We have reached our 14th and final state, Georgia!
Theoretically, we have accomplished our goal: we hiked from Maine to Georgia.
But, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is actually 67.5 miles south at Springer Mountain and that is where our journey will end in just 5 days, on Oct. 24.
For now, we are resupplying in Hiawassee, GA, about 9 miles over the state line! This is our last time to indulge in a town on the trail. It was a little bit of a difficult hitch into town (45 minutes & about 30 cars), but it is worth it!
So we just completed the 87.6 miles of North Carolina during these last 4 days!
The first part of this section was definitely more difficult than the second part, with long climbs. Our iPods helped tremendously! But, we were always rewarded at the top with panoramic views! There are a few more "balds" (open, grassy, treeless mountaintops) in this section, but the ones further north are still our favorites. And thankfully, we've had beautiful weather, with today being our first (and hopefully last) day of rain!
We also walked right through the Nantahala Outdoor Center-a really cool pitstop and food break!
North Carolina also has some funny signs ... In all fairness, it is supposed to read "Swinging Lick Gap," but someone had their mind in the gutter.
This section of the trail has been really crowded, even for midweek. But, it is leaf-peeping season! The shelters have been packed every night, except for one when we were completely alone!
I think I said this in my last post, but running into section and day hikers has been really fun in the South, as everyone realizes we are SOBOs on the AT before we even say anything and are so complimentary! We got our picture taken once again because of our thru hiker status. Most are now saying "congratulations" instead of "good luck!" We even got some unexpected trail magic the other day from a couple we were chatting with ... They said, "well, we don't have much to offer you, but we do have a soda & banana." That was perfect for us!
Fire Marshall is now a half day ahead of us. His girlfriend, Alex, is joining us for the last miles of the trail, so he jumped ahead to meet up with her. We will reunite the team in just 2 days, but it sure was weird being split up!
So here are the official stats for North Carolina:
87.6 miles
4 days
1 shower
1 night in a hostel
2 nights in shelters
2 nights in our tent
3 dig-a-hole poops in the woods for Deal, none for Steadee because NC has privies!!!
No wildlife to speak of (1 garter snake)
Just 5 days and 67.5 miles to go!!! Just a few more 4,000+ foot climbs ... Here we come Springer!!
Location:Big Sky Dr,Hiawassee,United States
Labels: AT, Outdoor Recreation
