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Goose Creek Cabins is north of A.T. from
Neels Gap on Hwy 19/129 3.5 miles |
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Hikers can receive email at: |
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Dogs
permitted.
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Lodge with game room, CATV, trout-fishing. |
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UPS packages can be
shipped to Goose Creek Cabins, |
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excerpt from trailquest.net So, you've hiked the 40 or so miles from Amicalola Falls to Neels Gap, guzzled a gatorade at the Walasi-Yi, and gone through your pack and mailed home all the heavy stuff you now realize you don't need anyway. Feeling proud of yourself, with once-feared Blood Mountain now behind you, you decide you're going to treat yourself to a night in a bed and some real food. Well, you've come to the right place. Goose Creek, run by Keith and Retter Bailey, is just a phone call and 3 miles away to the north. Located next to a small mountain stream, and tucked up between a couple of hills off of GA 19-129, Goose Creek offers both cabins and campsites at very affordable prices (I'm only going to discuss the cabins here, however, because I figure if you were going to camp you would have just stayed on the trail). For the mere pittance of $25 ($40 for two people), a clean, comfortable bed and a shower with towels can be had. For a little more, some of the cabins have a refrigerator and/or a kitchen as well. They all have a closet, however, and just to keep you in that trail spirit, be sure to hang your food bag off the hanger rod at night. I had a little critter nibbling on a Lipton meal one night, but I never had any other visitors after that. But, hey, it's good practice for shelter living anyway. There are no phones, televisions, or any of those amenities in the cabins I've stayed in, but who needs those anyway? A phone is available in the main lodge a short walk away, as well as snacks, ice, toiletries, aspirin, etc., and there's even a coke machine. And, if you just have to catch up on world news, there is a television as well. Laundry is done by the Baileys on a per pound basis, a service which I found very reasonable and convenient. And, if you like to fish, there is a trout pond there. They'll even clean 'em for you. I only saw two geese during my stay there, but there were more than enough amicable ducks to keep me company. As I sat on the front porch one evening, two of the more adventurous ones quacked me into giving them some bread and returned every night after that expecting me to cater all their dinners. After tiring of these incomprehensible duck conversations, I would retire inside and fall instantly asleep to the gentle sound of the creek flowing behind my cabin. Keith, one of the hiker-friendliest people I've ever met, runs several free shuttles a day to the Walasi-Yi and back, as well as an evening shuttle to the Riverside Restaurant at Pappy's Marketplace just a few miles up the road. The Riverside has great southern barbecue, Brunswick stew, fried okra, baked beans, sweet potato sticks, and a dozen or so other side orders in quantites fit for the hungriest hiker. Burgers, catfish, shrimp and other entrees are available as well, all at incredibly reasonable prices. I mean a barbecue platter is $6.25 and could easily serve two. I was trail-famished when I went there one night, and there was no way I could finish. The leftovers made a wonderful, if not somewhat odd, breakfast the next morning. If barbecue is not your style, hone your hitchhiking skills (you'll need them sooner or later during your hiking adventures), and make your way up to Blairsville. I found Papa's pizza to be very good and a Chinese restaurant, the Golden Something-Or-Another, had an excellent AYCE lunch buffet for only $4.95. Both of these places are right near the town square which is the first main part of town you'll enter. There are good resupply places as well in Blairsville. If you don't want to go all the way to Blairsville to resupply, there is a BP gas station/store just a mile or so north of Goose Creek with plenty of hiker type foods, etc. They also have a huge pot of boiled peanuts cooking away outside, and for $2 a bag, you won't be disappointed. I could almost live on those delectable goobers. Whether thru-hiking or section hiking, Goose Creek is a great place to get off the trail for a rest. Being a section hiker, I found it a great place to use as a base because it is only a few miles off of the halfway point of the AT in Georgia. From Goose Creek, shuttles to all Georgia AT trailheads are available for a fee by calling Steve Felker at 706-745-3688 or Wes Wesson at 706-747-2671. You can write Goose Creek at P.O. Box 906, Blairsville, GA 30514, or phone them at 706-745-5111. |
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