Once again we started out in Dahlonega in north Georgia, but this time we headed northeast through the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area. I didn't think the trails would be too tough so I didn't air down. After about an hour of being beat to death, we stopped at Springer Mountain and air'd down while taking a break. Springer Mountain is the southern terminus for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and is a popular place from January through June as hikers start their north bound thur-hikes. The funny thing about this dirt road was pulling over to let a Mini-van taxi pass by. We felt sorry for the lady driving it, can’t imagine she was having much fun driving that road in a Mini-van. The other notable incident that happened was we stopped a major forest fire from starting. While passing a campsite we noticed an unattended campfire. Two gallons of water later it was still unattended but was no longer a campfire. Always carry water with you.
Day 3 and 4 were at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. On the first day we hiked the Angle Falls / John Muir trail. Thinking it was an easy trail (someone confused the trail rating with another similar named trail) we took on what was a trail with a difficult rating but we had a great time despite the effort. The next morning we headed into Kentucky to Blue Heron and took on a few easy trails. I really think we had the entire park pretty much to our self, we only saw a handful of people while there. Our last night at this park was spent at the Blue Heron Campgrounds. It was great right up until the storm hit. Heavy rain, lightening and 80 mph wind gusts made for a very interesting night.
