Last summer our Chapter visited Gibbs Garden in Dawsonville
and were told about a nearby hike-in by the name of Len Foote Inn. Trish and others talked about what a great
experience they had while visiting. So
we scheduled February 7, 8, 9 a trip to see what it was all about. The hike ascends from Amicalola State Park in
Dawsonville.
It is one of the most popular mountain trails in the North
Georgia Blue Ridge. The five mile journey
to the Inn took us across small streams, transverse scenic ridges and ambled
through stands of mountain laurel and rhododendron. We witnessed giant White Oaks, Persimmon and
many other trees and plants. As typical
day hikers we had great relief when we reached the Inn as we were packing in
for a three day event.
T he Inn experience did not disappoint as they offered us
many comforts of home in a rustic and beautiful setting. A soft bed, a warm shower and a hot meal
awaited us. Not luxurious but
comfortable.
The tour of the Inn shared its conservation efforts through
a self contained facility with solar panels, composting and design of the
buildings to take advantage of the mountain grade without disruption of the
soil. We were told to be ready for
beautiful sunrises but the cloud cover had other plans.
Our mission on day two was to reach the southern terminus of
the Appalachian Trail. We had to step on
the trail after reaching it to validate bragging rights that we had been
there. This round trip took five and a
half hours with 1.877 feet of elevation gain and 9.70 miles of trekking around
beautiful fields of Rhododendron and massive forest through ridges and
gorges. We heard nothing but nature and
social conversation.
Our first two days were mostly cloudy with spring like
temperatures. As we departed the Inn to
return to the State Park and our cars, we experienced off and on light
showers. We were blessed with great
weather over all. As we descended and
heard the return to traffic noise we had the reality of the peace we had
experienced for the past three days and the wakeup call that we had to reenter
into reality. We finished our journey
with a Kum ba yah moment to confirm our closeness to new and old friends. Everyone had a smile on their face!
Our journey explained why this is considered one of the “Best
American Hikes”.
If you would like to see some very nice photos taken during this adventure, click here or on the "Hikers" picture.