Backpacking the Appalachian Trail: Tesnatee Gap to Neels Gap

What motivates you to try something for the first time? For me, it’s the thought of the unknown that scares yet excites me enough to want to experience it – despite the constant fear of failure. It’s knowing that completing the adventure in front of me may only come around once because something could happen tomorrow and I could be physically unable to do it again. It’s my partner/spouse/best friend in my ear encouraging me to do something, telling me I’m capable, despite my doubts. It’s my father-in-law insisting I try something that he knows I’ll love, like backpacking, knowing me better than I often know myself. And the result: I’m always hooked.

The thought of backpacking the Appalachian Trail and having to carry my tent, food, and all my supplies for just one night haunted me. I was afraid of failure. No way I was strong enough to do that. I’m used to carrying a backpack on all my hikes, but it doesn’t usually contain much more than the essentials for the day.

When Greg said it was only 6 miles long, I figured he was underestimating my ability because I lead group hikes that are longer than that in one day…but I realized that I would be carrying much more weight on my back. I look back now and am thankful for Stephen’s dad planning a trip for us that wouldn’t be too intense at first.

backpacking Appalachian trail — My shadow hiker

As our trip to the states was planned very last minute, we didn’t bring a whole lot of clothing and items with us. Luckily, Connie and Greg (Stephen’s parents) have just about every piece of equipment one could ever need for the outdoors. The only things we had to purchase were food for the night, and REI was our go-to. We picked up turkey chili and pasta primavera packets. We also brought along some beer for Stephen and seltzers for me.

I packed my bag in the order instructed by Stephen and Greg: mummy/sleeping bag rolled up in the bottom, then a layer of clothes, and essential items on top, with items that need to be easily accessed in the outside pockets. Tip: don’t forget Ziploc bags for toilet paper aftermath or for trash! Pack it in, pack it out!

Table of Contents

Trailbound

I carried half the food and drinks, while Stephen agreed to carry the one-man tent – which we turned into a snuggly two-man tent that was perfect for us. After making sure I could carry the weight, we loaded up the car and drove about 1.5 hours through the winding roads from Gainesville, Georgia to a section of the Appalachian Trail at Neels Gap in Blairsville, Georgia. We dropped our rental car off here by the Walasi-yi Center, where we would finish the next morning, then hopped in the car with Connie and Greg to head to our starting point at Tesnatee Gap. Connie snapped a photo of us, wished us luck, and they said they would see us in the morning.

backpacking Appalachian trail, Tesnatee Gap, Blairsville Georgia

It was no later than 3 pm when we set out hiking along the Appalachian Trail. We took it slow and steady, allowing me time to get used to the inclines with a heavier pack. We passed plenty of people along the way – all super friendly and chatty – totally a different atmosphere than hiking in Europe. Within an hour and a half, we reached the first summit: Cowrock Mountain. We laid down our backpacks, grabbed a cold drink, and toasted to me not hating my first backpacking experience on the Appalachian Trail.

backpacking Appalachian trail, cowrock mountain view, whiteclaw hard seltzer

If you’ve been following along on the blog for a while now, you probably know a bit about me – like the fact that I didn’t even camp in an actual tent for the first time until last summer when we spent two weeks camping and driving through the Balkans. I don’t like bugs, snakes, or anything that crawls really. However, I truly do love the outdoors, just as long as nothing living touches me. Stephen promised that it was too cold outside for bugs and bears (he totally lied, by the way)!

Settling in for the night

We hiked about half of our total distance and then set up camp on the other side of Rock Spring Top summit, with enough daylight left to gather wood for a fire and enjoy dinner. Between the two of us, we collected enough wood to burn for most of the night until it was lights out. Our meals were both delicious and fulfilling, perfectly accompanied by our chosen drinks for the night. We sat by the fire talking for hours until our eyes became so heavy that we called it a night. I slept like a rock, to my surprise. It was warm and snuggly in the mummy bag that I borrowed from my mother-in-law, Connie.

Rise & shine

I woke Stephen around 4:30 am to stargaze with me out the screen window of our tiny tent. It was peaceful in the woods, not a single car or human sound – just the noises of nature. Once we got out of our tent, it was a bit chilly so we quickly packed up, turned on our headlamps, and hit the trail all before 5:30 am. We decided against cooking breakfast because that meant I could have Chick-fil-A to look forward to once we got off the trail. (living overseas = no Chick-fil-A)

Hiking in complete darkness was definitely a challenge. I always look at my feet when I hike, or even walk in general, because I’m so clumsy. The only light available was the light shining from our headlamps a few feet in front of us. I was all ears listening for things in the woods. However, it was incredible once the sun began to rise and painted the sky with shades of orange, red, and purple. When we had enough light to see the trail before us, we put away our headlamps and hydrated a bit before continuing on.

Of the few tents that we passed that morning, people were either still asleep or just rising and getting dressed for the day. It was nice to have the trail all to ourselves on that Friday morning. Overall, my first time backpacking the Appalachian Trail was an incredible experience and I’m eager to add more miles and more nights to my repertoire. I couldn’t have done it without Stephen pushing me along the way, telling me stories to keep my mind occupied whenever I started thinking too much about how tired I was or how much further the summit was. And most importantly, I’m grateful to Greg, my late father-in-law, for raising an adventurous son and instilling in me the love of the outdoors and experiencing new things.