Saturday, April 9, 2005
I just finished hiking the "Georgia Loop", thats the AT, Duncan Ridge, and Benton McKaye trails. Starting and ending at Springer Mountain, its a 55 mile loop hike and is very strenuous. I hiked it in five days. Day 1: Springer to Justus Creek, Day 2: Justus Creek to Jarrad Gap Day3: Jarrad Gap to Akin Gap, Day 4: Akin Gap to the Toccowa River, Day 5: Toccowa river to Springer. The Appalachain trail section is moderate, but once you leave the AT and pick up the Duncan Ridge the trail becomes difficult. There are few to no switch backs, the trail goes straight up the mountain sides and ridges. It continues this roller coster pattern for miles. The trail is well marked with blazes (blue for the Duncan and white diamonds for the McKaye) although it is little used. The scenary and solitude is nice. Overall, a good loop hike to test your physical endurance!
Thursday, August 19, 2004
A suttle start and seemingly neverending ascents are what make this trail the greatest mental challenge east of the Mississippi. If you dont finely tune your well-being you might just find yourself heading back. Proper stretching and nutrient intake beforehand is a must. Make sure you have proper footing and bring along your extra flashlight batteries. Leave the cell phone, its no better than a paper weight throughout most of the trail. A lightweight disposable camera would be good for capturing the vast wildlife found along the trail. Beware of common dangers such as rattlesnakes and boars and bring along a good sturdy pole for many reasons. As always, stay safe.
Monday, November 10, 2003
My husband and I just hiked the Duncan Ridge Trail in conjunction with the A.T. and the Benton MacKaye Trails (a.k.a. the Georgia Loop). We did a 108 mile trip hiking south from Cherry Log on the BMT to Rhodes Mountain where we turned onto the DRT. After all the horror stories I'd read about the DRT I was pleasantly suprised to find the trail open and very well blazed. We camped the second night of our trip (which was the first and only night on the DRT) at Sarvis Gap. It's a beautiful gap and a lovely campsite with good water, although my husband had to go down a good bit past the spring to gather it. We spent the next night on the A.T. at Wood's Hole Shelter. From there we hiked south on the A.T. to the BMT near Three Forks and headed north on the BMT back to Cherry Log. In summary I would say that the DRT is a tough trail to hike, with some steep ups and downs. although contrary to other reports we found it passable and fairly well maintained, certainly very well blazed and easy to follow. The summer growth was gone, which no doubt helped too. As experienced long distance hikers we found it challenging and wonderful.
Tuesday, September 9, 2003
Well I survived the Duncan Ridge Trail. This was my first backpacking expedition ever and quite an introduction at that. I'll give a trail update and highlights/lowlights of my trip. I hiked with two of my Calvin College roommates. September 2, 2003: Drove down from West Lafeyette Indiana and did not allow ourselves enough time. We were also driving down with the sister of one of my roommates and planned on having her drop us off at three forks, however the complexity of our situation and apparent difficulty of taking all of those Forest Service roads we had never been on before was too much in the dark. So we decided to have her drop us off at Amocola Falls state park which is right off of GA 52. After filling up on one last good meal at McDonalds we started hiking at 9:30 pm (totally dark). Went about 2 miles up the access trail to the AT and set up camp. September 3, 2003 (Wed) Hiked 5.5 miles to the southern terminus of the AT at the top of springer mountain by 10:30 am. After a short stay we trekked to three forks by noon and filled our water at the river there. Decided to filter and treat the water here but not again because it took so long and we were impatient. We decided to go to the Toccoa river for the night. The Benton Macaye Trail was very difficult but easy to follow. Slight overgrowth rubbed against the legs but nothing too bad. We began experiencing fatigue around 2 and painfully stumbled to the footbridge over the Toccoa around 5:30 after a 20 mile day. Our water source was a nice stream at the base of the bridge on the south side. As the sun began to set the clouds rolled in and had a big thunderstorm most of the night. September 4, 2003 (Thur) Woke up wet and disheartened and started hiking toward highway 60. After walking the 3 miles to GA 60 in a downpour we decided to quit and hitch-hike back to Neels gap. In the 1.5 hours we spent trying to get a ride the sky cleared and our spirits lifted slightly so we decided to continue and finish what we started. The decision was very painful at first as the Wallalah and Licklog mountain climbs were increadibly hard and steep. We trekked on and finally split off the BMT and solely onto the DRT. Rhodes mountain was supposed to have a good view but there wasn't so much as