Appalachian Trail in GA – Three Forks to Springer Mountain Summit – 10/24/20 – 8.3 Miles
Summit Day! We were up and packed before sunrise, with a few extra minutes for Jim to make his required pour-over coffee by headlamp. He’s a trooper!
Changing up the day’s hike plan meant saving hours of driving to Amicalola Falls State Park. Instead, we drove slowly and cautiously on gravel FR 42, looking for deer in the early morning light, and met shuttle driver Mary where the road crosses the AT. We left our car in the last available legit parking space and she took us back to Three Forks, where we had started northbound yesterday morning. Today we’re hiking southbound to the top of Springer Mountain.
At Three Forks, cars lined the roadside and tents were scattered every which way on this fall Saturday morning. We passed clumps of NOBO section hikers who were still pumped after one day and one night on the trail. Full of anticipation ourselves, we cruised along the gentle three-mile uphill, and Jim was a little bummed that we weren’t going to hike down the Approach Trail too (his ankle seemed a lot better!)
We passed the FR 42 parking area and started the last mile of treads and rock steps placed by trail builders, necessary for heavy foot traffic. I could feel an invisible rope tied to my daypack’s sternum strap, pulling me up to the top. We chuckled under our breath as we passed the still-sleepy stragglers at Springer Mountain Shelter.
And then we were there at the summit of Springer Mountain, elevation 3,782 feet! Cloudy, no views, half a dozen people hanging out but not crowded – a surreal feeling to be standing at this iconic spot.
This marks my completion of the AT through GA, NC, TN and VA – about 1,006 miles.
I didn’t know then that nine months later I would jump ahead and summit Mount Katahdin,
the northern terminus of the AT.
The two of us felt like superheroes now and backtracking a mile to our car seemed anti-climactic so…a quarter-mile from the summit, we took a right turn and stepped onto the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT).
From this starting point, we followed the BMT for about 4 miles as it wound around Ball Mountain, passed through Big Stamp Gap, then turned west to cross the AT. From there we backtracked a mile to FR 42 where our car awaited. Beyond, the trail continues for nearly 300 miles north through Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, ending at Baxter Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. [Learn more about the BMT here.]
Before hitting the interstate to get home to Charlotte, Jim and I meandered on Georgia backroads looking for a treat to celebrate our milestone, and we found it at Cooper’s Creek Store in Suches. Fried pies, y’all!
When I finish reading a book, it is my habit to start another book immediately – maybe I just don’t like endings. Walking the first several miles of the BMT got my juices flowing and my thoughts formulating as I recalled a challenging four-day section on this trail in 2018. Now, where did I put those maps?
and break clear away, once in a while, and
climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~John Muir
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