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Pictures From our Trip
These are pictures from our trip on March 9th, 2000. Click on the
thumbnail to see a larger version of the picture.

A plaque in the ground at the peak of Springer Mountain. This is the southern terminus of The Appalachian Trail. 2160.2 miles north is Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus, and the highpoint of Maine

A sign marking the Appalachian Trail trailhead

Another plaque on the rock at the summit of Springer Mountain

Some postings at the parking lot on SR 42

Chris and Scott after summiting Springer Mountain

Our Trip Report

Our first overnight trip, and boy, were we ever unprepared. We left on Wednesday March 8th around noon. Our first stop was Columbus, OH where we were to pick up a tent and a sleeping bag from Scott's soon-to-be brother-in-law, Eric. We were already running late. Scott told Eric that we would be there to meet him between 12:00 and 1:00. We finally arrived just after 2:00. Eric, who was at work at the time decided that it would be best if we met at a McDonald's not far from his work. We were pretty sure he was a little apprehensive at first, seeing that we were first-time campers, but nevertheless, Eric handed us his equipment with subdued confidence. We promised to take good care of his gear. Now going through Columbus was really out of our way. We were trying to come up with the best way to get to I-77 South for our trip to South Carolina. We decided that State Route 33 would be the most direct route. This stretch of road proved to be long and tedious with many lights and heavy traffic to further delay our progress. We finally arrived in Ravenswood, WV where we filled up the gas tank and got on to I-77 South. To make matters worse, there was something wrong with the gas pumps at the BP station, and filling the tank took almost 20 minutes. It seemed to be getting late rather quickly. Our day-one destination was Scott's friend Mike's house in Greenville, South Carolina. Originally we told Mike that we would be arriving between 9:00 and 10:00pm. We actually arrived just before midnight. Exhausted and relieved, we stumbled out the car ready to get some much-needed sleep. Chris had come up with the idea of being at Brasstown Bald at sunrise. Scott wasn't very keen on this idea at first, considering that we would be getting just over two hours of sleep. But after some thought he was quick to change his mind. 3:30 A.M. arrived very quickly. Chris, being the insomniac that he was, had been up since about 2:45 A.M. Mike's large cat standing on his face had worked well as an alarm clock. In order to get the sunrise photos we hoped to get, we needed to leave by 4:00 for the two hour plus trip to Georgia's high-point. Though we were both extremely tired, the anticipation of reaching the summit of our third state kept us going strong. We decided to take the most direct route from Greenville to Brasstown Bald. Well, roughly an hour into the trip, the planned route was thrown out the window. More than once we were forced to stop and look at the map to figure out where we were. We ended up getting onto 288 West. As we turned onto 17 South we began to see the first hint of daylight. We were both pleasantly surprised at the panoramic scenery that graced Georgia's morning sky. We had no idea that Georgia would be as mountainous as we discovered. There were signs from this point showing us the way to Brasstown. We turned onto 180 West. A couple miles later we reached the road to the high point. En route to the top, we noticed that the side of the road was filled with wild rhododendrons. Late summer must be a beautiful sight on this high-point. When we reached the top there was a large parking lot with a few picnic areas designated around its perimeter. We were somewhat shocked to notice that we were the only car around. These locals don't know what they're missing. Parking in this lot costs two dollars. This is an honor system, with which we gladly abided. We put the two dollars in the envelope provided and proceeded to park. We quickly started the half-mile hike up to the summit. The path we chose to the summit was the paved road. This road is open during the warmer months with a van that will take tourists to the summit. But since we were visiting in the winter, our only choice was to hike. After a surprisingly strenuous 1/2 mile walk, we reached the summit. Once on top we went on our own ways to explore our newest achievement. Chris went around the base of the lookout tower to take some pictures of the sunrise as it sprinkled the horizon with a hazy yellowish glow. Scott quickly went to the top of the tower. There wasn't a soul to be found. The only sounds were the howling winds. The serenity of this high-point was surreal. There is a museum and a store on top of Brasstown Bald. Unfortunately for us they both were closed. We stopped for some photo opportunities and proceeded to make our way back down to Scott's car. We noticed a trail, which we took to the parking lot. All in all we spent about a half-hour on the summit. Once at the bottom the clouds quickly blew in and blocked our view of the summit. We got there just in time. We walked another short distance on a trail at the base of the mountain leading to a rain forest. 3 down, 47 to go! Scott wanted to take a side trip to Springer Mountain, which was about 30 miles away. Springer Mountain is the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Since we were going to be conquering Mt. Katahdin (the northern terminus in Maine) sometime in the future, we decided that it would make sense to visit both points on the AT. What we originally thought would be a short and painless trip proved to be a very grueling journey. We really had no idea where we were going. We were trying to eye it up on the map but that didn't exactly work as planned. Northern Georgia is a lot of mountain driving. 180-degree turns come from out of nowhere. Paved roads turn into dirt roads without warning. We were driving on 60 West, which seemed to go on forever. Scott was driving and was quickly becoming irritated since we were driving blindly and still had no idea where we were going. We stopped at a county store where we hoped to get some directions. Scott asked the lady behind the counter if she knew where Springer Mountain was. She had never heard of it. For $5.00 we bought a map and decided to keep going on our own. We turned left onto Dial Rd, left on Newport Rd. and another left on Doublehead Gap Rd. It should be pointed out that when we say road, we mean a dirt trail wide enough for one car, with craters, roots, fallen branches, and many other obstructions that a Nissan Altima was not designed to handle. All through this area were side roads that were not on the map. These were dirt roads which more than once took us off course. Eventually we reached Forest Service Road 42. At the time we had no idea what road we were using. This was yet another dirt road that seemed to go straight up with hairpin turns that raised the hairs on our necks more than a few times. Miles up the road Scott was feeling defeated. There were no signs for Springer Mountain or for the Appalachian Trail. Nonetheless we kept trodding our way. Then out of nowhere, we noticed cars parked in a lot. Elation filled our hearts for we knew we had to be close. We pulled in and parked. When we got out of the car, an older couple confirmed our assumption. They also pointed us in the right direction for the summit. The lady stated that it was .9 miles to the top. On our summit bid we passed a thru-hiker who was just starting his journey. A thru-hiker is one who hikes the entire Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine 2200 miles, in one trip. This may take up to 7 months to finish. As we ascended, we questioned the lady's statement that it was .9 miles to the summit. It felt like twice that much. We were in the midst of a cloud that filled the air, and thus, our lungs, with moisture. We passed some other hikers and finally reached the peak. At the top, an Appalachian Trail Committee volunteer greeted us. He was there to answer any questions for hikers. He told of his thru-hike three years earlier. He snapped two photos for us and chatted with us about the area. We were both pleasantly surprised at how exciting this trip was turning out. After spending about 15-20 minutes on the summit, we made our way back to the car. Our next destination was South Carolina.

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