a peak. The rest of the day was more ups and downs and we hiked until we thought we reached mulky gap. We found a small stream about 500 yards down the main road at the clearing. We ate dinner and decided to get the 800 ft. ascent up west wildcat out of the way before we went to bed. However after an hour of hiking we hadn't tackled any big hills and we pitched camp at 8:00 pm after about 15 miles of hiking for the day. September 5, 2003 (Fri) Thinking we only had 8 miles left we started early to be done early. After 45 minuntes of hiking we came to a clearing that had a gated road with a handicap sign on it and we realized that THIS was mulky gap. That sucked. So we continued and west wildcat was a hard ascent and the ups and downs continued. The hike dragged on in difficult fashion until we finally reached GA 180 where we knew we were almost done. The hike up slaugher mountain was hard but ranked about 7th of all the ascents. Going up Blood mountain was an easy grade but rocky and hard on the feet after 45 miles. The summit of Blood Mountain was the first good view (or any view) since springer mountain some 40 miles ago. The last 2.4 miles were very painful on the feet as it was steep and rocky but the sight of the car at neels gap was so rewarding. Did about 13 miles on this day. The Duncan Ridge Trail was a very trying hike. It takes the right kind of hiker to enjoy it. I was physically challenged the entire time and the climbs did not dissapoint. I'd say that about 90% of the hike was an incline or decline. I felt the hardest portion of the hike was the Wallalah/Licklog climbs but almost all of the other climbs were also very hard. I was expecting the Benton Macaye section to be the easiest part but it was just as hard. The DRT was very well marked with old and new blue blazes and staying on the trail was not a problem. I was hiking with the capacity of 6 Liters of water and each of my friends 1. We never risked running out and drank as we pleased. All three of us, though, got a bad case of traveler's diahhria for about 3 days after the hike from the water because we didn't filter or treat it most of the way. The DRT was slightly overgrown but not that bad and overall i'd say the trail was in good shape. We did a total of about 50 miles in 18.5 hours of actual hiking (had a stopwatch just for timing our hiking-includes full 50 miles, not just DRT) but don't fool yourself into thinking you can do more than about 7 hours of hiking in one day. As far as scenery i was very dissapointed. We kept spending so much energy to get to the top of a mountain and then not see anything except trees and trees and trees. It was nothing but woods the entire hike except a small window on springer mountain and a bunch of good views from the top of Blood mountain. For wildlife we saw a few deer (big deal, see them all the time in MI), a turtle (wow), and insects (cool butterflies at least). Also dissapointing. For the entire hike we saw one other person hiking (going up springer mountain as we were going down) and two guys fishing in the toccoa river for awhile. So we didn't see a soul on the DRT. On the whole i'd rate the hike as perfect for the right kind of person and an extreme challenge with little payoff for anyone else. If you enjoy solitude, plants, and great excersize this is the hike for you. But if you're like me and like excersize but really enjoy the cool views and sights along the way then i reccommend you pick a hike with better attractions. (The amocola falls we saw after 200 yards of hiking were probably the best out of everything) If you have any questions you can contact me at Relenb70@calvin.edu
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Randall, the answer is yes. I did it solo in 2002(Douglas Thompson) and it took me 2 1/2 days. The trail is awesome and as tough as they say. If you have any questions or info you can contact me at dcathomp@aol.com.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Randall, The answer is YES. I did all of the trail in 2001(Douglas Thompson) and it took me 2 1/2 days. If you have any questions or need info you can contact me at dcathomp@aol.com. Doug
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Is it possible to hike just the DRT in 2 full days of hiking plus a little on a third for 3 ambitious 21 year old guys? the trail sounds awesome but we don't have a ton of time.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
As of 7/19/03, there are an inordinate number of trees down due to recent heavy storms. The tree roots are damaged from recent years of draught and are now collapsing in the soggy soil. One part of the Benton-Mackaye 3 section was nearly washed out to not quite yet shear rock. Where DRT and BMT split, the DRT is in very bad condition and hard to follow. I turned back due to not enough water. I found no drinkable water sources due to tree falls and landslides. As for the markings noted by others recently, I only saw one and noted where other obvious sign placings had been torn down.
