Appalachian Trail 3-day backpacking trip

Amicalola Falls State Park to Woody Gap

Summary
Distance: 28.3 miles over 3 days
Elevation gain: 6,873 feet
Type: One way with shuttle
Start: Gravel road, passenger car accessible, parking permit required. (map)
End: Paved parking lot. (map)

This was my first solo backpacking trip and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t know how I would feel about walking alone during the day or sleeping without anyone around at night. I knew that I would be hiking the approach trail from Amicalola State Park and the Appalachian Trail (AT), so I expected that I’d see some people, especially because through hikers (those going all the way to Maine) are still starting out. I planned to camp next to AT shelters, so I expected to have company in the evenings. I was even wondering if the shelter areas would be crowded. As it turned out, some of my expectations were accurate and others were not. I ended up having a great trip, and learned some things about backpacking and some things about myself too.

The logistics were pretty simple with Anne’s help. I drove to Amicalola Falls State Park and registered my trip with the park office which involved filling out a form and getting a parking pass for long term parking. You need to turn the pass in when you return so they know you’re out of the woods. Anne met me at the end to bring me back to the park to pick up my car.

I started my adventure by hiking the Approach Trail from Amicalola Falls State Park to Springer Mountain which is the southern terminus of the AT. I had planned to stay at the Springer Mountain shelter, but the wind was so strong that I didn’t think I would sleep well with the noise. So, I continued a few more miles to Stover Creek shelter to get off the top of the mountain and into a valley. It was still windy, but not as bad as the Springer Mountain summit.

I was very surprised on my first night to be completely alone at Stover Creek shelter. Thinking about the trip while planning, I really wasn’t sure how I would handle being alone if it came to that. That’s why I chose to stay at shelters. I learned that night that I am ok with sleeping alone in the woods. I got into my hammock when the sun went behind a ridge around 7PM because it got pretty cold. I read for a while, but fell asleep quickly. I didn’t sleep really well, but with such an early bedtime, I understand not sleeping through the night. At some point during the night, I thought that I might have heard mice or some other critter rooting around in my pack that was hanging from my hammock suspension. So, I kicked around in my hammock to scare the critter off, and then fell back to sleep easily.

My second night was at Gooch Mountain shelter. This night was completely different as there were a good number of through hikers and a few section hikers at the shelter that night. Most of the hikers were in their 20’s, one guy was in his 30’s and another in his 40’s. I was the oldest at 60. I think of myself as quiet and reserved, but I had a lot of fun meeting people and socializing that night. That experience was so much fun that I may try a longer Spring hike on the AT next Spring.

This hike really felt like a tiny dip into thinking like a through hiker. I had a destination and a time to be there, but everything else was up to me. I decided how far I wanted to walk in a day, where I wanted to sleep, when and where to get water. My hike ended on Sunday, a beautiful day, but the other hikers were facing a forecast of heavy rain on Monday. The buzz in the shelter that night was people figuring out how to handle the weather. I could feel the anxiety of dealing with the first rain of a long hike even if I wouldn’t experience it myself. I had other thoughts that were even odder to me. I was thinking about how great it would be to take a break from the trail to head into town for pizza and beer. I chalk that up to Covid-19 because I can get pizza but don’t out of caution.

I didn’t take a lot of photos during this hike. Here are a few that I liked.

The wildflowers were great over the course of the 3 days of hiking. I saw my first yellow lady slipper and first columbines in a long time. The wild azalea were a bit past their prime, but were still beautiful. I found one patch of pink lady slippers. There were a good variety of trillium too but I’d seen most of them before.