Hiking

Rainy Day in Georgia

This is a guest post from Georgia Dame, Sandi Adams……

Rainy Day in Georgia…

 So, I ask myself, “Have you lost your  mind!?” as I crawl out of my nice warm bed at 5:00 am on a Saturday. Rain drumming against my bedroom window and my sweet husband softly snoring make it even more of a question. I quietly dress and add my trail lunch to my pack, slipping out the door to begin my journey.

The DamesI am hermetically sealed in rain pants, rain jacket over two layers of breathable clothing, a gore-tex hat, and am carrying a pack covered with its own little rain jacket. I meet fellow Trail Dame, Denise and off we go higher and higher into the North Georgia mountains, slowly disappearing into the fog.
We arrive off Ga 60 at Woody Gap and meet Joan, Monica, Kellye and Melissa aka SHOE. Visibility is at 0 percent and it is blowing rain in every direction.
No one flinches when the decision is made for SHOE to shuttle us down forest service road 42 to Cooper Gap where we will then travel by foot to Gooch Gap 4.7 miles and then continue on to Woody Gap another 3.8.
After several miles down a muddy bumpy road, we  make adjustments to our rain gear and take off up the mountain laughing, talking and trying to catch our breath as we find our trail rhythm.
Our first wonder of nature is pointed out by Joan, aka Hemlock. TREE FOAM…. Tree Foam? Also known as ”stem flow” when rain water drips down the trunks of trees and forms bubble bath looking foam at the base. This makes her very happy. (Later she also spots a patch of false puffball in aspic which nearly sends us all over the edge…)
We squish and slide along the rugged path of the AT enjoying the sounds of the day, the cool rain,  the eery mist and each others company. A quick stop at the Gooch Gap AT shelter for a brief respite from a downpour, finds three through hikers, barely beginning their journey. I wondered how I would feel if I was starting out a hike measuring 2,181 miles in such weather. After hurriedly eating a snack, we left them in various states of preparation and head off to Woody Gap.
There were a few water crossings made even more exciting by the rising water, wonderful rocky outcroppings with views to nowhere and one of the fastest lunch breaks ever under a dripping hemlock tree with a cold wind whipping around us.
Not once during this day did anyone complain or whine. In fact the mood of these crazy women was upbeat and positive, punctuated by lively conversation and laughter.

It was a day designed to stay inside, to hibernate in comfort but we were rewarded by a unique way to experience God’s beautiful creation of nature.

Maryland in the Snow

Maryland 1.11
The hike on Saturday went very well! 28 of the 35 RSVPs braved the cold and snow, and there were many first timers with the group.

Temperature was around 26 when we stepped off at 9:30 am and the sun was shining. We found the snow on the trail to be pretty tramped down by other hikers with some areas still around 6″ deep and fluffy, but not difficult to get through. There were slick areas, mostly on the rocks, but otherwise the trail was not treacherous. It was, as another person noted, a bit like hiking in sand – – it was harder to pick up your feet and really move along and that made for a good workout. Everyone quickly found their own best pace and the group spread out up and down the trail. It’s pretty much impossible to hold a group that size together, to one pace. I realize it makes it harder for everyone to get a chance to meet and talk with everyone else, but I won’t put a leash on the fast hikers and I won’t push the ones that need to move slower.

Along the way we ran into at least a dozen backpackers and at least that many day hikers. I heard that one young man, upon finding out that we were an all-female group, said “Oh! Cougars!” 😉 We also had one young man approach us in the parking lot and ask to join the hike. Turned out he was looking for another group that was going to meet there. Whew!

We were all at the shelter by around noon and my goodness the food! The picnic table was covered in a feast of homemade cookies, bars, breads, baklava, muffins. There was chocolates, granola mixes, nuts, berries and cheese. We fired up the stoves and soon had everyone sipping their hot drinks. After our tea time, we started back to the parking lot.

I want to let you know that we have two ladies who are going to start their thru-hikes of the AT on the same day, March 16th! Rose Clack and Rebecca Berbert, we are so proud of you! We must keep up with their progress along the trail so that we can be there for them with lots of trail magic when they get into our area.

Speaking of trail magic….the Georgia Dames will be doing their annual trail magic at Mountain Crossings in GA the last weekend of March. They rent cabins for the weekend for themselves and spend the weekend providing burgers, hot dogs, and other treats to the hikers that are coming thru Neels Gap at Mountain Crossings. That is the 32 mile mark where many hikers decided a thru-hike is not for them and something like 10% drop off the trail. A hot meal and friendly faces could make all the difference in getting them to keep going. I’m hoping to have the time to go down there and help out. If you think you’d like to go along let me know and I’ll get the accommodations worked out with Anna.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=athiker07&target=ALBUM&id=5562563515405268273&authkey=Gv1sRgCMiJndrWisCzJA&feat=email

The link is to the photos I took of the hike.  I wish I had taken so many more!  There are more than 40 of them posted by other members on the Meetup.com website and probably more to come.

Linda

Gambrill State Park- Maryland Dames

Gambrill maryland
Hike Report from the Maryland Dames….

Wow, what a wonderful hike! I am an admitted fair weather hiker and hadn’t hiked in the snow and ice (other than to hike up Fox Glacier in New Zealand 7 years ago), and I loved this. There was 13 of us and many first timers. Brave souls all to make this their first time out with us. It was about 27 degrees when we set out at 10 am, but not at all windy or even breezy. It actually felt just fine. It took 2 hours to cover the 3.3 miles as some of it was treacherous and slow going with icy slippery rocks and leaves, especially the descents.

