Approaching The Falls- Amicalola

Inage of Eddie at the arch of Amicalola Falls at start of AT Hike

My apologies for the slight dealy on updates. I will now attempt to update my progress on my own “AT Challenge” starting with the approach trail at Amicalola Falls, Ga. It is my intention in my posts to be transparent as possible sharing the good, and well not so good while also hopefully offering useful information for other hikers planning their own adventure. As I arrived at the massive Atlanta airport I was filled with excitement, just wanted to get to the trail as soon as possible. But, as it turns out my first adventure was in fact retrieving my backpack from luggage claim, which actually inloves taking the airport train (shuttle) through this massive airport to finally arrive at luggage claim, then I was finally off to meet my shuttle driver who would load myself and 3 other hikers in his SUV. 

Upon arrival at Amicalola I was excited to register, get my prized AT hangtag for my backpack with my own unique hiker number on it. Then came the ice cold water, the approach trail was closed due to construction and storm damage and hikers were being re-routed along another approach trail which did NOT allow a great view or photos of the falls, what a let down. Still, like every other hiker I posed in front of the welcoming arch to the Appalchain Trail, like thousands of other hikers have done for decades. 

TIP> I would suggest doing a really deep dive researching and “negotiating” your costs associated with getting from the airport to Amicalola as shuttle fares are all over the place. As mine is a charity hike, my fare was $90.00 , others paid $120.00. Still other hikers paid as high as $300.00 for the ride from the airport to Amicalola. The overall low came from a smart hiker who called LYFT and paid $60.00 for his trip to the starting line. So, as you can see, it’s something of a free for all in terms of pricing, Most shuttle drivers only accept CASH as this seems to be very much a cash business 🙂 
Finally, make certain Amicalola is where you want to go because if you do not wish to do the approach trail (not really part of the AT anyway) then it will get really expensive to get around to Springer Mountain (The official start of the AT). There was a young lady there who changed her mind and wanted to jump over to Springer and it cost her $75.00 to do so. Here is why, it’s only 8.5 miles to cross the approach trail to Springer via the trail, but to drive around to Springer it’s about 22 miles by road, that’s 44 miles for the shuttle driver so hiker beware 🙂 

TIP>> DON”T PACK YOU FEARS / OR THOSE OF FRIENDS  & FAMILY. At Amicalola my pack weighed in at 62 pounds, yikes! I immediately shipped home 17 pounds of things packed with the best of intentions. At Neal’s Gap, I shipped home yet another 18 pounds of gear that honestly I could do without. Sassafras & Blood Mountain on the first leg of the trail will quickly change your mind regarding what you can just do without. Everybody I run into seems to be trying to keep their base weight at or around 30 pounds +/- and this is very much a unique number to each hiker. Then there are the ultralights weighing in at less than 20 pounds, seems fairly rare though. Remember,  “Hike Your Own Hike” whatever that means. After years of research I am still tweaking things so don’t be afraid to  ask questions, and above all admit your own mistakes and move on 🙂 

Captain Eddie~ (Trail Name) 

 

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 1

  • lnf : Jun 7th

    62 pounds – lmao

    Reply

What Do You Think?