One night backpack from Amicalola Falls

March 27, 2024 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Summary
Distance: 25.7 miles
Elevation gain:5,580 feet
Type: Out and back
Start: Dirt road, passenger car accessible. (map)
AllTrails Day 1: map 10.3 miles
AllTrails Day 2: map 15.4 miles

It’s thru hiker season on the Appalachian Trail and I always enjoy staying at a shelter on the AT so I can meet and talk to the folks who are just starting their hike northward. This year an overnight stay at a shelter was not a good idea due to norovirus. According to the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, the virus is very widespread on the trail throughout the Georgia section. To make matters worse, hand sanitizer doesn’t kill the virus, only diligent hand washing will protect you from the awful stomach bug. Of course, running water on the trail is difficult to find, making proper cleanliness all but impossible.

There is a really pretty campsite that I’ve seen before that was a prefect distance for me, so I decided to give that site a try instead of staying at a shelter. The site was great, right next to a small stream and somewhat protected from the strong winds that blew overnight.

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More photos from Roan Mountain trip

October 4, 2023October 10, 2023 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

On my way to Roan Mountain State Park from visiting my sister in North Carolina, I stopped for a hike to see Elk River Falls and Jones Falls. Elk River Falls is a short walk from a trailhead, while Jones Falls is a few miles away on the Appalachian Trail.

Elk River Falls near Elk Park, North Carolina

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Appalachian Trail – Yellow Mtn Gap to Hump Mtn

September 29, 2023October 4, 2023 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Summary
Distance: 9.1 miles
Elevation gain: 2,400 feet
Type: Out and back
Start: Gravel road (for last mile), passenger car accessible (map)
AllTrails map

This hike on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina has great views, a mix of forested sections and open balds, and plentiful fall wild flowers.

Starting from this trailhead gives easy access to balds that are away from the very popular area at Carvers Gap. I saw very few other hikers. The trailhead is over 4,000 feet high and it’s less than a mile on a gated gravel road to get to the AT.

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Appalachian Trail – Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge Bald

September 27, 2023October 4, 2023 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Summary
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation gain: 1,200 feet
Type: Out and back
Start: Paved lot (map)
AllTrails map

This section of the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee is famous for open, grassy balds and is very popular because it’s easy to access from a paved road that runs through Carvers Gap..

I really wanted to catch sunset from Grassy Ridge Bald and then return to my car under the light of an almost full moon. I was camping at Roan Mountain State Park, so I left the campground around 4PM to drive the 8 miles or so up to Carvers Gap. I had dinner with me, so I could enjoy a leasurly hike.

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Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain

November 20, 2022 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Summary
Distance: 15.5 miles
Elevation gain: 3,490 feet
Type: Out and back
Start: Paved lot, state park parking fee. (map)
AllTrails map here

It has been a while since I’ve been able to get up to the mountains for a hike, so I chose something that I’m familiar with to see how I’d do. I also wanted to test a new pair of shoes, a zero drop trail runner from Topo Athletic, called Pursuit. This hike has a few pretty solid climbs, so I thought it would be a good test of my fitness and the shoes. As it turned out, I’m in better shape than I expected, and had a fun, fast hike. The Pursuits performed well. The vibram soles have great traction, and I appreciated the thickness of the soles in comparison to some other zero drop shoes.

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Blackstock Knob

September 7, 2022 ~ steve houghton ~ 1 Comment

Summary
Distance: 6.2 miles
Elevation gain: 1,657 feet
Type: Out and back
Start: Paved lot on Blue Ridge Parkway. (map)
AllTrails map here

We chose Blackstock Knob as our first peak in the South Beyond 6,000 (SB6K) Challenge because it was an easy day hike and we had limited time.

The hike started from Walker Knob Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The parking area was pretty full when we got there, but we were able to sort out a place to park.

