Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day in 2013, the Cumberland Trail's Grassy Cove Segment didn't yet connect from Brady Mountain Trailhead to Black Mountain Road.

A group of volunteers was building trail in that section that day.  We were able to follow flagging to get between the two sections that were already built.  This end of the trail is no longer the end thanks to volunteers.

Pictures and maps of the now-connected Grassy Cove Segment are available on the Cumberland Trail Conference website.

Georgia re-route!

There was rather a lot of Great Eastern Trail roadwalking in Georgia, but there's less now!

The Georgia section has some really great stuff.  There's a lovely border crossing. This is probably the coolest border crossing on the trail, although Tennessee/Kentucky comes close. Nicely done, Georgia.

There's also a great little hostel with sourdough pancakes (among other deliciousness). Wonderful people make wonderful pancakes...

And of course there is Cloudland Canyon, which has got to be one of the top 5 sights along the entire trail. It's amazing.

There's rather a lot of Georgia that looks something like this:

BUT thanks to the incredible volunteer efforts of the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association, a big chunk of roadwalk has been eliminated in the Cave Spring area.

For a map and description, check out the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association Facebook Group. This is one of the more active Facebook groups for GET trails. Once you're on the Facebook Group site, click on "Files" to access all kinds of Georgia Pinhoti Trail information and Lookout Mountain Section information!

Map maildrops

There are far too many pounds of GET maps for thruhikers to carry all of them at once, so a few maildrops will be necessary.

Here are some post offices that might be good bets if you are just interested in sending yourself maps.  (If you are resupplying via post, you'll need to figure out more maildrops.)

Because many of these post offices are in small towns, they might be closed by now or have limited hours.  Most of this is from my memory, which may not be correct.  Don't trust me.  This list is just a starting point for your own research. :)

Cave Spring, GA: Very friendly post office, on route into town.

Chattanooga, TN: Be careful.  There are multiple post offices.  I'm not sure where general delivery packages go and it might be far out of your way.  

Wartburg, TN: The route into (or out of, for sobos) runs by or near the post office.

Cumberland Gap, TN: This is an ideal place to pick up Kentucky (nobo) or Tennessee (sobo) maps.   You might call The Cumberland Gap Inn and plead your case and send it there.  Plan to stay overnight or offer to pay for the service if you do get permission to use them as a maildrop.

Harlan, KY: The post office is not far off the route, but is 2 miles from the motel where most hikers are likely to stay.  (Harlan almost demands a night in a motel due to its location along an urban roadwalk - no stealth camping is possible.) Sobos can pick up their package on the way in, nobos will have to get it as they leave town.  Hikers might consider calling Mount Aire Motel and asking if they will hold a package.  Same etiquette protocol as Cumberland Gap, though you'd likely only need one or the other as they are relatively close.

Elkhorn City, KY: The post office is close to the route (and near a dollar store).  Would be a good idea to pick up West Virginia maps here if nobo.

Pineville, WV: The post office is just a couple of blocks off-trail.

Mullens, WV: The post office is on the route through town and is always decorated.

Hinton, WV: Whatever you do, don't mail a package here.  The post office is very far from the trail.

Narrows, VA: Post office is near the trail route.

White Sulphur Springs, WV: Post office is near the trail route.

Bergton, VA: The grocery/grill is also a post office.  Pretty tiny, not sure if they'd be down with holding a package or not. Definitely call ahead.  About 3/4 mile off-trail, but you might end up going there anyway because, you know, food.

Gore, VA: Post office on the trail route.  The little store has also held packages in the past, but you would have to call ahead and okay it.

Hancock, MD: The post office is several blocks from the trail, but the local hostel has accepted mail drops for me twice.  Contact the C&O Bike shop/hostel to get permission ahead of time. 

Everett, PA (west route): Easily-accessible post office.

Williamsburg, PA (west route): Pretty sure we walked right past the post office on our way out of town (sobo).

Three Springs, PA (east route): Post office close to route.

Woolrich, PA: Post office on route.  From here, it's probably not worth it to schedule a maildrop farther north.  The New York maps are so minimal.

Again, I want to stress that these are post offices I remember, some from over two years ago. I have no idea if they're all still open or if they're where I remember them.

AT boxes.  But the GET's were similar.

Shenandoah Mountain news

New Plan Offers Protection for Shenandoah Mountain is an article about a great example of compromise and synergy between user groups who enjoy their trails in different ways and want to protect the land that they love. Check it out.

 Some portions of the GET are open to bikes and the Shenandoah Mountain Trail is one of them.  (There are other portions of the GET where I’d love to eat popcorn and watch people try to bike it.)

Bikers have done a lot of maintenance on trail, and those we met ranged from courteous to ultra-friendly, offering us water (we didn't need it, but it was a very sweet gesture).  I was not offended to share trail with them – I felt like they were the ones sharing it with me.  I was grateful to be there.

The Shenandoah Mountain Trail would make one of the best section-hikes along the entire GET and I highly recommend it, whether you have a few days to thoroughly enjoy it or whether you have a day to hit some of the highlights.  This trail has far-reaching views, a sweet tower, a hidden spring, flowing streams, easy grades, and is well-maintained.  It also hosts the high point of the GET: a small field with seasonal views called Bother Knob.

