Goodbye to northern Georgia, hello to Caroline.
Coming out of Bearpen Gap a big laborious climb.
No problem getting to the top, just took a good long time.
Peanuts, Starbursts, jelly beans are all that now remain.
High time to go into a town and resupply again.
With an early rise, I arrived at the Georgia/North Carolina border at 8 this morning. Perfect excuse to drop the pack, take a few pics and snarf on breakfast tortillas. Although I was on the AT in Georgia for only three days before crossing the state line, the memory of these mountains will linger for a long time. Why? As Sade sings, "it's never as good as the first time". Georgia was my first experience on the AT, first climb, first descent, first storm, first trail magic, first meeting with other would-be thru-hikers, and though I didn't stay in one, my first time seeing what a shelter looked like. I suppose it can also be attributed to the thrill at the start of the journey before the familiarity of routine has set in.
A tenth of a mile later at Bly Gap, hikers were just getting a start to the day, some still crawling out of their tents while others were standing around rubbing sleep out of their eyes. Early mornings on the trail are a favourite time for me as I can generally be assured of walking undisturbed. Most of my best animal sightings occur during this time or during the waning hours of the day around dusk. It always makes my heart leap to surprise deer drinking from the small mountain streams.
One thing I like about the Appalachian Trail are the small wooden signs indicating the placename of where you're at. There's something very comforting about knowing where you are and how far it is to where you want to wind up. In my Thru-Hiker's Companion, I always look to see what names I should be looking for and try to calculate in my head approximately how long it will take me to get there. The strangest name so far was a side path called Chunky Gal Trail. How or why it earned this name is unknown to me, but I'm guessing there's a story there somewhere.
The steepest climb of the day was coming out of Bearpen Gap, one of those straight up the mountain kind that get the heart beating like a big bass drum, leave you winded in no time flat, and cause your calves to burn with the strain. Keep on pushing higher for with each passing step I know I'm getting closer to the top. Once at the top, I climb the stairs of an observation tower and marvel at the stunning views of rolling Appalachia all around me. As with any extraordinary spot along the trail, a great time to rest a bit while snapping photos and snacking.
The last of today's beauty spots was the area below Rock Gap that contains the Wasilik Poplar, the second largest poplar tree in the United States. It's well worth the half-mile trek down a side trail to see even though it is now dead. On the descent you pass a lovely patch of greenery with a bubbling mini-cascade convenient for topping off any empty water bottles. Once in the grove it doesn't take much imagination to envision what the tree looked like in its leafy grandeur. One of the forest's silent sentinels completing its long-time watch.
By the time I got back on the AT it was growing late and in my efforts to race the sun, I blew past Wallace Gap where I had hoped to find a place to camp. As the light grew dimmer and dimmer, I was literally jogging down the trail and with the tiniest flicker of remaining light I pulled into Winding Stair Gap, the site of tomorrow's hitch. Finding a nice flat spot tucked away in some rhododendron bushes on the side hill above the trail, I donned my headlamp and proceeded to make camp. Up at 7 a.m. in camp at 9 p.m., a mondo day of long miles, a few climbs, but mostly gentle grade. Snug in my sleeping bag, I reviewed the day's events in my mind. As I grew sleepier, approaching the boundary of unconsciousness, I recalled the guy who passed me on the trail today like I was standing still. Who was that masked man?!
Georgia/North Carolina Border
Gentle Terrain
Steeper Grade
Viewpoint
Rolling Hills of Appalachia
Babbling Brook
The Wasilik Poplar
Racing the Sun
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