Friday, June 13, 2003
Just finished up my loop hike on DRT yesterday(6-11-03)at Blood Mtn..Started at Neel's Gap on 6-4-03 with 22 pound pack,eight days of food & two 1 liter platypus water bottles(have update on water sources).I chose to bypass Blood Mtn. via Freeman trail to Bird Gap the first day in order to save it for last (Katadin of DRT so to speak!).Camped first night at a nice spring approx.1 mile below Granny Top Mtn. on right side of trail(actual spring head somewhat visible from trail).Second night I tented at the new(2001)Gooch Gap shelter in one of about a dozen very nice tent pads (state park style)between shelter and spring.Third night stayed at Hawk Mtn. shelter/tenting and spring.Rained very hard and in order to keep tent dry (and light) I chose to stay in shelter.On the fourth day say bye to AT and hello DTR/BMT.Hydrate well anywhere in the vicinity of where the three trails meet at Long Creek and its tributaries(nice camping sites too).Next water supply was at Bryson Gap with a very nice spring and it was marked as of this date.Camped on the fourth night at the north end of the suspension bridge on the Toccoa River(campsites numerous).Water supply here was on south side of bridge on right just before crossing.Crossing over Toonowee Mtn.I was hydrated enough to make it to GA 60 but passed a possible water source on northern slope.Upon reaching Ga 60 I took a right approx. a 1/4 of a mile up the road and on the right, there is a small country store where I treated myself to an ice-cold Gatorade(they also carry ice-cream,fruit juices,short term supply,duct tape etc..).On the hike up Wallalah Mtn. about 1/4 mile+- north of Skeenah Creek passed a small(easy to miss)spring that looked to be producing approx. 4 or 5 GPM as of this date.Small spring off east slope in sharpest gap of Licklog Mtn.(bushwhack/steep)approx 150 yards off trail.Fifth night I camped in small gap just pass the summit of Rhodes Mtn.in a nice flat area on left side of trail.Water source here was an awesome double headed spring(gusher!)approx.100 yards down sharp gap off left side(north)of trail(semi-bushwhack).This gap is noticeable by a small tree with a yellow WMA boundry sign and some fresh blue blazes right on the trail.Next water source was in sharp gap to right(south) of trail between Payne Knob and High Top approx. 30-50 yards off trail.This one was marked with a very old wooden sign on tree with blue letters "water"(sign faces to the east towards High Top) as of this date(semi-bushwhack).On the sixth night I camped right beside a very good spring in Mulkey Gap down a very old logging road to the right where FS4 and handicapped access(gated road)meet(approx.100 yards)could hear intermittent traffic on FS4 but could not see.Hydrated very well next morning and packed a full 2 liters of water for trek over Wildcat,Buck,Buckeye and Coosa.I had read some where that there are points along FS 39 that are blazed trails in the gaps that lead to water but never investigated this to verify the information(stayed on the trail).The next(exellent)water source was after the long descent of Coosa Bald and Wildcat Knob on GA 180 at Wolfpen Gap down the road itself to the right(southwest)at a sharp curve in the road(approx. 80 yards off trail).Good place for a "splash-bath" or to just dunk your head here too if you dont mind the road traffic seeing you! Passed two nice little(trickler) springs about 1/4 of the way up Slaughter Mtn. in very close proximity to each other(10-15 yards)in the old road bed at a very neat rock outcropping which was a good place for a break or just sit and "reflect".These two "tricklers" are probably seasonal and trail has been maintained to accomodate them(lined with rocks)as of this date.And of course final water source before Blood Mtn. was at Slaughter Gap with a nice spring and campsites.After filling up two liters of water at Slaughter Gap,I hiked the 1.1 mile on up to the summit of Blood Mtn. where I was rewarded with the veiws that "Blood" will always offer.I tent camped there on the summit(seventh night) in one of many "covey-holes" just perfect for my little tent.The next morning I slept in a little late before hiking the final 2.4 miles off of Blood Mtn.