Back home after a four day, three night backpacking trip with my wife on the AT. We went southbound from Deep Gap, NC to Neels Gap, GA to finish off all the AT miles in Georgia (we had previously done the Approach Trail to Neels Gap). It was a fantastic trip with some cold nights! Some highlights:
We drove up to Blairsville, GA on Saturday and spent the night. Sunday morning we left our car at the Byron Reese trailhead (about 1/4 mile down the road from Neels) and got a shuttle to Deep Gap. We did an easy 11.1 mile to Plumorchard Gap Shelter, where we met a SOBO thru-hiker who was finishing the trail on Thanksgiving Day. It rained that night so we had to pack up wet tents.
Monday was a much harder 15.1 mile day. The hardest part for me was the climb out of Dick's Creek Gap. We camped at Tray Mountain Shelter with a lot of other people. By the time we got there it was 35 degrees and the wind was blowing. Setting up our tents was a challenge. The wind blew hard until about 2-3 a.m. When we woke up the thermometer on my pack said 21 degrees. A guy nearby said he left his outside and it showed 19 degrees. We ate breakfast in our tents, broke camp, and got moving.
Once we got moving on Tuesday the miles went pretty quick, doing 15.3 to Low Gap Shelter. Enjoyed dinner with another couple before retiting to our tents. It only got down to 28 that night! Wednesday we only had 11.3 miles to finish at Neels. There were a few hard climbs, such as out of Testnatee Gap to Cowrock Mountain and the last climb before the descent into Neels. But we made good time, finishing around 3 (includes a stop for lunch).
We had booked a room at Unicoi State Park & Lodge for the next two nights and enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner, grateful that we are able to return to running water, flushing toilets, seat with a back, and not having to filter our water. Couple of my favorite pictures from the trip.
We drove up to Blairsville, GA on Saturday and spent the night. Sunday morning we left our car at the Byron Reese trailhead (about 1/4 mile down the road from Neels) and got a shuttle to Deep Gap. We did an easy 11.1 mile to Plumorchard Gap Shelter, where we met a SOBO thru-hiker who was finishing the trail on Thanksgiving Day. It rained that night so we had to pack up wet tents.
Monday was a much harder 15.1 mile day. The hardest part for me was the climb out of Dick's Creek Gap. We camped at Tray Mountain Shelter with a lot of other people. By the time we got there it was 35 degrees and the wind was blowing. Setting up our tents was a challenge. The wind blew hard until about 2-3 a.m. When we woke up the thermometer on my pack said 21 degrees. A guy nearby said he left his outside and it showed 19 degrees. We ate breakfast in our tents, broke camp, and got moving.
Once we got moving on Tuesday the miles went pretty quick, doing 15.3 to Low Gap Shelter. Enjoyed dinner with another couple before retiting to our tents. It only got down to 28 that night! Wednesday we only had 11.3 miles to finish at Neels. There were a few hard climbs, such as out of Testnatee Gap to Cowrock Mountain and the last climb before the descent into Neels. But we made good time, finishing around 3 (includes a stop for lunch).
We had booked a room at Unicoi State Park & Lodge for the next two nights and enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner, grateful that we are able to return to running water, flushing toilets, seat with a back, and not having to filter our water. Couple of my favorite pictures from the trip.
