Food Feature: Walk-ins welcome

Following the well-marked trail from North Georgia’s Amicalola Falls State Park to the Hike Inn, I walked five miles through leafy forests and lush groves of flowering mountain laurel and Rhododendron. The ground was soft and, in places, quite muddy from an earlier downpour.
After several hours of mostly uphill hiking, I spotted the gray-stained pine lodge through a clearing. I was weary but exhilarated from the strenuous hike, ready to take off my shoes and take up residence in one of the inn’s cozy Adirondack chairs on the wrap-around porch. I quickly succumbed to the illusion of being hundreds of miles from civilization, rather than just a three-hour walk from one of Georgia’s busiest state parks.
After checking in and eating a hearty supper in the dining hall, my fellow hikers and I gathered in the Sunrise Room to hear a white-haired crone in her 60s share slides and tales of her lone journey on the Appalachian Trail, whose southern end lay just four-and-a-half miles to the north at Springer Mountain. When I finally retired to my plain, 8-by-10-foot room, I curled up in my bunk bed under crisp cotton sheets and was cooled down by an oscillating fan blowing on me.
In cooler months, the Hike Inn is even less like a Holiday Inn. It gets downright chilly up here at an elevation of 3,100 feet. Even with the new electric heaters, you’d still be wise to bring layers of clothes and warm up before bedtime by sipping hot cocoa beside the wood stoves.
But leaving some — though not all — of the cushy comforts of the city behind is what it’s all about. There’s only one way to get to the Hike Inn — on foot. This is semi-roughing it at its best because at the end of a challenging day hike, you can look forward to a hot, tasty meal and a soft bed. Although the trail leading up to the inn is one of Georgia’s most traveled, I never felt crowded by hordes of hikers, like I do at places such as Stone Mountain.
Named for the Georgia conservationist, writer and photographer who was the inspiration for the “Mark Trail” comic trip, the inn is state-owned but is well run by a non-profit organization affiliated with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. It’s one of the most eco-friendly and serene places I’ve ever been. Designed to leave the land as undisturbed as possible, the mountaintop inn was built on stilts to minimize grading. A septic system would’ve meant cutting more trees down, so composting toilets were installed instead. In a room below the kitchen, red worms wriggle around in several large wooden bins, consuming most of the inn’s food and paper wastes. And hikers must carry out any garbage from items they’ve brought.
The next morning at daybreak, I awoke to the sound of a softly beating drum — an optional wake-up call. After a hot breakfast, it was time to leave. I vowed next time to stay more than one day, to savor the backcountry inn experience and to enjoy a day of rest before the hike down.
The Len Foote Hike Inn is a five-mile hike from North Georgia’s Amicalola Falls State Park, 15 miles northwest of Dawsonville. For information, visit www.hike-inn.com. Call 770-389-7275 for reservations.