This was our first time visiting the Appalachian Mountains, and most definitely not the last. The timing of our hike was perfect, for the fall foliage and cooperating weather. Our plan was to hike our own hike and savor every moment of it. We must admit the plan was accomplished. We enjoyed gorgeous views of the forest: old and crooked trees, colorful leaves of every possible shape, and moss-covered rocks to name a few. There was a great sense of solitude in the forest. It was very quiet and peaceful, which made it even nicer when we bumped into another fellow hiker. The most difficult part of our journey was with estimating how much water we needed to carry with us, especially considering the limited number of water sources due to severe drought. The base weight of our backpacks was 19 lbs. and 23.5 lbs., which we should be able to reduce next time. P.S. If you want to be disconnected from the outside world, bring a phone with a T-Mobile plan.

We left our car at the Top of Georgia Hostel, then got shuttled by "Sir-Packs-ALot" to the Big Stamp Gap parking, receiving plenty of last minute advice on the way. We were now 1 mile from the Springer Mountain Southern Terminus. We walked to Springer Mountain and proudly signed into the Appalachian Trail register. Our adventure had now officially begun. After a 1.5 mile trek, we found ourselves in dense tunnels of lavish rhododendrons, their leaves spreading a distinct odor around the area. We encountered these many more times throughout the hike, and could always smell the rhododendron way before we saw it. Since we started in the afternoon, we only got to the Stover Creek Shelter by 4:30 pm. There was a small creek nearby, proving to be a good water supply. At the shelter, we met "God Drop" and a couple from Michigan. Warm night.

We didn't leave the shelter until 10:30 this morning, at which point we filled up on 4 liters of water and made our way up a flight of large, stone steps. We headed towards the Hawk Mountain Shelter, taking a short break at Three Forks. Later on, we rested at a dirt road which led to the Hickory Flats Cemetery. Eventually, we arrived at the shelter a little past 3 in the afternoon. A group of 5 thru-hikers stayed with us overnight. This being their last night on the trail, there were celebrations with champagne. We really enjoyed watching their camaraderie and listening to their stories. This was a good day! So far, there were no problems with feet. We made 5.5 miles today, better than yesterday's 4.8. Tomorrow, we planned to make 7.7 miles.

We woke up before the sun, at around 6:50 am. Today, we headed towards the Gooch Mountain Shelter. On our way, we met Michael from the Hike Out PTSD, an organization helping veterans with PTSD. At the top of the Sassafras Mountain, we bumped into a group thru-hikers sitting by a bonfire. We informed them about the complete fire ban on AT in Georgia, which they were not aware of. Then, by Justus Creek, we met an elderly couple in their mid-70's who were going strong with heavy backpacks and making 3 miles per day. This was very inspiring! On our way to the shelter, we ran into two young thru-hikers we had met at the Top of Georgia Hostel; they were very fast hikers, as it only took them 3 days to do accomplish what we did in 9! We finally arrived at the Gooch Mountain Shelter at around 4 pm. Because 4 people had already occupied the shelter, we decided to stay in our tent for the night. The older couple arrived by dusk and quickly set up camp with their tent and hammocks. The night was warm.

Today, we got up a bit late and left at almost 10 am. We set out towards Woody Gap, hoping to stay overnight in the Woods Hole Shelter (12 miles away). The Gooch Mountain Shelter's water was sparse due to severe draught, so we had to refill at Woody Gap from a jug left by Trail Angels. From Woody Gap, we ascended along a very steep path up to the Preaching Rock - what a view! Then onto Big Cedar Mountain - we missed the vistas that must have been off trail. From there, we went down to Lance Creek, the first source of natural water since Gooch. At 3 pm, we arrived at the Lance Creek campsite. We realized that with heavy load of water we would barely make it to the Woods Hole Shelter before dark, which was 4 miles away. We decided to stay at the campsite. We met no other hikers here, a beautiful valley with a creek and trees already turning yellow and red. As a bonus, there were bear steel cables on site. Once in sleeping bags, we listened attentively for approaching bears, but the only sound we heard was of rustling leaves and falling acorns.

We didn't sleep well due to our bear paranoia and a slight slope under tent's floor. We rose at 7 in the morning. Our plan for the day was to reach Neel's Gap. Even though we washed ourselves in a creek last evening, we still stank pretty badly. By now we worked out a good system of setting up and folding our camp. We set out at 9:30 am and hit Jarred Gap by 11 am. At noon, we arrived at the Woods Hole Shelter, which was enveloped by the pleasant aroma of fall. We could barely even see Blood Mountain through the trees, which stood at a towering 4459 ft., the highest peak on the Georgia AT trail. It was a tough 1.1 mile climb. At 1:30 pm we reached the peak, after a 1 hour hike via switchbacks. On top of the mountain stood a very unique, rustic shelter built out of stones. We had a spectacular, unrestricted 360 degree view atop the rocks beside the shelter. Ahead of us was a very steep and rocky descent down to Neel's Gap. We resupplied on food at the Mountain Crossings outfitter, devouring a pizza and egg burritos. Here, in the hostel, we spent the night. Taking the first shower after 5 days was a real treat. What a relief it was to finally be clean! A young thru-hiker "England", spent the night with us. We enjoyed his stories.

