A year of waiting and it finally arrived! Last fall, my trail sister, Robyn, and I vowed to return in 2023 to complete the Georgia Appalachian Trail. We had completed the first 52.5 miles as a slackpacking trip in the fall of 2022. This fall, we would hike 32.5 miles–Unicoi Gap to Deep Gap–in four days and three nights taking us into North Carolina.
Sunday night, we stayed at Hostel Around the Bend in Hiawassee, Georgia. Such a sweet hostel with great hosts (Gordon and Lisa), comfortable rooms, and a yummy breakfast (thank you, Nimrod!). Monday morning, they shuttled us to Unicoi Gap, and we were off to our adventure!
Before we left, we knew the issues with finding water on the trail and that many of the water sources–especially for our first two days–had dried up. This meant carrying more water to be safe. My pack already weighed in at 32.5 pounds without water. Carrying three liters of water added six more pounds. Ugh! Much more weight than I had counted on.
Our schedule for the four days looked like this:
| Monday, October 9, 2023 | Unicoi Gap to Tray Mountain Shelter (5.7 miles) |
| Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | Tray Mountain Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter (7.4 miles) |
| Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | Deep Gap Shelter to Plumochard Gap Shelter (8.1 miles) |
| Thursday, October 12, 2023 | Plumochard Gap Shelter to Deep Gap Campsite (11.3 miles) |
Four days and three nights on the trail. We hiked in Nature’s glory, watching as each day, the leaves changed just a little bit more. This was not just a walk in the woods! On day two, the wicked Kelly Knob challenged me, and I cursed her the entire climb! We camped at Deep Gap that evening, falling asleep to a symphony of animal sounds in the woods.
On day three we stopped at Dick’s Gap in the morning–which is .6 miles from the hostel. With more water available on the trail for the remainder of our hike, I lightened my load as much as I could and finished the hike with closer to 32 pounds on my back. (The hostel folks picked up a bag for me.) We camped at Plumorchard that night, listening to the rain hit our tents and the wild animals in the woods. We woke early and packed our wet tents in dim light and light rain to begin the last, and longest, part of our hike.
I won’t lie, I considered taking an easier route that last day. I was concerned that I would slow us down given the wet conditions and the 11.3 miles and steep climbs remaining. However, Robyn would not hear of it. Truly, many good hikers would have been happy to be rid of the slow poke and finish in better time. Not Robyn. So, I finished the hike as planned. That day, we climbed the longest and highest mountain of our hike as we crossed into North Carolina (more curses). We started at 3008 feet elevation leaving the campsite that morning and climbed to over 4600 feet elevation before we finished.
So, what’s next? I plan to continue the trail in the spring after the bubble has passed. I’ll pick up at Deep Gap Campsite and hope to hike a combination of day hikes and overnight hikes and see where it leads!
Footprints and Ripples 