .5 mile, a blue blazed trail to the west leads to Hawk Mountain Shelter. There were quite a few people at the shelter, including a couple of representatives from the Georgia Trail Club, covering Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the ridgerunners (on their days off). I spent some enjoyable time chatting with them.... Perhaps a mile and a half before reaching the side trail to Long Creek Falls, the trail enters a long stretch - I estimate about 2 1/2 miles long - of lush rhododendron "groves". This pretty much lasts all the way to Stover Creek Shelter. At 3.4 miles, the trail reaches a blue blazed side trail leading west .1 mile to Long Creek Falls. At 4.4 miles, the AT intersects the Benton McKay Trail. The two trails share the same route for a short distance in this area. At 4.8 miles, the trail crosses Stover Creek, then parallels the creek through a stand of hemlocks. At 5.8 miles, a blue blazed trail leads .2 mile to Stover Creek Shelter. I had some interesting interactions with the people there, before continuing south. At 7.6 miles, the trail reaches a parking area on USFS 42, at Big Stamp Gap. This is the closest road access to the summit of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
The forecast for the day was mostly sunny however, the clouds were very heavy until about 3 PM - when they suddenly broke - allowing sunlight to filter through the rhododendron (and the tall hemlock trees south of the Stover Creek Crossing). About 10 PM, long after I was off the trail, thunderstorms came across the region.
This was the fourth of four consecutive days of crystal clear weather. I hiked this section on the day following my 14.4 mile hike across Blood Mountain. At 1.5 miles, a short blue blazed trail to the west leads to Gooch Mountain Shelter. At 5.1 miles, the trail crosses forest roads USFS 42 and 80 at Cooper Gap. At 5.8 miles, the trail reaches the summit of Sassafras Mountain. Then at 6.8 miles the trail passes through Horse Gap, where USFS 42 is visible to the west. The trail between Horse Gap and Hightower Gap runs along the east edge of a ridge for a while with some reasonably nice views. At 8.7 miles, the trail reaches Hightower Gap. This was a nice walk in the woods, despite the absence of much in the way of noteworthy features.
This was day 36 of a 44-day cross-country trip - from Virginia to Arizona and back. I designed the trip in such a way as to allow time to hike some of the southern portion of the AT on April 4-6 and again during the week following - on April 10. I had made nine hikes in the preceding several weeks, three in Oklahoma, three in Arizona and three in Texas - totaling about 30 miles. It was enough conditioning, but only marginally so, before undertaking a section as demanding as this one, so early in the season.
The climb from Gooch gap was gradual and pleasant. There were not yet any leaves on the trees so the "views" were about the best that can be had. Several miles in, the trail crosses Big Cedar Mountain, with rock ledges and nice views to the East. A small part of the view would be blocked by leaves on bushes to the left side of the area. After Dan Gap, the trail descends to an even lower point at about 2900 feet elevation. After that the trail gradually ascends over some small knobs for about 3 miles to Jarrard Gap. After another mile and one-half, the trail reaches Woods Hole Shelter at Bird Gap. The trail then is a sustained climb from around 3700 feet to almost 4500 feet at the top of Blood Mountain. The trail was pretty rocky, with lots of installed rock steps and water bars. At the top, there's a privy and the Blood Mountain Shelter - pretty much the first things you come to as soon as you know you're on the summit.
After the shelter, the trail continues to traverse large rock slabs (for probably a quarter-mile) with mostly marginal views to the East - marginal because of the trees. However, there is at least one slab - which looked like the one that I usually see on pictures taken from the top of Blood Mountain - which is free of trees/obstructions and provides a nice view to the east. The trail eventually leaves the slabs of rock and moves towards the other side of the ridge. Once there, the trail route passes among large rocks on that side, not changing elevation very much for perhaps as much as .2 mile before beginning to gradually descend, still through/among fairly large rocks. Eventually the trail leaves the large rocks and continues to descend, reaching Neels Gap at 14.4 miles. It should be noted that parking (for hiking) is not available at the Neels Gap itself (because of the relatively small parking area at Mountain Crossings). However, there is parking available .4 miles east of the trail at Byron Reece Memorial Parking Area.