In late July, Dave, Larry and Brian (welcome, Brian!) took a (long) day ride to the Cherohala Skyway and the Nantahala Gorge. Since the forecast was relatively clear, but seasonably hot, they left early and enjoyed cool temps as they headed to Blue Ridge the fast way, then up the very-curvy TN 68 to Tellico Plains. As they headed up the Skyway to mile-high elevations, temps dropped to a very pleasant low-70’s!
In late June, Dan, Dave, Larry and Mel toured the N Ga mountains with a very special guest, Dave’s son Joe. Joe’s been living internationally for several years, but just returned to the States with his fiancé, Lucia, to relocate to upstate NY where she’ll complete a doctorate program. Dave has been lovingly babysitting Joe’s Triumph Scrambler and now it was time for Joe to reunite with his “baby”! A father-son ride like this deserves the best we’ve got, and so we gave it to them.
The group toured some easy-going favorites like Grandview, Sunrise, and Doublehead Gap as they leisurely made their way to Van Zandt’s in Dial. Although the forecast was somewhat iffy, the day was shaping up to be clear and dry with temps in the low 70’s. After their respite, they made a loop around the backside of the Toccoa River to gawk at the trout fishermen and rafters, but it was too early and cool for rafters. They then headed down 60 enjoying wide sweepers initially, then tight twisties as they approached Suches, all in cool weather and no traffic.
Lunch at TWO was bebopping as usual, given the fine riding weather.
Huh, what? The largest swath of wilderness land in the eastern US National Forest is the conjoined tracts of the Cohutta wilderness in NW GA (about 80% of the combined tract) and the Big Frog wilderness just across the border in TN (about 20%). Wilderness areas contain no roads, but are usually surrounded by forest service roads. So… Larry, Dave and Mel decided to circumnavigate the Cohutta - Big Frog wilderness area.
Earlier in April, Dave, Mel and Dan toured the SE and S portion of the Cohutta’s on an unseasonably cool day ride (Ok, with all the snow flurries, it was COLD!) [see here for pics and video]. Since a full circumnavigation around these two wilderness tracts is about 90 miles and requires a full day’s riding, the trip would require some camping. So, on a Friday afternoon, they rode to Ellijay the fast way, then headed NW up beautiful Gates Chapel road toward their “loop”. But first they received a taste of what the next day would bring when the came to a spectacular overlook just before starting the loop.
The morning was a few degrees warmer than expected and despite the overnight rain, the roads were dry. Dan, Dave, and Mel met at the Shell station on Towne Lake Parkway by i575 and rode slab up to Blue Ridge, where a brief stop was made for coffee and a regroup on the day's plans as it had started to snow very lightly. It was getting cold and seemed the original forecast high for the day was unlikely to be reached. They agreed to go for it and brave the conditions on the Cohutta Wilderness forest service trails.
Old Hwy 2 was their entry way to the Cohutta Wilderness and in short order the paved surface gave way to gravel and the adventure began.
As the trio gained elevation the temperature dropped and snow was settled on the ground either side of the trails and on the trees above. Then more snow started to fall. Thank goodness for heated gear! They pressed on and soon found they were not the only crazy individuals out on this inclement weather. A long section of the trail was lined with parked cars belonging to participants and supporters of the Endurance Hunter 100 mile race. These people must have been seriously cold!
The snow eased off and stopped as they dropped down to the first official waypoint to check out the Jack's River Fields campground. It was a great little place and definitely worth considering for future rides into this area.