(bloody legs,cleansed spirit and all!)to Neels Gap where I brought closure to one of the best hikes ever!(only second to my '96 southbound thru-hike on A.T).Yes,the trail may seem too overgrown for some(gaiters are a must have on this one!)but I saw it as just the nature of the DRT at its best.Besides,too much maintaining(killing of trailside brush, trees and misc. vegetation) usually results in erosion and washes which in turn results into a hard-pack,rocky footpath that resembles a "dried-up" creekbed(the AT is a prime example of this cycle!).The DRT is very soft and "spongy" underfoot throughout(besides rock out crops and road crossings), and although narrow in many places,it is very flat too.The trail is very well blazed with new and old faded(almost white) blue blazes.but if in doubt,new and old yellow WMA boundary signs(aluminum/steel) pretty much follow most of the trail also.As it has been said by many in the past(I will say it also!)the DRT is an exellent proving ground for those planning a thru-hike on the AT or any other "long trail" for that matter.With its "New England-esque" sites,smells,and sounds,the DRT is like fourteen states all rolled into one little package on this 50+ mile loop hike!Hope this information is helpful to all of those planning to hike this wonderful trail.After this one, the sky's the limit!Hope to see you on the DRT!
| Blake M. Hendon Jr. (CHUNKER) |
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Also like to add it is NOT hard to follow if you have any experiance. In fact there were WAY too many blazes. Feel free to email any questions. It took us 6 days to hike the loop and we spent alot of time dring out gear and resting tired legs. stewartraring@yahoo.com FEB 03
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Hiked the trail late Feb 03. Found it to be in great condition. No downed trees that couldnt be easily stepped over or through. Had a great time and only saw one other group (day hikers). It did rain one full day and every single night. Stewart
Thursday, July 4, 2002
My wife and I hiked from Springer Mountain to Gooch Gap 2 years ago and we ran across the Duncan Ridge Trail. I became interested and had a few days off this past week and decided I would give it a try!(My wife won't let me hike any more of the Appalacian Trail without her). Researched as much as I could on the internet and bookstores and couldn't find out awhole lot about the trail. Tim Horton's book (Hiking the Trails of North Georgia) told me the Duncan Ridge Trail was the toughest trail in the Southeast! I drove to the Bryson Reese parking area just north of Neel's Gap where my hike was to end at Blood Mountain and got a ride to Three Forks about a mile south of where the trail begins with the Benton Mackaye Trail. Hiked up to Long Falls which to me is one of the most peaceful sights that I have ever encountered. Stocked up on water and began my hike north to my evenings destination, the Toccoa River Footbridge. The trail stayed around the 3000 foot level to Bryson Gap where there is a spring about 300 feet south of the trail. The trail is well marked and maintained through this section. As I headed north from Bryson Gap no water to be found until the footbridge. DO NOT take water from the Toccoa River as there is livestock upstream. There is a small stream to the right of the footbridge to get water from and great campsites! The next morning started my hike north to Hwy 60. Tooni Mountain was a long uphill climb and on the decent to Hwy 60 there was a small stream to replenish. As you cross Hwy 60 you come to the Little Skeenah Creek which also has livestock upstream. Have enough water to hike to Rhodes Mountain as there are no water sources until there. The hike up Licklog Mountain was long and hard. The trail parts ways with the Benton Mackaye Trail just before the summit of Rhodes Mountain. The views from Rhodes mountain are spectacular. My evening destination was Mulky Gap. The trail from Rhodes Mountain to Mulky Gap was for the most part well marked and maintained but you could tell not used very often. The wildlife was abundant. I saw alot of good sized deer, hawks, turtles