2018-11-11 GA-AT 4 of 8 Hogpen Gap to Wide Gap & Neels Gap & back

We section hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) in Georgia in 8 trips. We go from Springer Mountain all the way to GA/NC border.

Each trip is an out and back going both AT North Bound (NoBo) and South Bound (SoBo) directions without any special car arrangement. No car shuttle and no key swap. We want to enjoy hiking AT both ways.

When we’re done, we have completed the entire AT in GA twice in both NoBo and SoBo directions. We have climbed twice amount of elevation gain both ways. That’s right, we leave no hill un-climbed!!

GA 4 of 8: Hogpen Gap to Wide Gap & Neels Gap & back

<<< Distance and Ascent >>>

Our GA AT section 4: Covers between Neels Gap in the south to Wide Gap in the north with Hogpen Gap in between. The out and back round trip is 18.6 miles with 5,010 feet elevation gain. These measurements are provided by Georgia Appalachian Trail Club.

<<< Itinerary >>>

We’ll meet and start from Hogpen Gap parking lot. First we’ll follow AT NoBo to Wide Gap & back; then follow AT SoBo to Neels Gap & back.

AT NoBo from Hogpen Gap to Wide Gap is 5.2 miles out and back with 1,100 feet elevation gain. This is a warm up for the rest of this section. We’ll have a chance to refill water and supplies from our cars at the Hogpen Gap parking lot.

Going SoBo from Hogpen Gap to Neels Gap is 13.4 miles out and back. We’ll have some very steep up and down hills for 0.9 miles before reaching Tesnatee Gap next to GA-348. Then we’ll climb the next 0.8 miles to reach Cowrock Mt. summit with beautiful wide open views. We’ll reach Levelland Mt. at 5.2 miles, and Neels Gap at 6.7 miles.

We’ll take our lunch break at Neels Gap. We’ll have a chance to refill water and get any supply we need from its general store. After lunch we’ll retrace and follow the AT NoBo to get back to our cars.

The section from Neel’s Gap to Cowrock Mt. is part of the course for the event "GA-AT Ultra 50K". So this event will be very useful if you’re thinking about signing up the 50K event.

<<< Important Notes >>>

The event duration does NOT include our travelling/ driving time. If you're going to meet at the event, please arrive 10 minutes before our starting time. We’ll start earlier if we’re all there before our starting time. Our duration time is an educated estimate, so we need to have some flexibility.

This event is physically challenging and rewarding! You can fully enjoy it IF AND ONLY IF you have good fitness and endurance. Please only register if you are comfortable hiking long distance at a pace of 2.5 mph in the remote mountains environment, and have recent D5/D6 experience.

We’ll move at a moderate pace of 2.5 mph on average over the entire course, i.e. 2.5- on ups and 2.5+ on flats and downs. Everyone is expected to keep up. Please be honest to yourself and only register if you’re comfortable at this pace the entire trip.

If your recent experience is not from the club, please include it in a note when you register, or email TL; otherwise you will be moved to the waiting list for the safety of everyone. We encourage our members to actively participate with joyful experience, and most importantly to stay healthy and safe at the end of our trip.

Take GA-400 N/US-19 N to its end. Continue straight onto GA-115 N for 4.8 miles. Turn right onto GA-115 N/GA-52 E for 2 miles. Keep left to continue on GA-115 N for 9.6 miles. Turn left onto Appalachian Pkwy/Cleveland Bypass for 1.6 miles. Turn left onto US-129 N for 0.3 miles. Turn right onto Albert Reid Rd for 2 miles. Turn left onto John Head Rd for 0.3 miles. Turn right onto GA-75A for 4.4 miles. Turn left onto GA-348 W for 7 miles to arrive at Hogpen Gap parking lot.

1. This event may be cancelled or rescheduled if weather conditions are not satisfactory for an enjoyable outing.

2. Itinerary is subject to change at the discretion of the trip leader.