It's been a couple of years since my last trip so I was really excited about this trip. Went with a couple of friends for a short 2 1/2 day trek on the Ga Pinhoti.
We dropped cars at the start (Pilcher's Pond parking area), middle (sorta - Snake Creek Gap trailhead) and end (Dug Gap trailhead). Leaving a car at Snake Creek Gap was a smart decision since it allowed us to cache food, water, gear.
I was a little nervous going into this trip since it is a remote area and it was my first tentless trip. I'd spent several nights in the ENO but only in the backyard.
The hike to Pilcher's Pond is a short, easy hike and we set up camp just before dark on Thursday. There were plenty of trees and the DN and Big mamajamba went up beautifully. The first night on the trail was great - slept like a baby. Two CCF pads stacked in a tight "V" gave me plenty of insulation as temps got down to the low 40's. The Wally World mummy bag kept things toasty.
Friday was a tough but fun 13 miles of hiking. We summited Horn Mtn, Mill Creek Mtn, and Middle Mtn and spent most of the day descending into and climbing out of various coves along the GPT. Great views and great weather and 3 very tired hikers rolled into camp around 5pm on top of Middle Mtn.
Between fatigue and the whipping wind, I think I set my tarp up wrong. I never could get it completely taut on both sides and the tarp stayed about 12 inches above my face all night. Friday night brought more wind and lots of rain. No leakage to speak of however as temps dropped to the high 30's, there was a bit of condensation that dripped onto my face as the rain drops pounded the other side of the tarp.
Saturday AM, the misty rain continued until around 9:30. As we sat under our shelters, several mountain bikers flew by - each with a race bib and number attached to their bikes....our excellent sense of deductive reasoning and my Iphone helped us to determine that we were in the middle of the Snake Creek Gap Time Trials. Nothing like sharing the trail with 300 mountain bikers! Lots of walk, walk, sidestep of the trail, repeat, repeat, repeat. The highlight was seeing a trailrunner with a very small kids bike strapped to his back running down the trail - hey, the rules don't say you actually have to RIDE the bike.
Our 9 mile day on Saturday ended with a climb up Dug Mtn on a stretch of trail known as "The Wall"....and it definitely lived up to the name! After climbing The Wall, we descended into Dug Gap just outside of Dalton and hightailed it to Los Pablos for some guacamole, salsa, and enchiladas.
All in all, a fun trip. I still have a lot to learn about hammocking and am looking forward to many more miles and nights hanging 'tween the trees. Thanks for indulging me and reading this far.....
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