Trail Hiked: Saturday: Main parking area on Springer Mountain to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and back ( 2 miles) then
to the official trail head to Stover Creek Shelter (1.5 Miles)
Sunday: Stover Creek Shelter to official trail
head/parking lot
Weather: Saturday: light breeze throughout the day sunny / Rain
and Hail in the late afternoon H 80º/L 43º
Sunday: overnight rain clear in the morning and sunny H
78º/L 42º
Pack
Weight: Fully
loaded with 2 days of food and 2 liters of water 20lbs
The Hike:
My
hiking buddy showed up at my house at 8am Saturday with the plan we were going
to head back to Pine Mountain for the weekend. As soon as we got in the car we
started throwing around the idea of heading up north to springer mountain to do
a shorter more challenging hike. Also this is the traditional time of
year AT thru hikers start their 2,108 mile journey to Mt. Katahdin in
Maine. We figured we would have a good hike and meet some interesting
characters. We were not disappointed in either!
We
arrived at the parking lot on forest service road 42 at about 11:45am.
The service road was an adventure in itself. It is a one lane mud/dirt road
that winds up the side of spring mountain with awe inspiring vistas and
sphincter tightening hairpins with a three thousand foot drop to the bottom of
the valley. Once we arrived at the parking lot, we were amazed at how many cars
were there. The parking lot will hold about 30 cars, and they were lined
up and down the road a good 100 yards in each direction. We found a place to
put in park and headed up to the summit of Springer Mountain's 3,782 foot
summit. The trail leading up the the summit where the AT southern
terminus plaque is located was quite muddy and rocky and climbed steadily up
the ridge of the mountain. As we expected there were a lot of people along this
short 1 mile section of trail. We made it to the summit and the view from
the top is breath taking, historic. It is almost a religious experience
for anyone that has ever wanted to, attempted, or has been one of the few to
complete the journey. I snapped a few pictures of the vista and the original
plaque. I refused to have my picture taken with the plaque though. I
didn't feel that it was right to take a picture for the beginning of a journey
I was not yet starting. Maybe one day I will have that privilege.
At the
summit of Springer Mountain there were a few people enjoying a lunch in the
cool afternoon shade, a few taking pictures, and other's telling tall tales of
adventures past, and ones they have planned for the future. After taking it all
in we headed back down the mouton towards the parking area to grab our
packs. There were fewer cars now, and empty spaces in the parking lot so
I moved my car to a more suitable spot in the parking lot to leave it
overnight. We headed off to the trail head where we were meet by an AT
volunteer taking down names of hikers and there plans. When it was out
turn to tell the man with the clipboard we were only doing an overnight and coming
back in the morning. There was almost a sadness in the volunteer's eyes
as if he knew that's what we were there for but he knew we wanted to keep
walking north. I bid us a good hike and that he would be there to see us off in
the morning.
We
proceeded down the well worn white blazed path as it descends down the side of
the mountain with several switch backs that take you through canopies of trees,
and over several small streams along the way. There were moments of quiet and
serenity followed by yelps and hoots of Boy Scouts heading back up the
trail. The hike to the Stover Creek shelter was a nice walk through the
woods even though it wasn't of significant length. At the shelter there
were already several people there whom we would get to know of the course of the
evening. The people at the shelter here were why we really came up here,
to hear their stories, ambitions, and dreams. It was quite an eclectic mix of
people at the shelter. A young lady from Colorado, a young man from
Connecticut, a young man and a middle aged lady both from Germany. As we
would find out later they didn't know each other prior and planned their trip
and flew over hell bent on hiking the AT. There was the older gentleman
from California that has trekked, and paddled his way all over the country and
had a true explorer's wit and charisma. We then met a father and daughter on
her first overnight hiking trip and loving every moment of it. An hour or
so later a young man from Kentucky came waltzing up with a look of distress on
his face after only 8 miles of hiking. He turned out to be the only one
there with zero experience backpacking. Recently unemployed and just
wanting to get away for a bit, prepared or not. We all sat around the shelter
picnic table as we made dinner and exchanging pleasantries. After a bit
of getting to know each other we naturally begin talking about the gear we use
and carry. About that time Mr. Kentucky got a very worried look on his
face…. we had him bring his pack over as he was carrying about 30lbs more than
he should have been for any chance of success. We gave his pack a good shake
down and when we were done the explorer from California offered his
guidance to Mr. Kentucky as they make their way up the trail. It's
that kind of camaraderie and kindness that make this such a spacial trip
for all that experience it. Even if my hiking buddy and myself were
heading back to the parking lot in the morning. There were several others
that straggled in a little later, and we had a great time talking through the
rain storm the turned into pea size hail beating down on the tin roof of
the shelter. If the beauty of hiking the trail in wasn't enough to spur
my wanderlust for walking the 2,000 miles to Maine, the people I met for just a
few hours makes me want to make that trip for me a reality.