a black snake and for the first time in my life a wolf! Looked more like a mid-sized sheperd but it was an exciting encounter. Payne's Knob was tough as was Fish Knob, Clement's Mountain and Akin Mountain. No water until Mulky Gap. A small spring is about 200 yards down the gated trail to the right. Stock up on water here as you will need it. The toughest is yet to come. From Mulky Gap the trail stays around the 3200 to 3400 foot mark. The trail is well marked and maintained through this section. The trail up to and over the 4200 foot Coosa Bald is not very well marked and very overgrown. Lost the trail a few times though not for long. Some really nice sights at the top for camping. Great views too. Once over the top the trail merges with the Coosa Backcountry Trail and is well maintained and marked from there. The hike up and down Wildcat Knob is tough and then you come down to Hwy 180. From there you hike up Slaughter Mountain which is also a tough ascent and down to Slaughter Gap where the Duncan Ridge Trail ends without even a sign marking the beginning of the trail or the end. The trail was a great place to get away from life for awhile. Solitude, wildlife and peacefulness. I hiked 3 days and 2 nights. My advice, maintain a good water supply(if you think you have enough, get more) and travel light. Thank you to Bill Norris from the Sierra Club for getting me to Three Forks and to David Kirkendahl from the USDA Forest Service for his knowledge and expertise on the Duncan Ridge Trail!
Monday, March 11, 2002
Recently hiked from Slaughter Gap to Hwy 60. Very strenouos and hard to follow
Saturday, February 16, 2002
My son in law and I went to Wolfpen Gap and hiked up to Coosa Bald and back. We had been hiking on the A.T. (love it too) The DRT was steep and beautiful. Made us proud that we did this short part. Also hiked from Wolfpen Gap to Slaughter Gap. Very steep and unbelievable views. It made us feel very lucky to have a place like this to come to. Most of my friends will not even touch this trail. I took my dog with me and she even had a tough time. What a first 1 mile it is from Wolfpen towards Slaughter. I went down to Lake Winfield Scott and my son in law went back over the DRT to get the car and pick me up at Winfield Scott. He saw a maintenance worker on his way back to Wolfpen who was cutting a tree off of the trail. I will be back and would love to help with maintenance.
Friday, October 5, 2001
Is there an organization that is taking care of the DR? It's a total shame to let a great trail die due to lack of care. Cathy (Duncan - Maiden name) my wife, and myself would be interested in getting involved in the maintenance of the DR but don't know who to contact.
Thursday, September 27, 2001
Was planning on doing a loop with the AT, Duncan Ridge, and the Benton Mackaye. Started at Neels Gap then picked up DR at Slaughter Gap. The first few mile were ok, but then the trail all but vanished into an array of weeds and thorns. Did a total of around 7 miles on the trail, and when I couldn't find water, decided I've had enough of this tail and started walking the forest roads around the cooper creek area. Reached 60 then hitched to where the Benton Mackaye crosses the road. Hiked in 3 miles to the Tocoa Suspension Bridge and camped for the night. Next day hiked the BM and the AT and camped on Springer. Both trails were in great shape. Spent a very warm night on Springer and then down to Amicalloloa the next morning. Saw a bear coming down Springer, great way to finish off a hiking trip.. The Duncan Ridge could be a great trail with just a little maintenance
Friday, July 27, 2001
we will be hiking the duncan ridge trail this fall and would like to know more about the water sources. how close together are the water sources and how are they marked. would appreciate any feedback that we can get. thanks.
Wednesday, June 20, 2001
Blue blazes were fine within a quarter mile of roads but pretty well non-existent elsewhere. Got lost a few times due to totally overgrown trail in places. Water sources were especially poorly marked and difficult to find. The DRT was and remains the best trail I have ever hiked. I hope to do it again soon.
