20M Appalachian Trail Run - Georgia/North Carolina Dick's Creek Gap to Courthouse Bald (out and back) Wednesday, June 22, 2022 6964' of Elevation Gain
Another beautiful
run through the green tunnel. Temps were 64 to start and 81 to finish
in 6.5 hours, making the return run quite labored. The mountains are dry;
I was only able to refill once from a small stream one mile north of the
finish at Dick's Creek Gap. After crossing the GA/NC border at mile 8.65,
I paused to check out a gnarly old oak tree at Bly Gap before an awesome
1000' climb in the next mile in two stages, up over Sharp Top before finishing
the climb to the summit of Courthouse Bald. Vistas west showed considerable
smoke in the air. Passed five backpackers. No animals, No falls. Consistent
3+ mph, easy on the descents; walked a bit on the return after running
out of water.