March 14, 2006
| This week’s hike was on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia starting at Woody Gap and hiking to Gooch Gap and back. Today, we met 24 thru-hikers on their way to Maine! We also met quite a few college students back-packing on their Spring Break. We met hikers from North and South Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida as well as Georgia.
HIKERS – John Bellamy, Phil Brownrigg, Ray Cowan, Jack Jacobi, Dick Metzgar, Wayne Miller, Bruce O’Connor, Jeanne O’Connor, Bob Presley, Donna Presley, Tony Presley, Doug Russell, Dave Standard, Bob Thompson, David Whitaker, and Geri Whitaker . TRAIL INFO. – The Georgia portion of the A.T. is very well-maintained and is a very nice hike in the mountains. There are excellent mountain views along the way through beautiful hardwood forests. There is lots of elevation change as would be expected and we graded it average difficulty. We parked at Woody Gap on Hwy. 60 near Suches, GA. Directions: Take Hwy. 129 N from Cleveland, GA for about 15 mi. then turn left at Turner’s Corner and travel several miles to Hwy 60 (rock pile) turn right and drive to the top of the mountain to the A.T. crossing at Woody Gap. Park on the left and hike southward. Total hiking distance today, 7 miles. Another great day for a hike! Sunny with temperatures ranging from the low 40’s to the low 50’s F. with gusty winds. BIRDS IDENTIFIED: Red Eye Vireo, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Titmouse, Kingbird. |
 Our starting point today. |
 Our first view of the day! |
 Today, we hiked to Gooch Gap and back. |
 We pause before starting up our first mountain of the day! |
 Nice mountain views from several locations. |
 Here, we zoomed in to see the Atlanta skyline! (look closely) |
 Another great day for a hike! |
 Only wildflower of the day. Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia) |
 We met this nice group of college students from the University of Wisconsin-La Cross. They were back-packing a portion of the A.T. during Spring Break. |
 Here, Bruce and Jeanne O’Connor show their St. Patrick’s day colors! |
 The OFHC gang for today’s hike. (l-r front) David Whitaker, Geri Whitaker, Dick Metzgar, Donna Presley, Bruce and Jeanne O’Connor. (back l-r) Tony Presley, Jack Jacobi, Dave Standard, John Bellamy, Ray Cowan, Wayne Miller, Bob Thompson, Phil Brownrigg, Bob Presley, and Doug Russell. |