2018-11-17 GA-AT 3 of 8 Woody Gap to Neels Gap & back

We section hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) in Georgia in 8 trips. We go from Springer Mountain all the way to GA/NC border.

Each trip is an out and back going both AT North Bound (NoBo) and South Bound (SoBo) directions without any special car arrangement. No car shuttle and no key swap. We want to enjoy hiking AT both ways.

When we’re done, we have completed the entire AT in GA twice in both NoBo and SoBo directions. We have climbed twice amount of elevation gain both ways. That’s right, we leave no hill un-climbed!!

GA 3 of 8: Woody Gap to Neels Gap & back

<<< Distance and Ascent >>>

Our GA AT section 3: The out and back round trip is 22 miles with 5,450 feet elevation gain.

<<< Itinerary >>>

We’ll meet and start from Woody Gap parking lot. We’ll follow AT NoBo to Big Cedar Mt at 1.3 miles, Jarrard Gap at 5.7 miles, Bird Gap at 7.2 miles, Blood Mt at 8.6 miles, and Neel’s Gap at 11 miles.

We’ll take a short break at Neels Gap. We can refill water and get any supply we need from its general store. After break we’ll retrace and follow the AT SoBo to get back to our cars.

This entire section is the majority of the course for the event “GA-AT Ultra 50K”. So this event will be very useful if you’re thinking about signing up the 50K event.

<<< Important Notes >>>

The event duration does NOT include our travelling/ driving time. If you're going to meet at the event, please arrive 10 minutes before our starting time. We’ll start earlier if we’re all there before our starting time. Our duration time is an educated estimate, so we need to have some flexibility.

This event is physically challenging and rewarding! You can fully enjoy it IF AND ONLY IF you have good fitness and endurance. Please only register if you are comfortable going long distance at a pace of 3+ mph in the remote mountains environment, and have recent D5/D6 experience.

If your recent experience is not from the club, please include it in a note when you register, or email TL; otherwise you will be moved to the waiting list for the safety of everyone. We encourage our members to actively participate with joyful experience, and most importantly to stay healthy and safe at the end of our trip.

Use Google Map address:

Woody Gap / Appalachian Trail, GA-60, Dahlonega, GA 30533

Take GA-400 N; turn left onto US-19 N for 5.1 miles.

Turn right onto US-19 N/ GA-9 N for 8 miles.

At the fork of US-19 N and GA-60, follow GA-60 for 5.4 miles to Woody Gap parking lot.

1. This event may be cancelled or rescheduled if weather conditions are not satisfactory for an enjoyable outing.

2. Itinerary is subject to change at the discretion of the trip leader.