Between Gaps on the Appalachian Trail
I adore autumn, and this short hike on the Appalachian Trail was an excellent way to enjoy the approach of this outstanding season.
I admit it, I’m a sucker for autumn. It’s my favorite season of the year, the little extra chill in the air, the color of the leaves, everything. A couple of weeks ago, I went looking for one trail, but ended up on another, enjoying a day that seemed to presage the oncoming fall season. This was part of the Appalachian Trail, one of the most well-known trails in the country, and it was beautiful.
My original intention was to go on the Logan Turnpike Trail, a trail up around the Duke’s Creek area of North Georgia. According to my guidebooks, there were two trailheads, one at each end. I started off looking for the lower trailhead, but ended up in a place where my little Civic just wasn’t prepared for, so I turned around and looked for the upper trailhead. I didn’t have much luck here, either, as the blazes for the Logan Turnpike Trail ended just a few yards along. After a few fruitless searches along what might have been trails, looking for blazes, I gave up.
Turns out I was right near one of the many entry ways to the Appalachian Trail. I feel fortunate to live not far from where the AT begins its way up the eastern edge of the United States. I’ve been along parts of it before, but only relatively short trips. One day I may take a longer trek along this deservedly popular trail. Anyway, here I was, looking for a trail, right at the entrance at Hogpen Gap, and noted that it was a mile or so to Tesnatee Gap along the AT. I decided that this was going to be my hike for the weekend, as I was frustrated with searching for my intended trail, and I also noted the oncoming “dirty weather”. Some darker clouds were rolling in, and I didn’t know how much time I had.
So, I retrieved my raingear, hooking it to my camera bag for easy access, and started off. This trail ascends pretty sharply up to the ridge between the two gaps. The weather was great, because the wind from the oncoming storm was blowing through, cooling everything off. And something in that wind smelled of autumn, and it just put an extra spring in my step.
The trees along the trail had some great shapes, some of them looking like faces, some just with a lot of character, so I focused on them this time, for the most part. Once I got to the top of the ridge, I could just barely see some glimpses of the mountains, just enough to pique my interest. A few yards along the ridge, there was a clearing of large rock outcroppings providing a nice place to sit and just enjoy the view of the north Georgia mountains. The breeze continued to blow through, and I could start hearing the distant roll of thunder echoing off the mountainsides.
I kept going, along this rather easy part of the trail along this ridge, and just before it descended to Tesnatee Gap, I found this secluded group of boulders that would have been a great place to sit and read or just experience the solitude. But, the wind was picking up and the thunder was getting louder, so I headed on down to Tesnatee Gap. I didn’t wait very long at Tesnatee, as I could taste the storm at that point, the cool wind sifting through the trees, creating this loud whisper through the leaves, punctuated by thunder. So, I headed back.
Because of the imminent rain, I didn’t take many pictures on the way back, deciding instead to keep the camera well secured in the waterproof carrier, just in case I had to gear up in a hurry. I did stop for a bit at the clearing overlooking the mountains, and the thunder boomed and echoed magnificently through the gap. As I headed down to Hogpen Gap, I started to feel the rain, and got my gear on, but I only got a little bit of the rain before I got back to the car. Once I was in the car heading off the mountain, the storm hit, and the rain poured down.