Trail Journal - by David Bark
Made it to the border!
By David Bark
In November of 2010 I set a goal to hike the entire Georgia section of the AT in one year. I found the GATC during this time, and became a member, and signed up for all the AT series hikes offered by the GATC. I am excited to say I have now finally finished all of the AT in Georgia on October 29th, 2011!! Hiking the AT in Georgia over the past 9 months has been one of the most challenging things I have done in my lifetime. I have made several new friends, seen lots of beautiful views, and it has motivated me to start a hiking club at my work.
I was able to record several of the hikes to keep track of my mileage and elevation gain & loss over the 76 miles. So here are some rough stats:
Total miles hiked: 84 miles
(including Approach Trail)
Elevation Gain: 24,180 ft
Elevation Loss: 21,059 ft
Hours: 53 hrs
Started: February 6th, 2011
Completed: October 29th, 2011
I was able to finish the hike with my other hiking buddies, Dorothy Copeland & Jane Berry. This was their last section also, so the three of us celebrated once reaching the GA/NC. border. It was great to share this accomplishment with my other friends and be able to cross this off my bucket list. I filled out my form for my 80 miler patch, this will be off in the mail Monday morning!
I would like to say thanks to the GATC for offering the AT series. Without all the support (car pools, shuttles, planning) of the hike leaders, this major goal for a new hiker would almost be an impossible task. I look forward to seeing everyone out on the trail and on future hikes.
My First GATC Hike
I joined the GATC to find others who wanted to hike & my goal was to hike the
entire Georgia section of the AT in 2011. Therefore, I was glad I got to go on the
first AT series hike on Feb. 6th from Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain.
It was a chilly start to the morning, but sunny and beautiful. Since this is my first hike, I knew it was going to be a good challenge.
We reached the far end Hike Inn & Approach trail merge in about 2 hours. Then we ate a quick lunch at Nimblewill Gap @ 11:30 am.
All during the hike we saw Rine Ice at the higher elevations during our
hike. Bob Layson explained what this was, he said to Google for better
definition (see photo).
The climb up Springer for me was challenging, learned I need to do more lunges to strengthen my thighs. LOL! But it was well worth the effort finally making it to the top of Springer Mountain @ 3782 feet.
The views are breathtaking & amazing. I added my short blurb in the book everyone gets to sign when you reach the top of Springer. Then a short .9 mile trot to the parking lot and we were finished in 5.5 hours.
Looking forward to other AT series hikes on my journey.
