Hiking with Six Kids Better be Easier Than Getting Them to Georgia

My plan from the beginning was to drive to Georgia. My husband was going to drive the RV, and we would follow him in another car. It was a lovely idea. But like so many plans, it quickly fell apart. The camper is encased in snow, we somehow lost the keys over the winter, and the rails to tow it won’t fit in the bed of our truck. Instead of abandoning our trip, we decided to ditch that plan and pursue plan number two.

Backups Plans Are Beautiful

Plan two is for me to drive to Georgia and start hiking on my own with the kids. My husband will use the next month or so to get the camper and truck in order. He will meet us somewhere north of the Grayson Highlands in Virginia. My oldest son will join us to help in the beginning so I will be starting with seven kids instead of six. He will hike the first 500 miles with us before heading home somewhere after the Grayson Highlands.

You’ve Reached Your Maximum Capacity

To get the kids and me to Amicalola Falls, we decided to rent a car as we own older cars, and I don’t think they could make the trip from Maine to Georgia. The rental is proving problematic as local places don’t have cars big enough to hold eight people! The maximum sized mini-van only holds seven and larger vehicles, when we can find them, are way too expensive. We’re going to have to rely on some friends to help us out by taking one of our overflow kids.

One and Done

We plan to drive straight from Maine to Georgia. It’s 18 hours, and we are going to try to to do it in one day with two drivers taking turns. If we have to stop, we will break in Maryland. Did I mention some of my kids get car sick? They probably will be sick and tired of being in the car by the time we get to Georgia. Once we finally arrive in Amicalola Falls, we are going to stay at the campground for a day and try to get a good night of sleep before we hit the trail.  Fingers crossed that our night at the campground is a dry one. Otherwise, we will be getting out first taste of rain before we even hit the trail. No pain, no rain, no Maine, am I right?

AT Shuttle Drivers to the Rescue

Once we get into Georgia, we still need a ride to Amicalola Falls after dropping off the car at the rental location in Gainesville, Georgia. Here’s where the shuttle drivers on the AT rule. Further Shuttle offered a ride, but Donald doesn’t have a car big enough to hold eight people. Like most locals, if he can’t do it, he knows somebody who can! He put me in contact with Chief Duffy. Chief Duffy Shuttle service has a Suburban and is going to hook us up with a ride from Gainesville to Amicalola Falls. Best of all, he’s charging us a very reasonable rate. I love the people on the AT already and I haven’t even arrived there yet!