The Georgia Loop is a 57 mile trek through the Chattahoochee National Forest. It combines the Appalachian Trail, Duncan Ridge Trail, and Benton MacKaye Trail to show off north Georgia's finest mountains. An interactive topo map of the loop can be found here.
Note that this has overlap with, but is different from, the 70-mile Georgia Death Loop!
Update: There is a new reroute on the DRT from fish gap which reduces the elevation on the Georgia Loop. This exact spot caused runners in the 2020 death race to get of course and gained 2+ hrs on the leaders. The old route is a very time honeyed tradition in ultrarunning in the southeast and 25 years ago . https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=64870&actid=51
Comments
On Tuesday, March 19th I'll be attempting to establish a new FKT on the Georgia Loop. Recently there have been some reroutes on the Duncan Ridge Trail (west of fish gap), I'll be electing to take the old trail while it is still passable.Â
I planning on going CCW from Woody gap while receiving aid at the following:
Wolfpen Gap
Hwy 60 (Little Skeenah Creek)
Three Forks
Horse Gap
Coopers
Gooch
Last year I didn't have the FKT in mind. IÂ just wanted to have an adventure, so I'm excited to have a goal on my attempt this year. The weather for Tuesday looks solid, plenty of sun, low wind, and a high of 55.
Regardless of outcome I will follow up with my results.
Happy trails!
Â
-Ben Mercer
Today went very well and I ran a 11:19:28 establishing a new FKT. I submitted the GPS file for verification but here the strava.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2225491497
Will update with a full report as soon as possible.
Â
-Ben M.
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