Georgia

Trail Miles: 75*
Highest Point: Blood Mountain, 4,461 feet

*As mentioned previously, trail lengths vary from one to source to another.  For the blog, I will round off the lengths given by David Emblidge in The Appalachian Trail Reader.

The majority of thru-hikers start their quests at the southern terminus of the AT located at Springer Mountain, Georgia.  Many people who have never been in the northern part of Georgia might be surprised to find such mountainous terrain there.  For many, the image conjured up of Georgia are the rich farmlands on plantations from Gone With the Wind or of streets of Savannah lined with live oak trees draped with Spanish moss.  These images are correct, but there is another side to Georgia.

Less than a hundred miles north of the traffic gridlock of Atlanta, the Appalachian Mountains rise steeply and ruggedly from the Georgia clay.  One of those mountains is Springer Mountain.  Springer Mountain became the Southern start of the AT in 1958, when the trail was rerouted away from its original starting point of Mount Oglethorpe due to increased commercial and residential development in that area.

I grew up in much shorter and more tame mountains three hours to the west of Springer Mountain in Northeast Alabama.  Even though I was from the general area, I too was surprised by the ruggedness of the North Georgia mountains upon my first visit deep into them.  In addition to hiking, the area is popular with cyclists.  Each fall there is a century (100-mile) bicycle ride in the vicinity of the AT start called Six Gap.  As the name suggests, the ride traverses six different gaps through the mountains.  While I have never done the ride, some of my friends have.  They say it contains some of the most difficult hill climbs they have ever ridden.  

The AT section of Georgia contains some of these same rugged ascents and descents.  The AT starts out with a vengeance, and quickly dashes any hopes that an AT thru-hike will be an easy stroll.  In fact, some estimates say 15% of thru-hike attempts are abandoned before leaving the state of Georgia.  

While most do not abandon the trail in Georgia, they probably do stop at Mountain Crossings Outfitter (http://www.mountaincrossings.com/aboutus.asp) at Neels Gap (one of those six gaps mentioned above) to dump excess weight.  According to the store's website, they annually ship back home over 9,000 pounds of gear for hikers who packed too much.  

The weather in Georgia in spring can be very unpredictable, too.  There can be freezing temps and even snow at around the time many thru-hikers are starting.  But very warm temps in the 80s are also possible around the same time.  Sometimes one will see both extremes in the same week.  You just never know.  One thing you can usually count on in spring on the Georgia stretch of the AT is rain.  If you can get to North Carolina without any rain, count yourself lucky.

The opening 75 or so miles of the AT in Georgia are tougher than most people expect, with its steep climbs and unpredictable weather conditions.  It is truly a wake-up call for many who assume it will be an easy start.  And guess what: it doesn't get any easier in North Carolina.