March 14, 2017
|
Today’s hike was on the Appalachian Trail southward from Dicks Creek Gap to the Deep Gap shelter and back. We were surprised by a beautiful snowfall during the hike! We met 19 thru-hikers approximately 67 miles into their journey to Maine. The following states were represented – Texas, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Also New Brunswick and Quebec Canada. HIKERS: Today’s forecast looked pretty bad so only three of our hikers braved the conditions to hike. They were rewarded with a beautiful snow! Stephen Gales, Whitney Hutchinson and Bob Magee. TRAIL INFO. – This portion of the Appalachian Trail is in excellent shape and offers very nice mountain views along the way. The terrain is very mountainous and the most difficult hills are on the way out to Deep Gap. The return is more downhill than up. Over-all difficulty rating is strenuous. Total round trip hiking distance today – 8 miles – Strenuous due to lots of elevation change. DIRECTIONS: Dicks Creek Gap is on Highway 76 between Hiawassee and Clayton, GA. 10 mi east of Hiawassee or 18 miles west of Clayton. Another great day for a hike! Cloudy, windy and cold with temperatures ranging from 28 – 34 degrees F. WILDFLOWERS IN BLOOM: None BIRDS IDENTIFIED: Junco scroll down for photos from today…….
|