The sun came out, more or less, after the first hour and started melting off the snow. The woods were beautiful – the white sugar dusting of snow, the brown of the ground, the green ferns still peaking out, the fallen leaves…..just breathtaking. And so calm and quiet. We will definitely do another winter hike. More snow would actually be better – a thicker, packed base to walk on rather than the thin coating of snow and ice on everything. I’ve asked my hubby for snowshoes for my birthday, so I’ll have them by January and our next winter wonderland hike!

Linda

Wagon Train Trail

This weekend, I went with the Trail Dames to see the leaves changing at Brasstown Bald, the tallest peak in Georgia (4784 feet).  We hiked the Wagon Train Trail, which follows a ridge north from Brasstown Bald all the way to Young Harris, a college town.  This hike is all about the journey, rather than the destination– especially the views along the ridge and watching the trees change as we drop elevation and go through different forest types.

Down the Wagon Train Trail.

Eleven Dames met at the large parking area early in the morning.  We had a wonderful mix of women- it was one woman’s second hike ever, while others had been hiking for years.  We started down the wide, relatively flat path, and reached a viewpoint after an hour.  We stopped for a break and marveled how far we’d come.  The tower at Brasstown Bald, near where we began our hike, looked so small in the distance and it was hard to imagine we’d so easily traveled all this way already.

The tower on Brasstown Bald appears tiny.

After a very long and hot summer, the crisp fall air was quite a relief.  The leaves were spectacular red, orange, and yellow, contrasting against deep blue sky.  As the sun shone through the red leaves, it gave everything a rosy hue.  Leaves crunched beneath our feet.  Though most of the time we were walking through forest ablaze with red leaves, we passed through one part of the trail was all golden yellow.

The Dames that went with me on the Blood Mountain hike recognized the turtleheads clustered around small springs.  We also saw quite a few striped gentians.

Turtlehead

After getting back to the trailhead, some of the Dames still had enough energy to climb the remaining 6/10 mile up to the observation tower and visitor’s center at the summit.  Stepping off the Wagon Train trail, where we’d seen very few other hikers, was quite a culture shock, because the summit area was crowded with tourists.   At first, I felt annoyed that this summit had been “ruined” by all the development.  But then, we met a woman in a wheelchair that was 95 years old!  She had visited this mountain many years ago, and was excited to make this return trip, even though she couldn’t walk anymore herself and had to take the shuttle bus to the top.  Of course this made me instantly appreciate that this mountain was accessible to everyone, and I smiled looking around at all the different people, up there, enjoying the fall day.

Same Trail, A Year and a Half Later

Same trail, a year and a half later

Milkweed along the AT (May 2009)
Another wonderful guest post from our wonderful hike leader, Hemlock.  For more of her writing, check out her blog athttp://ramblinghemlock.blogspot.com/
This weekend, I went on an overnight backpacking trip from Hogpen to Unicoi on the Appalachian Trail.  A year and a half ago, in May of 2009, I backpacked this section as a new Trail Dame and a beginner backpacker.  I recall struggling up the hills.  Thankfully it was spring and there were plenty of flowers in bloom to examine while I caught my breath.   I remember asking our trip leader a million questions about her gear, taking notes on everything she said.  She was one of the first people I’d met that was a solo hiker (how brave!) and had hiked long distances on the AT (how cool!).

Now, I scouted the trip as a trip co-leader, in preparation for taking a group out there next week.  Walking this same path, it struck me how much has changed– not just the change of season with the wildflowers all gone to seed– but how now the hills seem like a breeze, and I’m the one answering questions from the first-time backpackers as they email me about what to expect on this trip.  I sometimes feel like a fraud– I’m still learning myself– until I realize that I can help since I remember vividly what it was like to be a beginner myself.

Milkweed pod and seeds in fall
What hasn’t change is how much I plan for the hike (and, I’ll admit, how I still get butterflies the night before a big trip).  But now, I try to figure out how to provide directions and explain the features of the trail and think through what to do in case of emergency.  I wonder how I can be as welcoming, respectful, and supportive to them as everyone was to me a year and a half ago.

As I walked along, I thought about what makes the Trail Dames a unique group.  Like I said before, I’ve hiked with dozens of other hiking clubs, so I know there’s something special about the Dames.  Is it the caring nature of the group that brings everyone together?  How does this happen?  How can such a diverse group of women get along?  How can we laugh so much?  When I hike with the Dames, I try to keep my ears open to catch incredible conversations– inspirational stories of challenges faced with courage.  And there is something about being outdoors that allows the conversations to just flow.   I take in this wisdom, and make mental notes about how I want to live my life.

I watch the way everyone looks out for one another- not condescending at all– and how folks are understanding if someone is having trouble, because everyone else has struggled at one time or another, so we all know what it’s like.  (One Dame describes it this way– “There’s No Shame With the Trail Dames!”)  I really appreciate this because I’ve hiked with other groups that are competitive, and I’ve noticed that this attitude prevents people from coming together as a team, and connecting with one another.   I see these things, but all of these parts don’t fully explain to me the incredible things that happen on the trail with the Dames.