Route to Blackstock Knob and Patton Knob

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South Beyond 6,000 (SB6K)

September 5, 2022 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

The South Beyond 6,000 Challenge involves climbing 40 peaks that exceed 6,000 feet in elevation. The Carolina Mountain Club has information here.

The rules are really simple. You must hike at least 5 miles and gain at least 500 feet of elevation.

There are more than 60 peaks over 6,000 feet, but the peaks that were selected for the list must have a drop of 200 or more feet to a saddle between one peak and another qualifying peak or, there is a distance between the peaks of .75 miles.

All but one peak are in North Carolina or on the North Carolina / Tennessee border. Mt Le Conte is in Tennessee.

Many of the mountains are along the Blue Ridge Parkway. As a note of caution, the parkway may be closed in winter.

Georgia Loop 3-day Backpacking Trip

May 30, 2022June 25, 2022 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Summary
Day 1: 18.8 miles / 4,843 feet elevation gain AllTrails map
Day 2: 19.9 miles / 4,656 feet elevation gain AllTrails map
Day 3: 22.2 miles / 4,616 feet elevation gain AllTrails map
Total: 60.9 miles / 14,115 feet elevation gain
Type: Loop
Start/End: Paved lot. (map)

The Georgia Loop is a hike that combines parts of three trails, the Appalachian Trail, Duncan Ridge Trail and Benton MacKaye Trail, to make a loop. The terrain is rugged in places, water can be scarce in certain sections and campsites can be hard to find too. In other words, perfect for an adventure, and one that I’ve wanted to do for a while.

We hiked the loop in a counter-clockwise direction over Memorial Day weekend. By starting at Woody Gap and hiking counter-clockwise, we would be Duncan Ridge out of the way while we were fresh.

One of the more interesting aspects of the hike was how I came about hiking with a partner. I answered a question on a Reddit post and my answer mentioned that I was scouting Duncan Ridge for a future Georgia Loop hike. Someone replied to my post asking when I planned to hike and suggested Memorial Day weekend. After a few emails, we decided to do the hike together in four days. I didn’t know it at the time I started emailing them, but my hiking partner turned out to be a woman. My father-in-law had the best question about my plan to hike with a woman I had never met in person — “Does Anne know?”. As it turned out, our hiking preferences matched perfectly. We both liked to start hiking early, stop rarely and briefly when we do, and we hike at the same speed.

We did two things to make the hike easier. First, we left a car near the mid point of the loop, the spot where Benton MacKaye crosses Hwy 60. This allowed us to keep two days of food in the car making our packs lighter. Secondly, we stashed 10 liters of water in Mulky Gap a week before the hike in case water has hard to get. As it turned out, the water source was flowing at that location, but it was still easier to get water from our containers. It was very comforting to have certainty about water when hiking a long first day.

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Benton MacKaye Trail – 2 Day Backpacking

May 15, 2021June 16, 2021 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

Watson Gap to Thunder Rock Campground

Summary
Distance: 18.6 miles
Elevation gain: 3,527 feet
Type: One way with shuttle
Start: Dirt road, passenger car accessible. (map)
End: Dirt road, passenger car accessible. (map)

This hike completed our springtime goal of hiking all of the Benton MacKaye trail in Georgia, about 82 miles worth. We even chalked up a bonus 11 miles or so of trail in Tennessee. The Benton MacKaye was a big change from last week’s trip on the Appalachian Trail, we only passed one hiker on the trail during our two days. That solitude is a big appeal to the trail. As we got closer to the Tennessee end and the Tanasi trails, we did see a few mountain bikers and two trail runners, though.

Day 1
Watson Gap to Double Spring Gap
Distance: 8.3 miles
Elevation gain: 1,788 feet
AllTrails map (here)

Day 2
Double Spring Gap to Thunder Rock Campground
Distance: 10.3 miles
Elevation gain: 1,739 feet
AllTrails map (here)

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Appalachian Trail 3-day backpacking trip

May 9, 2021May 12, 2021 ~ steve houghton ~ Leave a comment

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.