Greetings - I went 15:07 unsupported, counterclockwise on the Georgia Loop on 1/1/15. My start/finish was Woody Gap. It was humbling and cold. The evening sleet made for a tough finish. I think I walked the last 15. At one point, I sat down on a log for 5 minutes feeling sorry for myself. I talked to Mr. Schick afterwards - I strongly concur, his time is very stout. I was not all out on my run, but I also wasn't going to touch 12 or even 13 if I had gone all out.
First - if anyone wants my Garmin track for planning purposes, I am happy to share. It has the exact elevations and every mile split. I also used a set of Boy Scout troop maps that I found online for the route. The notes are incredibly detailed and I am happy to share all of that detail if it is no longer online. I think that in those notes the miles are off a little. My Garmin came in at 57.24 miles and 15,797' of elevation gain.
Second - If anyone wants a compadre to go out there and try to improve on the times for either this or the Georgia AT, let me know. I am always in. Let me know.