Originally Posted by
Siestita
"Thanks for the answers. I figure that a 20 hour train ride and a day in Gainsville might be helpful to sort out any minor issues. When i worked the Canyon it took about 4-5 days before all was normal again. In terms of physical effort, the work i did would have been much the same as what i'm planning for the first two days, the Approach trail and Hawks Mountain Shelter. The plus part now is that i can pause whenever i want rather than the full bore nonstop workplace."
If you want to spend a full day in Gainesville recovering from the lengthy train ride, by all means go ahead and do so. But don't kid yourself into believing that such a stop will be needed for altitude acclimation. Gainesville's elevation is just 1,205 feet. From Amicalola Falls State Park (729 feet elevation) you'll hike up slightly more than 3,000 vertical feet to reach the top of Springer Mountain at 3,783. It may be prudent for people to hike up there slowly for other reasons, but that ascent should not require altitude acclimation by anyone in reasonably good health.
By the time you reach Clingman's Dome in the Smokies, 167 miles beyond Springer Mountain, your body will have had considerable time to adjust both the strains of hiking day after day with a pack (your main concern) and also altitudes in the 3,000 to 5,000 foot range.