Winter Georgia loop

[trw0007]

A friend and I are looking at doing the Georgia loop (BMT->DRT->AT loop) after Christmas. I've done some reading and found this (http://www.troop1776.org/T1776/backp...ing%20Plan.pdf) guide. Has anyone done this loop in the winter that can provide some insight of what to expect?

Weather wise, where's the best place to check the forecast? While I certainly expect cold, I've underestimated conditions at altitude before and would not like to make that mistake again.

I've read this is a difficult trail. With the short winter days, what sort of mileage should we expect to be able to do?

Any other things to know?

[Slo-go'en]

First off, I don't think its all that difficult. The profile charts they show make it look a lot worse then it is. I doubt you'd have much trouble with the 10 mile +/- days if you follow the boy scout plan. Just make sure you got good reliable headlamps in case you got to do the last few miles in the dark.

As for weather, forcasts from local TV stations are usually better then national sites like the weather channel. You'll just have to watch this cold front which is causing havic right now and see how far south and east it pushes and if it lingers into next week.

[juma]

I like www.nws.noaa.gov for weather. You can call out a town or zip code. You can expand the map on the forecast and find the AT and BMT, then you can tap a pont on the trail and get a point forecast.

[Egads]

An experienced group of 4 with the AOC hiked it in four days first weekend of Nov, 2013.

The series of peaks on the DRT wear you down. I hiked the Springer parking lot to Blood section in a day, but it included 5 hours in the dark.

good water now, no issues there. Make sure you fill up though. You may consider cacheing food at a couple of road crossings.

there is no way anyone except you can decide on your daily mileage.

[Malto]

IMHO the DRT is the only tough part of the route. The AT part of the loop is much easier. As far as mileage some do it as a day hike, other could take a week. I did it in the spring and water was only a problem on the DRT. that's a pretty dry section.

[SGT Rock]

One of the advantages of doing in the winter is it will be easier to find the trail due to the undergrowth being down. The DRT doesn't get the same level of maintenance that the AT and BMT does.

[ShadeeLane]

Not sure if the OP has left yet, but I'll throw my 2 centavos in. I just did the loop the second weekend of November and will agree with the others that the DRT is the toughest section, but it's also pretty cool once the leaves have fallen. I started at Woody Gap and headed NE on the AT toward Blood Mt. Some observations:

- Be flexible on your campsite. The first night I camped halfway down the ridge on a logging road south of Bryant Gap because the wind was HOWLING on the north side and in the gap.
- Fill up when you can on the DRT. I had to ration water the first night because I thought I could make it to Mulky Gap by dark. Dumb.
- Never got off the trail on the DRT, but I got off the BMT a couple of times on descents. The leaves were about a foot deep and the trail was completely obscured in some places south of Rhodes Mt. to the Toccoa River. Having a good map helped.
- If it makes sense then camping at the Toccoa River area is nice.
- Hunting season is almost over, but I ran across a hunter backed up to a tree on the DRT (nice guy) and heard a shot across the cove coming down into Mulky Gap. Stay visible.
- The AT looks like DisneyWorld once you get done with the DRT and BMT. Loved the BMT part: soft path, nice grades, good scenery, and no traffic.

I think these have recently disappeared from their former home, but I'll link to my copy of Mr. Parkay's DRT maps. I had this set and the NatGeo map and ended up using these for the DRT. Hopefully Mr. Parkay doesn't mind.

[Dogwood]

First off, I don't think its all that difficult. The profile charts they show make it look a lot worse then it is. I doubt you'd have much trouble with the 10 mile +/- days if you follow the boy scout plan. Just make sure you got good reliable headlamps in case you got to do the last few miles in the dark.

As for weather, forcasts from local TV stations are usually better then national sites like the weather channel. You'll just have to watch this cold front which is causing havic right now and see how far south and east it pushes and if it lingers into next week.

I see it the same way. it's not as difficult as some make it sound.

