“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”
~John Keats
September 21, 2021
Hike from Springer Mtn parking lot to Cooper Gap
AT miles: 11.1
Ascent: 1732’
Descent: 2199’
Weather: humid and cloudy with temps near 70
Sightings: a 12” salamander eating a 12” snake!
High points: seeing the sun for ten minutes!
Today I had a wonderful hike along a fairly easy trail.
At the beginning of the day the trail resembled a highway — smooth and wide.
At Three Forks the trail crossed a lovely stream that looked like a great fishing spot. For the first time ever I wished that I had a fishing rod handy!
We stopped for lunch at an impressive waterfall, Long Creek Falls.
The woods were dark and smelled like pine needles.
After lunch we all separated and hiked separately. I am proud to say that after 700 miles on the AT I am now very comfortable walking alone in the woods!
The trail today had lots of “humpty-dumps” (ups and downs), where the low points were gaps and the high points were mountain summits.
Many of the gaps used to have tiny settlements there. We passed this sign in remembrance of the local school and its teacher who were in this area before it became a national forest.
This particular section of the trail showcases the distinctive red Georgia clay that I have been tramping over.
Horse Gap, right after No-Name Mountain (no, I’m not kidding), is a great example of a typical Georgia gap — a dirt forest service road and a parking area.
The last mountain of the day was the first significant mountain I have encountered in Georgia — Sassafras Mountain (3347’). On the way up I had the one and only view of the day.
Sassafras Mountain (3347’) may be tall, but its summit is completely covered by trees. Despite the lack of views, the cloudy summit was memorable — the trees wrapped in mist were quite striking.
After a quick walk down Sassafras Mountain I arrived at Cooper Gap and found a cold soda in the waiting car. Yum!
All day I only saw one person on the trail — a flip-flopper named No Bad Day who stayed at our hostel last night. Tomorrow he will summit Springer Mtn and complete his thruhike!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!