This is a spectacular area.  Sometime in the next decade I'll be deciding between re-hiking the GET or revisiting another trail, and this section is huge plus for the GET.  No one who has visited Shenandoah Mountain would question why it needs protection.   I hope this plan will become reality. 

You can check out the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain page for more information.

For right now, a guide to the area can be found online.  Soon it will be in book form!  Woohoo!

Northbound vs. Southbound on the GET

On most long-distance north-to-south trails, northbound has been the traditional direction to hike. That does not have to apply to the Great Eastern Trail.  The two biggest considerations are:

1. When is your free time?  
2. Do you want to tackle the most mentally-challenging section (the south) when you are fresh and enthusiastic?  Or do you want to tackle it when you are tired but experienced?  

For me, I really wanted to get the southern gaps out of the way, because I wasn't 100% sure that the trail could be successfully (or enjoyably) connected by foot.  As it turns out, linking the trail by foot is actually pretty easy with a couple small exceptions.  That being said, next time I want to hike southbound so I can experience Pennsylvania in particular when I am fresh and end where it all began.

So, for the next hikers, northbound or southbound?  Here is a summary of what you might consider:

Hiking northbound (presumably beginning in mid-spring)

On the bright side:

• A meaningful mountain (Flagg) to mark your beginning
• A gentle start (with shelters!) on the Alabama Pinhoti Trail
• Relatively easy terrain throughout Georgia makes for faster miles and high morale
• Chattanooga provides a needed rest prior to tackling the challenging Cumberland Trail
• Reaching the halfway point in southern West Virginia and knowing that well over half the mental work is done
• Reaching Pearisburg, Virginia where the rest of the trail (over 700 miles) is dependably blazed and/or (mostly "and") has really great guides
• Greater feeling of trail cohesion as the trail heads north
• Some tricky resupply points in Virginia and Pennsylvania, but at this point you've been hiking long enough so you should be able to figure it out without much of a problem 
• Just a personal preference, but I was glad that I was heading UP the Thousand Steps
• Hiking north, Pennsylvania becomes less rocky
• A quiet finish to the hike with a shelter; a good place to take a day and reflect upon the journey

Challenges:

• Significant road walking/unblazed route in Georgia and on the Alabama incursion which could be mentally challenging so early in the hike
• Great guides available but not for the entire south - challenging gaps to figure out
• The first outfitter on trail is in Chattanooga, a few hundred miles from Flagg Mountain
• Significant roadwalking/linking of trail sections in Tennessee and on either end of Kentucky, still early-on in trip when you're figuring it all out.
• Catoosa WMA may be closed, requiring additional planning
• Potential for late-spring storms that could drop snow on higher elevations in Tennessee or Kentucky
• Spring flooding in Bluestone WMA may make the recommended route impassable.
• Challenging rocky sections of Pennsylvania when you're already exhausted 
• Intense heat on very dry ridges of Pennsylvania 

Hiking southbound (presumably beginning in late summer)

On the bright side:

• Beginning your hike at an intersection connecting 10,000 miles of hiking trails
• Dependable blazing for the first 700ish miles - less thinking involved in the beginning
• Reliable guides available for the first half of the hike
• A gentle, rolling beginning through New York and northern Pennsylvania
• Completing your first state in just a few days, which can be a big morale boost
• Hitting the tough rocky sections of Pennsylvania when you're fresh (and not making big miles each day anyway)
• First outfitter of the trail is in Wellsboro in northern Pennsylvania (about 100 miles into the journey); another is located in State College and there are shoes and socks available in Woolrich.  Pennsylvania has the most outfitters and they are more useful to southbound hikers who encounter troubles with gear they thought would work.
• Challenges of the south (unblazed sections, roadwalks, areas without guides) may be easier to overcome with all the experience accumulated in the northern half of the trail - at any rate, you'll be too stubborn to give up once you've come that far!
• Chattanooga is a welcome rest after one of the longest states on the trail
• Ending your hike at the end of the Appalachians

Challenges:

• Potentially tricky resupply points in Pennsylvania before you really settle into the trail
• Some water sources flowing for northbounders probably would have dried up by late summer
• Hunting season on several stretches of public land would have to be taken into consideration
• Reaching Pearisburg, Virginia and knowing that you have the hardest part ahead of you and that you're not yet halfway done
• Shorter hiking days on very challenging sections (night-hiking not recommended in many areas)
• Potential for autumn storms that could drop snow on higher elevations
• Significant roadwalking/linking of trail sections on either end of Kentucky, in Tennessee, in Georgia and on the Alabama incursion - these could be both physically and mentally challenging at a time when many hikers feel "done" with their journey already

Your mileage may vary, hike your own hike, and have fun no matter which way you go!

AT vs. GET

GET or AT?
(Trick question!)

Many AT hikers have asked me how the GET compares.  Because this is such a common question, I made a whole page comparing the two trails.  If you're trying to decide between the two trails, this may help.  Look up at the tabs and you'll see it listed there.  Or you can click this.

Happy hiking!
-Jo

Guides Page

I've been working on a list of resources that Bart and I used to hike the GET.  This list can now be found on the Guides Page.  It is still a work in progress, but it should help future hikers see what resources are available.  Feel free to contact me with additional links, corrections, etc.  Thanks!

-Jo