IMHO the DRT is the only tough part of the route. The AT part of the loop is much easier. As far as mileage some do it as a day hike, other could take a week. I did it in the spring and water was only a problem on the DRT. that's a pretty dry section.

There are enough water sources to make the entire distance of the DRT. BUT, some hikers get the idea that water has to always be had right on the trail. I too thought the water logistics would be tight until I found out just how many potential water sources I could get to that were a short distance, sometimes up to almost a mile, off the DRT. Taking the water sources very close and on the DRT w/ the 1 m or so away sources no i had no problem w/ the water logistics.

One of the advantages of doing in the winter is it will be easier to find the trail due to the undergrowth being down. The DRT doesn't get the same level of maintenance that the AT and BMT does.

Good pt.

[Dogwood]

Not sure if the OP has left yet, but I'll throw my 2 centavos in. I just did the loop the second weekend of November and will agree with the others that the DRT is the toughest section, but it's also pretty cool once the leaves have fallen. I started at Woody Gap and headed NE on the AT toward Blood Mt. Some observations:

- Be flexible on your campsite. The first night I camped halfway down the ridge on a logging road south of Bryant Gap because the wind was HOWLING on the north side and in the gap.
- Fill up when you can on the DRT. I had to ration water the first night because I thought I could make it to Mulky Gap by dark. Dumb.
- Never got off the trail on the DRT, but I got off the BMT a couple of times on descents. The leaves were about a foot deep and the trail was completely obscured in some places south of Rhodes Mt. to the Toccoa River. Having a good map helped.
- If it makes sense then camping at the Toccoa River area is nice.
- Hunting season is almost over, but I ran across a hunter backed up to a tree on the DRT (nice guy) and heard a shot across the cove coming down into Mulky Gap. Stay visible.
- The AT looks like DisneyWorld once you get done with the DRT and BMT. Loved the BMT part: soft path, nice grades, good scenery, and no traffic.

I think these have recently disappeared from their former home, but I'll link to my copy of Mr. Parkay's DRT maps. I had this set and the NatGeo map and ended up using these for the DRT. Hopefully Mr. Parkay doesn't mind.

All solid info.

[trw0007]

ShaddeeLane, I'm leaving tomorrow. Thanks for the maps and tips. I will keep them in mind.

[ShadeeLane]

Man, trw0007, I hope you made some good time up there. The Atlanta news crews were up in the mountains this morning showing snow and temps in the teens with wind-chills below zero! Definitely an "all-my-clothes" type day.

[trw0007]

Plans ended up changing due to the weather, and we just did an overnighter. A fun hike, but I don't think it got above freezing the whole time. I do not envy the early section hikers, especially not on Monday night.

[Dogwood]

Plans ended up changing due to the weather, and we just did an overnighter. A fun hike, but I don't think it got above freezing the whole time. I do not envy the early section hikers, especially not on Monday night.

At least someone is bright enough to keep a watchful account of weather and know when to back out safely. Thx for the report Trw.

[SGT Rock]

Smart plan. The first time I ever went up to do the loop, we had an ice storm. I spent the weekend at Mountain Crossings hanging out with some good people instead of freezing to death.

[bobgessner57]

I just did the loop between Dec 27 and 31. The trail was easy enough to follow except for a couple places near Rhodes Mtn on the DRT where the leaves had been rooted up over large areas. I just had to pay attention and look for cuts where maintainers had removed sections of trees that had fallen across the trail. There has been enough rain that the mounds of leaves have been beaten down and the footbed is generally very easy to follow and wasn't slick. Few briars and the blowdowns were easy to step over or around. Saw no one on the DRT, a couple of backpackers and a few dayhikers going to the Toccoa bridge on the BMT,
The AT was a mob scene with hordes of dayhikers around Blood Mtn and Woody Gap. Weather was foul when I was near Springer so the smart folk were staying warm and dry at home.