The AT Approach Trail
Mar. 15th, 2008 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nowalmartSo on Tuesday the roommate and I headed up to Amicalola Falls State Park. We got into the park at about 11:00am. We quickly visited the Visitor's Center. I filled up on water and got the pack ready to go out. I left the Visitor's Center at about 11:30am.
After a little bit of initial confusion (the sign behind the Visitor's Center is *very* misleading), I was on my way. The first half mile or so of the trail parallels the park road, and then begins heading up 500+ stairs to the top of the falls. Carrying a full pack up the stairs was not fun, but it was blazed, so I was going to do it. After that the trail meanders a little bit in the park before going by the lodge and then hitting a big sign.
I was headed to Springer, and actually the Springer Mountain Shelter .2 miles beyond. By this time I had already hiked 1.5 miles around in the park (bringing my total for the day to a hopeful 9 miles).
The Approach Trail is a fairly easy, if mostly uphill, trail. The hike to Springer was fairly uneventful. I saw probably about a dozen or so hikers in total after leaving the state park. About half were day hikers (or hikers staying at the Hike Inn), the other half were backpackers that I would guess were out for a night or two at most.
I made it to the top of Springer Mountain, snapped a few pictures, and then headed down to the shelter. I was concerned it would be full - mid-March is a popular time to start the AT. I did not need to be worried; when I got there I learned I was sharing the shelter with one other person. It was 3:30pm at this time, so I had done the entire 9 mile hike in about four hours.
Apparently a lot of the GAMErs (Georgia -> Maine northbound through-hikers) spent the night in their tents. This is different than my experience on my hike in 2005, when the vast majority of northbound (and southbound) hikers spent most nights in shelters.
Anyway, spent a chilly night (got down into the low 30's/high 20's) in the shelter and got up about 8am the next morning to some pretty brisk winds. Took down the bear bag, got packed up, and was back on the trail, headed southbound, by about 8:30am. Going downhill was a bit easier - churned out the first three miles in a little over an hour. Made it down to the visitor's center by about noon.
All in all a good hike. Anyone in the Atlanta area should definitely check out Amicalola Falls. Even if you do not go all the way to the top of Springer in one day, there are plenty of places to camp along the way.
After a little bit of initial confusion (the sign behind the Visitor's Center is *very* misleading), I was on my way. The first half mile or so of the trail parallels the park road, and then begins heading up 500+ stairs to the top of the falls. Carrying a full pack up the stairs was not fun, but it was blazed, so I was going to do it. After that the trail meanders a little bit in the park before going by the lodge and then hitting a big sign.
Hike Inn 4.8 Miles
Average Hiking Time
3 Hours One-Way
Springer Mountain
7.3 Miles
Average Hiking Time
6 Hours One-Way
Average Hiking Time
3 Hours One-Way
Springer Mountain
7.3 Miles
Average Hiking Time
6 Hours One-Way
I was headed to Springer, and actually the Springer Mountain Shelter .2 miles beyond. By this time I had already hiked 1.5 miles around in the park (bringing my total for the day to a hopeful 9 miles).
The Approach Trail is a fairly easy, if mostly uphill, trail. The hike to Springer was fairly uneventful. I saw probably about a dozen or so hikers in total after leaving the state park. About half were day hikers (or hikers staying at the Hike Inn), the other half were backpackers that I would guess were out for a night or two at most.
I made it to the top of Springer Mountain, snapped a few pictures, and then headed down to the shelter. I was concerned it would be full - mid-March is a popular time to start the AT. I did not need to be worried; when I got there I learned I was sharing the shelter with one other person. It was 3:30pm at this time, so I had done the entire 9 mile hike in about four hours.
Apparently a lot of the GAMErs (Georgia -> Maine northbound through-hikers) spent the night in their tents. This is different than my experience on my hike in 2005, when the vast majority of northbound (and southbound) hikers spent most nights in shelters.
Anyway, spent a chilly night (got down into the low 30's/high 20's) in the shelter and got up about 8am the next morning to some pretty brisk winds. Took down the bear bag, got packed up, and was back on the trail, headed southbound, by about 8:30am. Going downhill was a bit easier - churned out the first three miles in a little over an hour. Made it down to the visitor's center by about noon.
All in all a good hike. Anyone in the Atlanta area should definitely check out Amicalola Falls. Even if you do not go all the way to the top of Springer in one day, there are plenty of places to camp along the way.
