There Is Magic On The Appalachian Trail

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Spring is a special time on the Appalachian Trail. Every year, 2000+ people show up at Springer Mountain (the official start of the A.T. in Georgia) to head north. In 1994, I was one of those people - and ever since I pause for a moment to think about the next group to head North. This year, I had a friend making the annual pilgrimage and drove across town to meet Scott "Zip" Willits on 3/16/12. We met up at his sister's house in metro-Atlanta, and it was a beautiful spring day - the kind … [Read more...]

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Bears On The Appalachain Trail (At Blood Mountain)

April 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Along The Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail made the news across the media channels in Atlanta last week when the U.S. Forest Service closed a section of the trail from Jarrard Gap to Neels Gap near Dahlonega, GA.  Persistent bear activity caused the trail closure in a section of trail that is heavily used by both day hikers and overnight backpackers around Blood Mountain.  My first thought was of the 2011 thru-hikers that had just started out and who were now making their way from Georgia … [Read more...]

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Springer Fever

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I always get nostalgic this time of year for a hike to Springer Mountain on the Appalachian Trail (or on the A.T. as it is more affectionately called).  It was 17 years ago this April that I left Amicalola Falls State Park near Dahlonega, Georgia and began a 2000+ mile thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail.  Since then, the A.T. has had countless hours of volunteer work to maintain, upgrade, and re-route the footpath which has added nearly 30 miles to the route since 1994 (the year of my … [Read more...]

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