I was thinking about doing a 10-13 day trip on the A.T. in late March, early April(Spring Break), and was wondering where would be a good section. Let me know what you think.
Clong
Clong
Spring trip - Appalachian Trail
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#2
clong; if u are leaving that time; the obvious choice i guess would be springer to well lets see franklinish NC? is that about right?
you’d meet plenty of potential thru-hikers. and its the start of course. nice spring weather.
Big Boy
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#3
Big Boy,
how far of a drive would it be, I live in southern Ohio, and don’t want to drive an insane amount, i was thinking maybe fontana dam north or something like that. thanx
clong:boy
clong
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#4
I am thinking about hiking from Newfound Gap to Hot Springs a little later on in the spring, it seems like a good trip.
Lizz
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#5
Fontana Dam to Hot Springs would be a good section if you want to do the Smokies. Still, if you haven’t ever hiked the AT, I personally would want to start at Springer. The difference in driving time going to Springer instead of Fontana Dam would only be around 2-3 hours. I’ve hiked Springer to NOC so far and after Christmas hope to do a weekend hike to Fontana Dam. In the Spring I plan to continue from Fontana Dam to Hot Springs. Springer to Winding Stair Gap(Franklin, NC) is around 105 miles and can be done in 10 days without pushing yourself too hard.
Nooga
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#6
Carver’s Gap to Massie Gap ~115 mi. Damascus to Bland ~ 120 mi. Not as much driving, varied terrain, not too many thrus that time of year. Trees won’t be leafed out, so bring sunscreen and clothes for warm to cold.
Groucho
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#8
Clong, it took us exactly 12 hrs to get to Springer from where we are. 75 south to Ga and turn left. It was the turn left that took a while, little back roads and slow traffic.
I happen to be headed out for a week in April with Monty and it may be somewhere around the Highlands and north. We wanted to hit the trail right where we were in '01 for the date we go. That’s only 8 hrs away. You’re welcome to come along. I have shuttle help.
Bushwhack
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#9
If you’re driving from Ohio, and want to cut down on the drive time, then the most sensible thing to do would be to would be to pick up the trail in Maryland or Virginia.
If you want to go as far south as Fontana Dam, NC, then what’s another 100 miles to get you to Springer Mountain, GA?
Another question to think about would be whether you want solitude, or would like to be around other hikers. The time you are suggesting is around the time a good chunk of thru-hikers start. If you want to be running into a lot of people, then go to Springer. If you want solitude, then I would suggest starting in Damascus, VA.
nobody
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#10
I’m from Ohio also. The shortest drive to the AT is probably to Pearisburg, VA, which is only about 30 miles east of the WVA turnpike at Princeton. From Pearisburg north to the James River would make a good section hike. Lots of neat areas - Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs, Apple Orchard Mountain. My only concern would be the weather in late March - could be cold and snowy, but that could happen even further south.
Terry
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#11
i’ve been to springer 3 times, so i consider it a nonevent, i would go with terry, sounds like some tough stuff out of the box. and fontana or springer is no where near an hour difference, even with weather factored it is still 3-4 hrs difference…no roads well one leads to fontana, hehehe only the AT goes thru there…it is like that little town in Northern Expossure, only planes fly in women for weekends from Vegas.
jk
burn
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#12
We did the Sams Gap to Elk Park (19E). again this fall and found it to be a challenge. This section has some neat balds and high elevations along with super views. You could move on north with some easy exits depending on your speed.
Life is good take a senic hike.
Swamp Dawg