Appalachian Trail HikeFontana Dam, NC to Springer Mt, GA - 171 miles

June 11-30th 2009Tracy Carney

Day 1 - June 11

Dianne McCormick, ,

Reilly (the golden ),

and I(Tracy Carney)

stayed in Standing

Bear Hostel, in the

Smokey Mountains,

our first night.

Day 2 – June 12

We were shuttled to

Fontana Dam, NC for

a 6 day, 5 night hike.

We got on the trail at

noon and hiked 6.9

miles our first day. The

goal for this first part

of the journey was to

hike 56 miles to our

car waiting at Winding

Gap, NC.

Day 3 – June

13th

Our trio hiked 11.6

miles in NC, from

Yellow Creek Gap

(2,980’) through

Stecoah Gap, (3,165’)

and camped at Locust

Cove Gap. I met two

of my new friends

here: Bayer Back and

Body and Band-aids!

Day 4 - June 14

Sunday morning we

worshipped on top of

Cheoah Bald (5,062’),

my highest climb so

far. What an awesome

place to praise God!

The AT went over the

Nantahala River,

there was an Outdoor

Center with rafting

and a restaurant.

Yum! We hiked 11.3

miles .

Day 5- June 15

We climbed 2

mountains from

(1723’) to the Wesser

Bald observation deck

(4,627’);then from

Tellico Gap (3,850’) to

Copper Ridge Bald

(5,080’). We camped

on top of a mountain,

used our cell phones

to call home and took

a bath in a freezing

stream. Awesome!

Day 6 &7

June 16 - 17

We hiked 5 miles on the

6th to the Wayah Shelter.

We relaxed and visited

with a grandfather and

grandson hiking team. On

the 17th we hiked to a

stone fire tower at Wayah

Bald (5,342’). After hiking

11 miles to Winding Gap ,

our car awaited us. Our

first 56 miles was

completed!

Day 8 & 9

June 18 -19

The second part of our trip

involved shuttling to Dick’s

Creek, GA and hiking

north to Winding Gap, NC

(40.2 miles). On the 18th

we hiked 11.8 miles and

crossed from GA into NC .

My favorite place was the

summit of Standing Indian

Mt, NC (5,498’), we

arrived there during our

12.5 mile hike on the 19th.

Day 10 & 11

June 20 -21

We started the day by

climbing Albert Mt (5,250’),

to a fire tower. We hiked 12.1

miles. Later in the day we

had a slight accident when

we tried to hang the bear

bag; just a bruised foot . The

only soaking rain we

experienced was the

morning of the 21st ; but, we

only had 3.8 miles to reach

the car. The 2nd part of our

journey… finished!

We drove to Dick’s Creek,

GA and began hiking south

to Neel Gap, GA, 36.8 miles

away. No, we did not see the

governor of SC but heard he

was hiking the AT. We hiked

11 miles and stayed at Tray

Mt Shelter (4,430”). The

23rd we hiked 10 miles and

Dianne got up-close and

personal with our first

snake!

Day 12 & 13

June 22 - 23

Day 14 & 15

June 24 -25

Chattahoochee Gap , GA was

where we started on the 24th.

The trail was good; but, the ticks

were horrible! We were picking

them off the dog and each other.

We decided to do a “Reilly

Charge” meaning we would push

ourselves and hike the 15.8 miles

to Neel Gap. Dianne pulled 87

ticks off Reilly. We took a zero

day on the 25th and got some

R&R and more tick protection for

Reilly. 3rd Section Finished!!

Day 16 & 17

June 26-27

June 26th we climbed Blood

Mt the highest peak in GA.

(4,461’). It was breathtaking!

We hiked 9.6 miles and

camped on Big Cedar Mt.. The

27th seemed like a day of

endless climbs. I didn’t know

my eyelids could sweat! We

hiked 13.3 miles. The

weather was hot but the

views from the mountain

summits made it worth it all!

Day 18 & 19

June 28-29

We started the 28th with

anticipation ,we were going

to summit Springer Mt ,GA -

the start of the AT. The

climb there was beautiful,

waterfalls, pine trees and

rhododendrons. We camped

at Black Gap Shelter and

hiked the 8.8 miles of the

approach trail to Amicalola

Falls State Park on the 29th.

Our 171 mile journey was

complete.

Day 20 -June 30

As we drove home on the

30th God gave us a rainbow

to view from our car

window. It was a reminder

to me of His faithfulness and

protection. I want to thank

Dianne McCormick, my

hiking mentor, my friend and

sister in Christ, without her I

would never have had this

opportunity. To Reilly (the

golden), you’re my trail

buddy and my protector.

I would also like to thank my husband ,

Tom and my family for their ongoing love and

support. To my friends and church family,

thank you for your prayers. To Irelyn and her

sisters, you are my source of great joy! To all

who donated or will donate to the “Onward

with Irelyn” fund I pray you might be blessed

for having a heart to give. There is a saying,

“to the world you may be one person, but to

one person you may be the world.” Thank

you for being a part of Irelyn’s world.

Love, Tracy Carney