On the A.T. Approach Trail

Following a good night's sleep and after being served a wonderful breakfast at The Hike Inn, we once again headed up the trail, this time we followed the Hike Inn Trail for more than a mile to where it connected to the Appalachian Trail's "Approach Trail".  If we had headed north on this Approach Trail, we would have arrived at Springer Mountain which is the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trial.

 Oh boy, that really brings back memories from five years ago when I arrived at Springer Mountain, so trail-naïve, and began my journey north on the A.T. for what turned out to be the adventure of a lifetime!  You can read my personal journal and view my photos from that adventure here  http://www.trailjournals.com/erma

However, we did not head north on this day, instead we headed South on the A.T. Approach Trail heading back to Amacolola Falls State Park where we had left our vehicle yesterday morning.  The weather was mild and it was a great day to be out in the woods with my sweet husband, Tom, and his brother Tim.  Here are a few of the unique trees we passed along the trail.

The A.T. Approach Trail is marked with rectangular blue blazes painted on trees or rocks.

We saw a lot of these large flowers laying on the ground, having fallen from some kind of tree?

                      Time for a break and a drink of water!

During our less than five mile trek down the Approach Trail we must have passed nearly a dozen of these nice little tent-camping spots.

Just before we reached our vehicle we crossed this pretty, cascading, clear creek.

We took a little time after our hike to explore the Amacalola Lodge.

 It is a very nice place to stay in a gorgeous wooded setting!  Who knows, maybe someday we'll be back and stay here?

This is a huge vertical map of the entire Appalachian Trail, all 2,000+ miles of it, from Springer Mtn. in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  I walked every bit of it!  Still hard for me to wrap my mind around that!

When you rent one of these rooms at the lodge, you can sit......

 ......and enjoy this incredible view!

Tim is a volunteer firefighter in Big Canoe where he and Kathy live.  On our way from Amicalola State Park back to their home, he took us by the Big Canoe Fire Dept.'s training facility. 

I think I have posted a photo before depicting how very steep the road is in front of their home.  When we walk up the hill, it is quite the workout!  But walking down the hill, it is so steep I have to zigzag back and forth across the road sort of coming downhill on a sideways angle!  They love it there, but I cannot imagine living there.  Give me good ole' "flat" ground in Texas any day.

Thank you Tim and Kathy for once again putting us up in the "Humphries Resort"!  As always, we enjoyed our time together!

 

Upon leaving Tim and Kathy, we decided to detour south to Fort Rucker, Alabama to see our friends, Megan and Stace, who are Army Officers stationed there.  It was so good to see them again!  They took us onto the base to the Flight Museum which was very interesting.  Megan graduated from West Point Military Academy.  Megan and Stace are both Black Hawk Helicopter Pilots/Instructors.  They had been stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York for the past several years but had just moved to Fort Rucker a few days before we were there.  I really appreciate their service to our country and the sacrifices they make each day!

 This photo of Megan and Stace was taken in October 2014.  The reason I am posting it here is because silly me did not take a photo of them while we were there in May of this year!  Boy, was I bummed when we got down the road a ways and I realized I had failed to get a picture of them! 

However I did get some shots of their cute little boy, Grant!

I think little Grant is a true Texan at heart because he does love to eat chips and salsa!

 

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And that my friends was our May 2016 Vacation! 

Going to the Len Foote Hike Inn!

May 15-21, 2016

For this vacation we decided to rent a vehicle rather than putting even more miles on our little red car.  When we went to pick up the rental, Enterprise did not have the type of car we had reserved so we were given an upgrade to a 2016 Jeep Cherokee SUV for no additional charge.  I loved it!  Plenty of room, loved the hatch-back, and very comfortable seating. 

Rather than leaving in the evening when Tom got of work on Saturday, we opted instead to load the vehicle, go to bed early and get a few hours sleep, then we got up at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning and headed out.  This turned out to be a great idea!  Less traffic on the interstate.  Then we were blessed with watching an awesome sunrise as we traveled eastward!

  It is about a 14-hour drive from our place to Tim & Kathy's (Tom's brother/wife) place in the mountains of northern Georgia.  We arrived there in the late afternoon and as usual Tim and Kathy bestowed awesome hospitality upon us.  We always enjoy our visits with them and their wonderful downstairs "guest suite" that includes bedroom, bath, living room, and a deck with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains!  Can't wait for them to come and visit us so we can show them some good ole Texas hospitality.

 One day while we were there, Tim took Tom and I on a walk through the woods in their neighborhood on the wonderful trail system in Big Canoe.

We saw these beautiful mountain laurel blossoms!

 Also this fascinating tree sculpture.

I think Tom is showing us his relaxation and meditation techniques at the waterfalls?

The highlight of our week in Georgia was getting to go on a hike to the popular Len Foote Hike Inn!  Kathy saw us off and took this beginning photo before our adventure into the woods.

These flowers were at the entrance to Amicalola Falls State Park.

Enjoying the awesome views at the Falls.

This sign welcomed us to the Len Foote Hike Inn Trail.  If you like being in the wilderness but do not enjoy "roughing it" along the way the Len Foote Hike Inn is the place for you! 

The Hike Inn Trail is moderate and almost anyone from 8 yrs. to 80 yrs. (and beyond?) can manage the beautiful five mile walk in the woods that leads from Amicalola State Park to the Len Foote Hike Inn.

 

We met this great group of girls and their sponsors!  They had spent the previous night at the Hike Inn and were hiking back to the State Park.  They were very exuberant, laughing, and had lots of questions about hiking.

The "brothers" are having their own kind of fun on the trail!

Next we met the group of boys (that the little girls had warned us about) and their sponsors.  We asked these sponsors why the girls and the boys were hiking in separate groups and said it keeps trouble at a minimum. Imagine that!

                             What a gorgeous trail!

 

These lady slippers were at the end of their bloom cycle but they were still pretty. 

These boards are there to protect the vegetation during the wet season.  (It was dry when we went through.)

What an awesome treat after walking five miles we came to the Len Foote Hike Inn!

It is in the woods in a beautiful setting with spectacular views!

A great game room!  I can visualize being there on a cold Winter day enjoying a roaring fire in the wood stove.  Cozy!

               Tim and Tom are enjoying relaxing with a view!

                       The brothers playing bean bag toss.

What an incredibly gorgeous setting for this wonderful hiker's Inn!

Restrooms, showers, towels, washrags, sheets, blankets, pillows are all provided with the price of the room. 

                                Incredible views!            

        
Our bunks for the night!  (Tim is in the adjoining room.)

To top it off we were served a delicious dinner served family style.

We were also served breakfast here in this dining hall the following morning. (All this is included in the cost of our room!)

 

Our return hike the next day on a different trail will be covered in my next post.