The furthest we've ever walked in 2½ days.
The Chattooga River Trail is a 19-mile point-to-point trail which roughly parallels the river that divides Georgia and South Carolina. Since 38 miles out-and-back didn’t seem realistic for a weekend trip, I planned to arbitrarily turn back at some point so that the trip would be 20-25 miles.
On Friday I woke up and chugged a double espresso in Athens at 5am, rolled out at 6am, and hit the trail by 8:15. It was a humid mid-August day, and the entire trail was maintained well enough that there were never any obstacles that impeded our speed except for the occasional downed tree. Having my handheld GPS was necessary for me because the horseback trails that paralleled the hiking trail were not always clearly differentiated, and there were also some other side trails that obscured the route.
We stopped for lunch at around 1pm at a creek adjacent to Sandy Ford Road. Upon opening my backpack I realized that the bagged potato dish I had brought was leaking oil into my backpack. This was aggravating, but it was more of an annoyance than anything else. Needing water, I started pumping using my Katadyn water purifier, but midway through the pump, I heard a cracking sound and realized that the pump housing plastic has split in the threads where the filter attached. The pump still worked for now, although it did leak a bit of water.
The dogs and I were making good time, so I decided that we would extend our trip and walk the entire 19-miles before turning around. We reached that point around 6pm, and then we turned around and walked back for a mile or two since I didn’t want to sleep by the road - particularly with two dogs.
Just before reaching camp I used the ailing water purifier to pump my big blue water bladder, but midway through there was another “crack” - this time rendering the pump completely useless. Given the less than ideal situation, I decided to make do on the water I still had, and then asking the next person I saw if I could use their purifier. Drinking creek water is not ideal, but it looked like a real possibility. Around this time I started experiencing a stomach ache that lasted for the duration of the trip. This was likely caused by acid reflux, but there was nothing I could do (or knew to do) in the middle of nowhere.
I lazily set up camp without pitching the tent gambling that it wouldn’t rain. I was right.
The next morning we hit the trail at 7am, and upon reaching some car campers, I was able to refill my containers and bum 3 Aquafina bottles. This was a godsend.
Shortly thereafter I became mixed up on the trail and evidently took a horse trail instead (the sign pictured above is from the horse trail). It was awhile before I figured this out, so I ultimately decided to stay the course figuring it would meet the hiking trail eventually. I was right, but looking at the map I believe the detour added somewhere between 1 and 2 miles. By this point I was very tired, but I had to finish.
Upon finding the perfect riverside campsite at 2:30 the dogs and I waded in the water and sunbathed on the large creek rocks for over 2 hours. It was heavenly.
Once the sun ceased to directly shine on the creek, it was time to retire for the evening. Dinner consisted exclusively of a can of cod liver. I had more food, but water was running low and my stomach was hurting so I didn’t eat anything else.
After successfully predicting no rain for a second night, I didn’t set up the tent. Truth be told I had no energy, and just moving was painful. Also, my upset stomach wasn’t helping. Crummy night despite the beautiful surroundings.
Sunday morning I struggled to complete the final 3 miles back to the car while hurting and rationing my limited potable water - despite being surrounded by numerous creeks and streams. The successful completion of this adventure represented the furthest distance I have ever walked in 2½ days – Especially considering I walked with backpack with a starting weight of 45 pounds. A mental and physical challenge, but an accomplishment that I am proud of.