Today our morning started at 5:45 am. We couldn't sleep well because of a party that was going on upstairs. We left hostel at 7:45 am, carrying 5.75 liters of water because the next water source was 11 miles away. The morning started with a long climb up Levelland Mountain. As we approached Wolf Laurel Top and Cowrock Mountain, we took frequent breaks to absorb fantastic views of green mountains, painted with yellow and red splashes. Later there was a short but very steep climb from Tesnate Gap to Wildcat Mountain. At Hogpen Gap we refilled our bottles with water left by Trail Angels - thank you! The last 4 miles were rather difficult because of PUDS, partially ups and downs, and an unusually hot day. We saw many fresh bear poops, and half way through we met a bear hunter snoozing under a tree. We heard lots of shots during the day and night. We reached the Low Gap Shelter at 5 pm and it was empty! This was one of the most beautiful places we camped at. A girl, trail name "Woodchuck", stopped by to use the privy. She intended on hiking to Neel's Gap through the night, following her friends who were already ahead of her. This was a real thru-hiker with no fear! Once it got dark, another thru-hiker, "Durham" with his dog Ridge, arrived and stayed with us.

We got up at 5:50 am, and the sky was lit with stars. "Durham" was already finishing up his breakfast and ready to go. We left camp at 8 am. The trail started off very smoothly, and we trekked along an old, unfinished road. Along the way, runner passed us. After roughly 3 miles, we stopped by a clear stream with cascades where we replaced 5.75 liters of our dirty water from the last camp. Soon the trail became a little harder, with twisting, rocky paths covered by a blanket of leaves. Hiking on hidden, loose rocks was exhausting, and it seemed like there was no end to it. Eventually, we met the same runner from earlier, and he was already coming back from Unicoi Gap. The view here was spectacular, with sunlight shining through brilliant, yellow-leafed trees. We arrived at the Blue Mountain Shelter exhausted, and ahead of us was a steep 1000 ft. descent to Unicoi Gap, followed by a 1000 ft. climb to the top of Rocky Mountain, where we planned to camp overnight. Suddenly, for the first time in several days, we got a phone connection. Immediately we called the Top of Georgia Hostel to see if they had beds available and if they could pick us up from Unicoi Gap. They answered: Yes and Yes. With a new boost of energy, we powered our way through to Unicoi Gap, reaching it by 4 pm. TOG was very crowded, and we met "God Drop" again. He had joined a group of young hikers, who were walking 79 miles of Georgia AT and carrying on their backs a young lady, Carden, who battles FSH Muscular Dystrophy. They created The Piggyback Adventures to raise awareness for the disease - amazing people, amazing story!

We collected our washed clothes, dumped a few pounds of unnecessary weight from our backpacks, and shuttled back to Unicoi Gap. At 8:40 am we set out on the trail. The steep, 1000 ft. climb seemed to be very easy on us after a good night's rest and lighter backpacks. We carried 5.75 liters of water (next water source was at the Deep Gap Shelter). At the top of Rocky Mountain, a pair of thru-hikers was cowboy camping. As we were approaching the summit of Tray Mountain, we ran into "Hootch", a thru-hiker who stayed with us in a hostel and started today's hike at Dick's Creek Gap. There were some very spectacular views at the summit, probably the best so far. We saw green mountain ranges turning reddish brown with patches of yellow. We took a short break at the Tray Mountain Shelter, then followed the trail through a magical old-growth forest. The loudest noise was sound of our footsteps crunching along a thick and colorful carpet of fallen leaves. We reached Sassafras Gap by 5 pm, our overnight spot. This was another empty campsite! For the first time we had to throw our own bear line. Just before dusk, we witnessed an unforgettable sunset, lighting up colorful, yellow sassafras trees. The reduced weight we travelled with today made a huge difference.

We rose just before dawn at 7 am. We folded the camp, cooked breakfast, and admired the sunrise before setting off on the trail. This was another beautiful day, the fall colors at their peak. Since we had a leisurely day, we decided to savor every moment and take it all in. As we were hiking up Kelly Knob, we smelled smoke. At first we thought somebody had a campfire going, but later we realized it was a wildfire, fortunately not in the vicinity of our trail. We stopped at the Deep Gap Shelter for a longer break - one of the nicest shelters so far. We found entries in the trail register made by hikers we had already met. Reading "Legs don't fail on me", written by a guy we stayed in hostel with, made this short message even more meaningful. This sentence had a face and a soul. We started picking leaves to identify the trees growing around us; there were so many shapes, colors, and sizes! We reached the Dick's Creek Shelter at 2 pm, then walked 0.5 miles to the Top of Georgia Hostel. We met "Not So Bad" a thru-hiker finishing his AT hike. Once he steps on Springer Mountain, he officially becomes a Triple Crowner, someone who completed the 3 biggest trails: AT, PCT and CDT. He stopped by to pick up a package, had pizza, and still set out on the trail for additional 10-11 miles! The hostel was not very busy, and we were greeted by Don and Carey like old, good friends. This was a very homey place and a very caring staff.

Day of slackpacking! We took day packs with water and snacks, and shuttled just half a mile short of Blue Ridge Gap. Our plan was to go north to the N.C. border, then back to Dick's Creek Gap, completing the Georgia section. When we got to the trail, we stashed 2 liters of water and went towards N.C. We passed several solo thru-hikers, appearing quietly among huge trees and almost immediately disappearing behind us in the shadowy, old-growth forest. At the GA/N.C. border we met a dog with an attached antenna, after a while 2 wild boar hunters joined him. We continued 0.1 miles to Bly Gap and hugged an old, gnarly oak, twisted by centuries of winds. On the way back we visited the Plumorchard Gap Shelter, a three-level rustic shelter. A nice older couple with a dog set up a camp over there for the night. After a short chat, we moved on and got completely immersed in the beauty and magnificence of the virgin forest, and soon each of us hiked own hike separated at least 1 mile from one another. Unfortunately, we reached the last white blaze of our trip. We left a bottle of water under the AT sign, and returned to TOG hostel. Only one other hiker, Jim, stayed overnight. Our backpacking ended with a great evening with Jim and Carey playing the guitar and singing. We could not have asked for a better ending!