There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
~Sir Ranulph Fiennes
September 20, 2021
Hike from Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain parking lot, Georgia
Approach Trail miles: 8.8
AT miles: 1.0
Ascent: 2669’
Descent: 1041’
Weather: heavy downpour with 30 mph gusts all day
Sightings: lots of raindrops and nine crazy hikers
besides ourselves)
High points: Summiting the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail
This week I am going to be slackpacking the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail, which is about 90 miles. Above the Clouds Hostel in Suches, Georgia, is doing a women-only week of slackpacking where they provide meals and transportation and all the five of us ladies have to do is hike!
Today we hiked the Approach Trail. The Appalachian Trail has its southern terminus at the summit of Springer Mountain, but the traditional way for hikers to get to the summit of Springer Mountain is via the Approach Trail, an 8.8 mile trail from Amicalola Falls to the summit of Springer Mountain. The trail is best known both for going along side the third tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi and for having 604 steps.
We started off at “The Arch”, the famous launch point for most AT northbound thruhikers.
We walked through the rain along a paved path for a bit. Then we had to climb stairs — supposedly 174 of them, though I didn’t count. Eventually we arrived at the bottom of the third tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi. The bottom looks like a normal pretty waterfall, but the waterfall is amazingly tall — and truly awesome.
The Approach Trail then climbs another long set of stairs, for a total of 604. However, the upper set of stairs was closed so we just walked up the road, which was extremely steep.
Because this was a legitimate trail closure, according to Appalachian Trail Conservancy guidelines, our trek along the road counts as actually hiking that part of the Approach Trail.
Due to the deluge we were walking through, the hard Georgia clay trail made the trail a puddle.
In this picture you can see the rain splashing as it falls on the trail.
The clouds and rain made for a gray day. I loved the contrast that the bright yellow false sunflowers made with the foggy background.
Leaving the rest of our group behind, Linda and I walked through the mud and rocks and rain. (The trail wasn’t nearly as bad as the trail was in Vermont! The mud was just slightly muddy, not the slippery black Vermont ooze that tries to kidnap your hiking boots!)
We hiked up Frosty Mountain (3384’) and down to Nimblewill Gap (3100’). Those are such interesting names!
Eventually, after spending some rain-soaked hours discussing what books we have read recently, we reached the summit of Springer Mtn (3782’) and the true beginning of the Appalachian Trail.
(Notice how wet I look! I’m thankful that the day was at least reasonably warm!)
This is the southernmost white blaze on the Appalachian Trail!, the one you see as you start to head north from Springer Mtn! (And three weeks ago I saw the northernmost white blaze— on the summit of Mt Katadin! Pretty cool!)
After a mile of rocky hiking we reached the Springer Mtn parking lot and went into the van, away from the pouring rain, to eat our lunch.
Then we had a quick reminder of how a fun adventure can suddenly fall apart. A father and adult son somehow locked themselves out of their car in the Springer parking lot, which meant that they couldn’t access their backpacks. To further complicate things for this unfortunate duo, the parking area had no cell reception so they couldn’t just call AAA. In the rain with no gear they could easily catch hypothermia, so we squished and squashed and somehow they squeezed into the car and came back to our hostel. Now they are now trying to figure out how to unlock their car from the warmth of the hostel. Their adventure will make a great story someday, but right now without access to phones, gear, or money, they are just frustrated.
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!