Springer Mountain/ Benton MacKaye Loop (Rescheduled)

Have you ever wanted to see where the famous Appalachian Trail and Benton MacKaye trails both begin?  On this hike, we will hike portions of both of these very famous “long trails” which both begin on the top of Springer Mountain.  

For this hike, we will start at the parking lot on USFS 42 near the base of Springer.  We will initially head north from the parking lot until we reach where the AT and BMT split.  We will fork right onto the BMT and follow it generally down towards Big Stamp Gap, crossing several creeks along the way.  While there are no long range views in this portion of the hike, the beauty of the foliage and creeks along the way will more than makes up for that.  After crossing through Big Stamp Gap, we start climbing up the shoulders of Ball Mountain and then on to the summit of Springer Mountain at mile 3.8 miles.

After visiting the bronze plaques and first white blaze marking the beginning point of the AT we will head south on the AT approach trail for about 1.5 miles, reaching the Black Gap shelter where we will break for lunch.  After lunch, we will begin the 1.5 mile, 600 foot climb back to the Springer summit. Finally, its a one mile, somewhat steep, rocky descent back to the parking lot and our cars.  In total we will cover approximately 8.5 miles and approximately 1500 feet of elevation

Suitability:

This is not a beginner hike.  You should have some D4 or solid D3 experience in your history before signing up for this hike.  If in doubt, please contact the Trip Leader to discuss the suitability for this hike.  

(Carpool Information)

We will be departing from the Old Rope Mill overflow parking lot a little after 7am.  Directions to the car pool are listed below.  The trip from the car pool location to Springer Mt parking lot is about 1:45 hours. We will plan on finishing our hike no later than 2PM which will allow us to return to the Olde Mill Park overflow by no later than 4pm (and hopefully sooner)  

I do not recommend that people drive to the trailhead directly unless they have been there before.  The route there is a bit tricky with some confusing intersections and will include about 6 miles of gravel/dirt forest service roads.  If you prefer to drive yourself, I strongly suggest you meet at the car pool location and caravan with us to the Springer Mt trailhead.

Directions to Three Forks Trailhead from Car pool location

Coordinates (34.663559,  -84.184082)

• Return to I-575 North

• Travel 24.9 miles to Ellijay

• Turn Left onto 1st Street

• Cross the Cartecay/ Ellijay River

• At T-Junction, turn right onto GA 52 East

• After 5.3 miles, turn left onto Big Creek Road

• After 1.8 miles turn Right onto Holt’s Bridge Road

• After 0.3 miles merge onto Roy Road (left turn)

• After 8 miles, turn right onto Doublehead Gap Road

• After 2.1 miles, turn right onto Forest Service Road FS 42

• Travel 6.2 miles on USFS 42 to Springer Mountain Trailhead parking