Were starting on the trail March 15th. We Indiana Hickers (as Yogi calls us)serioudlypumpedfor this Transition in our lives. We hope to meet some of you out there and perhaps will share a few trail tales over some Guiness or Hienikin. Anyone out there that are close to this date leave me a line. Can any thru-hikers out there who have already done the AT tell me if they did Helan Georgia and how was the hitch?
11 miles just after being on the trail must have sucked.
Cross
Cross
We Had an easy hitch in, but a little tougher coming out. Mail drop, laundry & motel - a pleasant stop. The climb up Tray was rewarded with trail magic from a local club (april 1). What a treat that was - our 1st trail magic.
Team GAK
We went into Hiawassee from Unicoi Gap rather than to Helen, because we had a maildrop in Hiawassee. We had to wait a while to get a ride (it was just dusk), but eventually we hitched with a guy who had pulled over in the rest area. (We sat in the back of his pickup on top of 5-gallon buckets and had our first thrill ride on the trail as he flew down the winding hill going 90mph!) There is a pull-out on the side of the road going towards Hiawassee, but I can’t remember what it was like on the other side of the road. We had no problems getting out of Hiawassee. We arranged a shuttle with the outfitter, but on our way to meet him, we were offered 2 other rides back to the trail. Very friendly town, but they go roll up the streets at 9. Also, don’t pass up Blueberry Patch at Dicks Creek Gap. WE hadn’t planned on stopping there, but the pouring down rain convinced us. It was an easy hitch and they’ll hold your maildrop if you’re staying there. Gary and Lennie offer a great hostel and an awesome breakfast!
Bramble & Bushwhack
Hey Cross. March 15th may be great, but March 17th is where it is at! ( all right, I am Irish! )Funny since I first targeted the 15th and redid my date to the 1st because I got fearful that I might not have enough time at the end to safely summit Katahdin.
I went into Hiawasse. Del Doc needed a computer geek, so I was picked up and taken to help him in Helen. I liked the town. Funny thing was, I had planned to not visit Helen because I had heard Hiawasse was where it was at for the hiker.
After the brief visit, I thought it might have been nice to visit it in the first place. It is a nice little German style village. Quite charming. Especially since one doesn’t expect a German town in the south. Thanks for reminding me of that with the question. Think I will have my wife visit me there for one of my hikes next year.
I plan to hike in that general area. Maybe I will see you. I know you might run into Rusty who is leaving on the 21st or 22nd.
Mr. Boo
It is not the famous Rusty of Rusty’s Hard Time Hollow. Rusty is his trail name. Marty is his real name. And he has been a trail angel in the northern NH area for years.
Mr. Boo
I had no trouble picking up ride into Helen, however I found it more difficult to get a ride out (but then I found that was somewhat of a trend).
Downunda