Day 3: Follow the White Blaze Trail

PSA: I don’t necessarily plan on posting daily, but with my first few nights in a hostel, I was able to make it work.

Today started with a transfer back to Gooch Gap to pick up where I left off yesterday. Upon arrival, the magic of the trail was established by a man and his dog, who hiked the AT in 2023. I had a cup of coffee, a couple of cookies, and a honey bun and was on my way.

This morning was another brisk one, with temperatures in the low 20s to start the day, with the sun peeking out from time to time. The first few kilometers were fast and not too bad, with relatively moderate ups and downs. On the climb from Woody Gap to Big Cedar Ledges I finally started seeing other hikers regularly, something that had been creeping up on me until now. I know the “March Megastorm” wreaked some havoc on people’s hiking plans and people went off trail, but being in the “bubble” I expected to see a lot more people.

mountain of blood

As the afternoon progressed, the difficulty increased with the climb to Blood Mountain, the highest mountain on the AT in Georgia. This was a tougher climb as it continued for quite a while and was towards the end of the day. But I got to the top around 3pm and went to see the Blood Mountain shelter, which is unique because it is made entirely of stone.

No one was going to spend the night there yet when I passed away, but I took the opportunity to sign the log book and move on. A little further on, the trail opened up to some fantastic views of the surrounding mountains, definitely the best view yet.

But since there was no one around and I was getting chills from standing still, I didn’t take long and continued. Also, I wanted to get to Neels Gap and get to Mountain Crossings before they closed at 5 pm The descent of Blood Mountain started out rough, with some rockier parts mixed in with muddy/wet rocks that made the descent slower. But after a while, the trail got smoother and the last half mile was easy to Neels Gap.

Neels Gap

At Neels Gap I went to Mountain Crossings and checked out the store. I bought a couple of refill items as well as a cherry Coke and a frozen pepperoni pizza. The store will cook the pizza for you, so 15 minutes later, after throwing out the trash and filling my water bottles, I had a piping hot pizza to enjoy! Which I duly crushed without ceremony. Feeling fat and happy, I walked down the trail a mile or so to Bull Gap, setting up shop there.

A longer day today, but so far I feel pretty good, just a little soreness in my quads.

Day 3 stats:

15.5 miles

4055′ ascent, 3241′ descent

From the Gooch gap to the Bull gap

3 days without cathole…

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.