We all
hung our bear bags and turned in for some sleep at about dark thirty, soon
there were sounds of rain drops once again on my tarp and the sounds of snores
coming from all about camp. Everyone was up a bit after sun rise and
cooking up breakfast. Conversations from the night before continued for a
bit, camp was broken down, the area policed and good by's and well wishes were
exchanged like we were all old friends. While they headed North we with
long faces headed back South. My hiking buddy and i talked about each
persons chances of making it to the end and hoped Mr. Kentucky was going to
make it on his wing and a prayer strategy. The hike back to the parking lot was
just as beautiful as the hike in. The trail was muddier than on the way in, the
leaves were still wet, and the stream running down the mountain at a trickle
yesterday was now full and babbling over the rocks and bends. On our way
out we passed several others starting their journey north and we felt a little
out of place heading south, but so it goes.
Overall
it was a great experience, even if it wasn't a lengthy hike, the beauty of the
trail and the recent camaraderie of the other hikers made the trip more than
worth it. I hope that one day I will be able to give in to my Appalachian
Trail wanderlust and make my way north….one day…
Gear:
I
carried my tried and true OxGear hammock, the OxBarn tarp, and most importantly
my newly constructed underquilt. I was literally sewing until midnight
the night before to finish it, in hopes it would insulate me from the cold and
keep me toasty warm. I am pleased to say it did it's job as
indented. It was possibly the best sleep I have ever had, in the woods or
otherwise. For cooking I had my well used alcohol stove, GSI kettle, and
cozy for rehydrating my meals. I also carried a new piece of purchased gear for
water filtration. This has been my biggest gear debate as of
late. If you pick a bad filter, you pay the price… i will spare you the
details but trust me i have seen it and it's not a pretty sight. I chose
to go with a Sawyer inline filter as it filters to 0.1 microns. Small
enough to filter out silt, floaters, and all bacteria and cyst's the two major
sickness causing things in water here in north america. I attached it to
an old camelback style water bladder that I have, and it worked
flawlessly. The clean water that came out of the filter was better than
any you would ever get out of a tap or bottle, and didn't have that iodine or
chlorine taste that chemical purifiers tend to have.
My tarp
the OxBarn finally got a rain test as well as a bit of hail. It held up
as a good tarp should, other than a small drip from the top seam near where the
door closes, it kept me nice and dry all night. Another coat of seam
sealer will be applied to make sure there are no drips in the future.
Over all i was very pleased with all of my gear, with the exception of my
backpack which doesn't fit me well, even though it was better after a few
modifications to the location of the shoulder straps. I also managed to drop 5
pounds of my total pack weight with being a bit more contentious of what I
really needed and how much I was really going to need. As summer approaches
and few more things are ironed out i am hoping to bring my summer pack
weight for a 2-3 day trip down into the fifteen pound range. As a lighter
pack make the walk much, much more enjoyable.
click for trip gallery
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