Appalachian Trail - Hogpen Gap to Low Gap Shelter (White County, Georgia)

 

Earlier this year, I had set a goal for myself to hike the remaining sections of the Georgia Appalachian Trail (AT) that I had not yet hiked. I knocked out a few sections in the spring and had a plan and schedule to finish up in the fall. Summers are no time to be tackling challenging hikes in this region due to the excessive heat and humidity. Unfortunately, a little storm named Hurricane Helene came through around the end of September and damaged some sections of the trail. I postponed a planned hike and delayed my schedule. I don't expect to finish these sections this year, but I'm still going to try to knock out a few and then hopefully, in the early part of next year finish off the list. Today though, I'm leading the meetup group along the section I cancelled a couple of months back, Hogpen Gap to Low Gap Shelter. 

Meeting the group at one of the three parking areas near Hogpen Gap, the four of us did a quick round of introductions and then quickly hit the trail. Most of the leaves have already fallen, but a few autumn colors remain. The trail is easy to follow, even with the leaves covering it in most places. Though there are a couple of moderate uphill sections, this part of the AT is pretty easy by all of our standards and we make good time.

Reaching the shelter, we stop to have a short lunch break. It's a nice group of people and we have some great conversation on a number of topics. The shelter itself is one of the nicest I've encountered on the AT. It seems very sturdy and includes a picnic table, where we enjoy our snacks. After this short break, we turn around head back the way we came. 

The entire trail was pretty uneventful, but it was nice to get outside again. When we reach our cars, everyone thanks me for leading the hike on such a day with such great weather. Our hike covered about 9.6 miles, including the little spur of the main trail to the shelter. Over that distance, we had around 1,700 feet of elevation change, though it was mild enough to not be all that noticeable. With temperatures starting in the low 50's and reaching the low 60's by the time we were back at our cars, the weather really was perfect.