Wednesday, January 24, 2001
During the early spring this trail is a wonderful journey. However, as summer presses in Brambles cover what little path exists. I try and clear the stretch from the Coosa Backcountry trail to the McKaye merger a Rhodes Mnt. every June in hopes that it will stay open most of the summer. It is difficult and with an overgrown trail it becomes a trial not a trail. Good luck and God Bless. R Logan
Saturday, January 13, 2001
Saturday, 01-13-2001 I parked at Wolfpen Gap (on Ga. 180) to start my last section of the Duncan Ridge Trail (DRT). This last section, for me, was from Coosa Bald to the end at Slaughter Gap, just below Blood Mountain on the AT. I first hiked West, doing a pretty tough climb up Wildcat Knob heading for where I quit the last hike, the Coosa Backcountry Trail sign just east of the summit of Coosa Bald. I hiked the 1.4 miles to the sign in about 1 hr 10 min. There were great winter views with fog in the valleys making the views even more dramatic. I turned around at the sign and returned to Wolfpen Gap. I passed my car, crossed GA. 180 and immediately began a long climb, steep but not as bad as the last hike's climb up Coosa Bald, up to near the top of Slaughter Mountain. The trail then dropped down, through some snow, to near Slaughter Gap. I hiked the linking trail about 75 yards over to Slaughter Gap and the AT to finally end my quest for hiking the DRT. I turned around and returned to the DRT, but noticed that there was no sign, and few noticable blazes (blue) to guide one West on the DRT. Other connecting trails (specifically a trail to Lake Winfield Scott) were marked and signed well, but not the DRT. I then reversed my route back to the car and Wolfpen Gap. From where the DRT leaves the Benton MacKaye Trail (Rhodes Mtn) to the end of the DRT, I'd not seen another hiker. But when I started my return hike from Slaughter Gap, I met a couple hiking up from Vogel State Park, heading back to their car at Wolfpen Gap. In summary, I'm glad to have been blessed of the Lord to be able to hike this difficult trail. I hiked around 90 of it in both directions, which is probably harder since you get to climb more. The guidebook (Hiking Trails of North Georgia - Tim Homan) calls this the hardest one trail in Georgia. I agree. I also recommend hiking this in the winter, and doing so with a day pack instead of backpacking. Regardless of the difficulty, I hope all folks who enjoy a good hike with good views (in winter only), can have the opportunity to hike this challenging trail.
Tuesday, December 12, 2000
Continuing my quest to complete the Duncan Ridge Trail in sections (alone, walking up and back), I returned to Mulky Gap on Sat. 12-09-00 to continue east. The trail began with a long, sometimes steep, climb up to the first knob. The weather was cool (near 50) but not too cold, had overcast then clear skies off and on all day. The north Ga. mountains received snow the previous week and the north and northwest sides of the mountains had snow, sometimes 1-2 inches deep. The trail took turns going over a knob, then along the north side. The last part of this hike was up to the top of Coosa Bald. It was a very long and difficult climb, mainly straight up. While the snow made the scenery pretty, it made the trail slippery, making the ascent even more tiring. I walked on past the summit to where the Duncan Ridge Trail meets the Coosa Backcountry Trail. I then returned to the summit to take a 15 min. lunch break. The trip back to Mulky gap started out very dangerous, that steep ascent up a slippery trail was even more difficult trying to go down. I'm glad I have two hiking poles. I ended up walking off the trail to have better footing. I walked some on the forest service road that parallels the trail, just to give my sore knee a break. I returned to the trail near Bryant Gap and hiked up then down the long descent to Mulky Gap and the car. I did around 12.5 miles for the 6-hour hike. The trail is adequately blazed (blue blazes) in both directions. Was a strenuous but fun hike. Enjoyed the winter views. I can't imagine hiking this section with a full backpack in the hot summer. I normally hike with a large day pack (around 20-25 pounds) carrying enough to allow me to make it alright if I got stuck out one night. Will finish the DRT this winter.
