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Appalachian Trail Trip: Springer Mountain to Neels Gap, GA

Prologue
December 2000

What better way is there to spend time off from school or work than to go on a trek in the woods? A group of us (well actually three of us) decided to do just that for Christmas break. The first question was where should we hike and how far? We decided to try our luck along a section of the Appalachian Trail in North Georgia. The Appalachian Trail, or just AT as most hikers refer to it, runs along the spine of the Appalachians from Georgia to Maine for a total distance of roughly 2,150 miles. Each spring many hikers attempt to thru-hike the trail. Springer Mountain, at the southernmost terminus of the trail, is the starting point for these thru-hikers venturing north to Maine. So we decided that our trip would start at Springer Mountain and that we would head north on the trail as far as we could hike in seven days. I reassured my hiking companions -- Hong and David -- that I wanted this to be a fun, non-grueling trip where we could enjoy the great outdoors. We had hoped to hike all the way to Dicks Creek Gap on Highway 76 near Hiawasee, Georgia. Despite our high hopes of hiking 70 miles in seven days, we ended up settling for a 40 mile trip over five grueling days in the mountains of North Georgia. We endured rain, snow, and extremely cold temperatures. It was an adventure we will never forget.

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