Woody Gap to Jarrard Gap

The  scenic Woody Gap trail is about 20 miles from the start of the AT.  It is accessible on Georgia Highway 60 a little north of Suches with a parking lot on both sides of the highway. It has a beautiful vista point, known as Preacher’s Rock, about a mile from the start of the trail.  Some friends and Alice witnessed a marriage proposal on the rock once (after being enlisted to videotape the event). It gets steep and rocky on the approach to the Rock, but afterwards there is a long sloping downhill, followed by rolling terrain. We can stop for lunch about a mile from Jarrard Gap along the trail or wait until we get to the Gap. Alice recently hiked most of this stretch but not all the way to the Gap (that part will be exploratory but should be like the rest of the trail). The hike will be an out and back – it’s 5.6 miles each way  (per the sign at the start of the trail) for a total of 11.2 miles with a 2401-foot  elevation gain.

This is my (Alice's) second Potential Trip Leader hike. I will be co-leading the hike with Trish Taylor. 

We will keep a steady pace of 2.5 miles per hour for a total hike time of 5 hours + 30 minutes for lunch. The elevation gain, pace, and distance give this hike a difficulty rating of D4. If you don't have recent D3/D4 experience, this is not a suitable event for you. We will stay together during the hike.

The parking spaces can get full early so we will start the hike at 0845 on Saturday, May 3rd.  Please arrive about 15 minutes early to get your gear ready and go to the compost restroom in the parking lot. (Be sure to bring hand sanitizer!)

Take US 19N/GA-400 until it intersects with State highway 60 then turn left. In 5.1 miles, turn right onto US-19/GA 9N Morrison Moore Parkway. In 0.7 mi, slight right onto US-19N. At the traffic circle, continue straight onto GA-60. Continue for 5.4 miles to the Woody Gap parking lot (both sides of the street).

If you're meeting at the event, be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the hike. We will begin the hike promptly at 0845 a.m. The parking lots can fill up quickly, so arrive early! 

The canopy over the trail will be filling in and there should be flowers blooming on the trail - a nice spring hike!

Please note that, due to some technical problems, the registration date has changed to Thursday, April 24th at 6:00 p.m. 

Estimated cost per vehicle for this event is $44.80 using a reimbursement rate guideline of $0.400 per mile. The total amount should be divided by the number of people in the vehicle, including the driver. This is a guideline, not a rule, for drivers but the cost should not be higher unless there are extenuating circumstances.