Georgia Loop...AT, Duncan Ridge, BMT

[GAJethro]

Wow! What an experience so close to home I had Sat-Wed off from work this week so I've been planning to hike the Georgia Loop leaving Fri after work and finishing up around lunch on Wed. It was myself, my dog, and a buddy of mine. We had a plan of where to stop for lunch/water and where to camp each night, but we weren't going to make it a trip where we worried too much about killing ourselves or limiting ourselves. We really just wanted to enjoy being out.

Day 1: We parked my truck at Woody Gap around 4:00 pm and headed towards Blood Mountain. Our plan was to pick a spot between "Preacher's Rock" and Miller Gap to camp. We picked a spot on Big Cedar, just past the first big overlook. It was a great start to out hike. We had plenty of time to set up camp, eat, and enjoy the evening.
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Day 2: We were packed up and ready to hit the trail again at 8:30 am. Our plan was to head towards Blood and cut over on the DRT at Slaughter Gap then camp near White Oak Stomp. Once we got into a rhythm, we were feeling great! We ended up stopping for lunch around 1:00 pm at Wolf Pen Gap. In the curve below the gap, there is a water source. We went below the road and sat by the stream for an hour or so to eat lunch, camel up, and relax. Since we knew we were heading over Wildcat Knob and Coosa Bald, we only carried water to get us to White Oak Stomp which was our next water source and home for the night. Once we got to White Oak Stomp, we filled up up with water for the night and get us started in the morning. I was carrying 4 liters at this point. The problem was that WOS is right on a FS road. It was still early, like 3:30, and we were feeling good so decided to push on to the next good looking campsite. Almost 3 hrs and 6 miles or so later, we stopped at Mulky Gap to settle in for the night. This is where we planned to stop and eat lunch on Day 3. I'm not sure exactly what the mileage was for the day, but we sure did sleep good
-1.jpg-2.jpg*If you look at the base of the mountain in the 2nd pic you can see the clearing where we camped.
Day 3: Since we were a 1/2 day ahead of our plans, we slept in and took our time packing up. We ended up hitting the trail a little after 10:00 am, but soon realized that with the time change it was really 11:00 am. We had the trail completely to ourselves all day. It was one of the best I've had out. We stayed on the tops of the ridges with 360 views for most of the day. We stopped at Sarvis Gap for an hour or so to eat lunch, camel up, and relax. We decided to just go ahead and make our way back to 60 near the old Dixie Depot Store. The weather was perfect! My wife and baby were at my in-laws house in Suches so we had my bro-in-law pick us up. I took a good shower, ate a good dinner, and slept comfy that night.
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Day 4-5: I wake up feeling confident that I can knock out the last section of the plan in two days/one night and be back to my girls a full day ahead of schedule. Before I went to bed, I had all my gear reloaded and ready. Only problem was it was raining when I got up and continued to rain the rest of the day and most of the following morning.

Although I didn't get to complete my initial goal, I'm very pleased with what we accomplished. The DRT exceeds all my expectations. The solitude was refreshing! I can see where water may be an issue during dry summers. I would not even attempt this trail without at least one hiking stick for uphills and downhills. It was one heck of an experience. Since there isn't a ton of info on the DRT, I thought I'd share my experience.

Enjoy,
Jethro

[allen3150]

I did DRT from Rhodes Mtn to Blood Mtn a few weeks ago. It is a GREAT trail as long as the weather is cooler and there's no leaves on the trees. The steep ups and downs are like no other around here. I had the trail all to myself also. I'd like to do it again in the future but NOT in the Summer.

[allen3150]

My hiking partner did post some pics and make a profile and map of the section we did.
http://www.digitaltrailguide.com/duncanridgetrail.aspx

[Dances with Mice]

.... It was one heck of an experience. Since there isn't a ton of info on the DRT, I thought I'd share my experience. Enjoy, Jethro

Thank you for the great trip report! I'm glad you enjoyed the Mulky campsite.

[Bearpaw]

Looking forward to doing the loop in a couple of weeks myself. Nice to hear about the trip.

[Malto]

Glad you enjoyed the Georgia Loop. It can say that it was likely some of the toughest trail that I've hiked. The Duncan Ridge Trail is very "special". You can see how I described it here: http://postholer.com/journal/viewJou...entry_id=20576