Friday, December 8, 2000
Duncan Ridge trip has been my best trail to date. Paul and I left May 7,2000 and returned May 12. It has been my longest trip so far. We packed very wisely and actually returned with some food. This trail didn't seem like it is hiked very much recently. Paul did an awesome job with planning and encouraging me and leading. There are alot of steep elevations, very challenging. The water stops are not well marked which created some anxiety. A great trip all in all and I'm more experienced and confident because of it. Mary Peiffer lancaster, pennsylvania.
Friday, December 8, 2000
We hiked the Benton MacKay - Duncan Ridge - AT loop in April 2000 and reveled in the manly strenuousness of it. Definately intense. No girlie-men seen here. Well actually my hiking partner was Mary... Anyway, it amounted to a remote 6 day trip that boosted my confidence in my abilities. (Mary's too.) Although the actual Duncan Ridge section was "under-maintained" at the time, the Benton-MacKay and A.T. sections were highly groomed and delightful. The intensity, remoteness, and challenge of the Duncan Ridge trail all appealled to me and when I finished it I really fealt experienced and ready to do that A.T. thru-hike I've been wanting to do. (See you April 1, 2001). I am ready.
Thursday, December 7, 2000
(Summer, 2000) As promised in my March 28, 2000 report, I continued my up-and-back hiking quest of the DRT. This time, my son Mark (age 20) and I hiked from Mulky Gap west to Fish Gap and back, about 6 miles for the day. The hike up from Mulky Gap was tough but certainly doable. There's a view to the South on top of this first climb. The rest of the way to Fish Gap was fairly easy to find. We ate lunch at Fish Gap and re-traced our steps East back to Mulky Gap. When we started down (from the top of the first climb mentioned above) towards Mulky Gap, we lost the trail entirely. Must have made a sharp turn that we missed. Followed what seemed to be a trail (looks like others have missed this turn also), had to bushwhack down to Mulky Gap road, coming out about .5 mile north of Mulky Gap. The blazing East-to-West was alright, not so good the other direction. Plan to continue my up-and-back quest of the DRT in the December 2000/January 2001 timeframe and will report on this next section.
Tuesday, March 28, 2000
On 03-11-00 (Saturday), I got a late start on the Duncan Ridge Trail (DRT). It was supposed to be bad stormy with lightening, but after delaying my start from home (seing the weather wasn't going to be too bad), I drove to Fish Gap on a questionable FS road. I then headed West to do the 3.6 miles from Fish Gap to the top of Rhodes Mountain (where I'd recently hiked to via the Benton Mackaye Trail which I'm trying to do as well). The weather was rainy (heavy at times) and very windy. The trail was fairly well marked (looked like recently) most of the way. Not too many blowdowns. I did get lost once coming down one of the many knobs on this trail and had to use my compass to get back to where I could see some old blazes and flagging. I then proceeded on West to the top of Rhodes Mtn and the intersection with the Benton Mackaye Trail. Because of the bad weather, I skipped stopping for lunch and turned back.
Hiking this section of the DRT gave me the opportunity to do the steep ascents and descents in both directions and was a good workout and challenge. With the exception of the short section where I got lost, it was a fun hike. Naturally, with the bad weather, I didn't see other hikers which made the hike even better (solitude).
I'm ashamed to say the 7.2 miles (plus a little for getting lost) took me 4 hours, which is off of my usual 2-2.5 miles per hour pace I normally maintain for a day hike.
I plan to continue my solo day hiking of the DRT to reach Slaughter Gap on the AT (using the up-and-back approach). Then, I'll return to the Benton Mackaye Trail and continue my quest to do the same on it (I've hiked it along with the DRT on the route they share from Springer Mtn to the gap just beyond Rhodes Mtn in the same solo up-and-back manner).
Monday, September 20, 1999
We did it over a weekend preparing for a trip to Mt. Rainier and it wore me out!
Friday, September 3, 1999
Poorly maintained in spots but well marked throughout entire trail.
Trail Length:30.1 miles
Location: Lumpkin County
Features:ATaccess, camping.
Last hiked:06/24/1995 | Type of trail:Loop
Our rating:Strenuous
Your rating:Hard (72)
Date added:06/22/1995
Trail Usage:
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