Sunday 7/19/09
Trip: 6.36 miles
Elevation: 3003ft (max) 1975ft (min) ~1194ft (total accent)
Time: 3h 15m
Temperature: 75 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, no precipitation, low humidity
Pack Weight: ~31lbs (Madeline in her carry pack)

Summary:

The Little River Trail is just one of about 40 or so easy, single day hiking trails located in the northern section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mel and I were in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. for a friend’s wedding and decided on spending our final afternoon hiking. A quick conversation with a Ranger at the north entrance welcome center and we were off for Elkmont and the Little River Trail. The Little River Trail is well groomed and graded (more like a narrow gravel road) and follows the Little River for several miles. Roughly 2.4 miles up the trail is the Cucumber Gap trail head. This trail takes a more aggressive climb back towards the Elkmont camping area via the back side of Burnt Mountain but makes for a great ~5 mile loop. Perfect hiking weather and great views of the Little River made for a nice day hike with the family.

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Sunday 8/17/08
Trip: ~3 miles
Elevation: 1686ft (max) 1025ft (min) 761ft (total accent)
Time: 1h 11m
Temperature: 85 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, hummid, no precipitation
Pack Weight: <10lbs (day hike)

Summary:

This is one of my “workout” tracks I like to do at [Stone Mountain State Park]. You launch straight up right from the trail head and don’t stop until you reach the public pavilion at the summit (refreshments and bathrooms available). Unlike [Kennesaw Mountain], the entire track is over natural granite exposed on the mountain’s western face. Technically, it’s an easy hike with little or no boulder scrambles but it can be taken at any speed with as much or as little pack load as you want so it offers a versatile workout for all levels.

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Wednesday 6/4/08
Trip: 10.1 miles
Elevation: 4485ft (max) 3175ft (min) 2051ft (total accent)
Time: 6h 16m (moving) 4h 46m (stopped)
Moving Avg: 1.6 mph
Temperature: 80 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, no precipitation
Pack Weight: ~33lbs (2L water, 4 days food)

Summary:

Blood Mountain was definitely one of the coolest parts of the whole hike. The entire peak is nothing but bare rock, fantastic views of the N. Georgia country side and large stands of flowering trees. I’m glad we were headed Northbound though, coming up from the other side would’ve been absolutely brutal. Almost 1.5 miles of nut-kicker ascent across bare rock-face and carved out step-ups. It was bad enough headed downhill. There’s a bypass trail (Freeman Trail) that links Slaughter Creek to the other side of Blood Mountain without having to cross over the hardest parts of the top though.

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Tuesday 6/3/08
Trip: 12.4 miles
Elevation: 3906ft (max) 2850ft (min) 2356ft (total accent)
Time: 6h 16m (moving) 4h 35m (stopped)
Moving Avg: 2.1 mph
Temperature: 80 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, no precipitation but very humid
Pack Weight: ~35lbs (2L water, 5 days food)

Summary:

The run out of Gooch Gap towards Woody Gap was nice. Rolling trail with some neat rock formations on the left side and vertical drops off the right. Woody Gap has bathroom facilities and a trash drop and looks to be a popular stopping point for cyclists and day hikers coming up from Suches.

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Monday 6/2/08
Trip: 13 miles
Elevation: 3350ft (max) 2450ft (min) 2788ft (total accent)
Time: 6h 08m (moving) 4h 41m (stopped)
Moving Avg: 2.1 mph
Temperature: 70 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, no precipitation
Pack Weight: ~38lbs (2L water, 6 days food)

Summary:
First full day with decent mileage. Georgia is famous for it’s constant series of PUDS (pointless ups & downs) – today was just a taste. At this point, it’s evident I need more cardio conditioning but it’s easily managed with interval rest. It’s also quickly apparent you spend pretty much the entire day sweating – which means you spend the entire day drinking water until you’re ready to puke – and then you drink some more. Dehydration is a serious issue at this point if you aren’t careful.

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Sunay 6/1/08
Trip: 5.77 miles
Elevation: 3750ft (max) 2650ft (min) 631ft (total accent)
Time: 2h 21m (moving) 1h 53m (stopped)
Moving Avg: 2.5 mph
Temperature: 70 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, no precipitation
Pack Weight: ~40lbs (2L water, 7 days food)

Summary:
Our first day was a relatively short hike. Mel dropped us off at the FSR 42 parking lot on the back side of Springer Mountain, we got our gear on, said our good-byes and started our ascent to the top of Springer (and the AT Southern Terminus). Having missed all the rain earlier that day, the trail was slightly muddy but in good shape. Water apparently wasn’t going to be a problem. Doubling back, we headed downhill for the rest of the afternoon towards 3 Forks.

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