Appalachian Trail - Springer Mountain to Long Creek Falls (Fannin County, Georgia)

 

While reviewing the hikes I have done since moving to Georgia about four years ago, I noticed that I've only hiked a couple of sections of the Georgia portion of the famous Appalachian Trail (AT). I then decided that I was going to try to knock out the remaining sections this year. I won't necessarily be going in order, but I did decide to start with the southernmost section. I had mentioned my plan to a few folks in one of the meetups and there seemed to be some interest. So, I posted it as a group hike with all of my standard "this is not for beginners" language.

When the day of the hike arrived, I drove the two hours or so to the trailhead. The last portion of that drive was along some fairly rough forest service roads with just a gravel or dirt surface and in some cases only wide enough for a single car to pass by. This was along Winding Stair Gap road part of the way. I wondered how many of those that signed up for the hike would actually make it once they realized they would be driving up to twelve miles on these unpaved roadways. 

As usual when I lead hike, I arrived about thirty minutes early and scoped out the trailhead a bit. The southern terminus of the AT has always boggled my mind a little bit. The official start is at the summit of the very unremarkable Springer Mountain, which can be reached by either hiking eight or so miles along the AT Approach Trail from Amicalola Falls State Park, which I've done in the past, or by hiking about a mile south from the Springer Mountain trailhead. This means that a AT through-hiker has to either add an additional eight miles to their 2200ish mile trek or hike south from the parking lot south and then backtrack a mile. It makes no sense. Why not just make Amicalola Falls the official southern terminus?

Anyway not that I have my rant out, I waited in my car for a few minutes after scoping out the trails we would be hiking and waited for my participants to arrive. It's cold and windy up here. I'd estimate the temperature to be around the freezing point with the wind chill probably dipping into the mid-20's. As people start to arrive, I introduce myself and we gather up for a round of introductions and to go over the day's plan. I explain that this will be a double out-and-back due to the nature of the AT southern terminus. We'll first head up to the summit of Springer then backtrack to this parking lot. From there we'll head north to Long Creek Falls and then return once again to the parking lot. 

With that, the nine of us start heading across the road and making our way up the trail towards Springer Mountain. The trees are covered with a layer of frost and a cold fog fills the air. It's a very wintery feel this morning. The trail is well maintained and white trail blazes make it clear that we're on the correct path. Soon, we reach the anti-climactic southern terminus, marked by a bronze plaque imbedded in one of the rocks. I give folks a minute or two to take pictures before I gather us up and head back the way we came. 

I'm pushing a pretty good pace today. I really want to use these hikes to help me get back in shape and moving at a good clip is the best way I know to do that. Soon, we're back at the cars and heading the other direction out of the parking lot. 

It's still pretty cold, but I can feel myself warming up due to the quick and steady movement. Again, the trail is well marked here and we cross the Benton-MacKaye trail a couple of times. We also pass by one of the official AT shelters, which isn't much more than a three sided room built in the woods. I'm sure some through-hikers appreciate it though.

The rhododendron are plentiful here as we make our way down the shallow mountain and across a small creek. We don't encounter many other hikers on this part of the trail, but as we continue on towards Three Forks, we start to see a few more. At three forks, three creeks converge and the forest service has built a nice bridge across them and a gravel road that many people take advantage of as a parking area to hike to Long Creek Falls, which is just a mile further or so. Originally, I had planned to stop and turn back at the road, but as we are enjoying ourselves and everyone seems keen on seeing the waterfall, we decide to continue on.

A mile of so up the trail, we come to a crossroads in the trail system. Here the Benton-MacKaye and AT separate once again. There is also another spur trail to the waterfall. We stop at this clearing for a quick lunch and then travel another tenth of a mile or less to the impressive double-tiered waterfall. Though it's been dry the last few days, the waterfall still has a good flow, at least along half of the lower section. I imagine the entire thing is raging during or right after a good thunderstorm.

There are a couple of other folks here admiring the waterfall and one gentleman mentions the Native American petroglyphs on one of the nearby boulders. He explains that he's heard this as used for human sacrifices in the past. Of course I'm curious and since I've studied Native American rock art quite a lot, I have to climb up and check it out. 

What I find are some humanoid forms in outline with lots and lots of modern graffiti carved over them. The forms are unlike any true Native American style I have seen anywhere and I'm pretty confident in saying they weren't made by the First Nations. They probably are a hundred or so years old though and like the work of local pioneers that settled this area. I'm also even more certain that no human sacrifices took place here. It's a good story though.

After a few more minutes admiring the waterfall and trying to interpret the rock art, we start making our way back to our cars. I continue pushing a really solid pace even though we're now going slightly uphill. I know my legs are going to be a little sore tonight, but it's worth it for a good workout. 

We do encounter a lot more hikers heading north as we make our way south to the parking lot. Many of them have full backpacking rigs on and I ask how far they are going. Each in turn says "Maine". These folks are at the beginning of through-hiking the AT, all 2200 miles of it. I give each of them a fist bump and wish them luck. It seems to me they are starting very, very early in the season, but as we always say 'hike your own hike'. I am a bit jealous though. I hope one day I am able to complete all three of the big trails (AT, PCT & CDT) and become what is known as a 'triple crowner'. Someday.

For now, we'll return to our cars and wish everyone safe travels as they maneuver their way back down the mountain along the gravely rods. Everyone seems to have enjoyed both the hike and the pace. They all seem interested in doing future sections with me. Today, we got in about 11.1 miles and knocked out what I'm calling section 1 of the AT. Just a few more to go.