Official Six Gap Route Map
I’ve been riding the gaps in North Georgia on a number of occasions. Typically the “back 3″ or “front 3″ leaving from Helen, or Dahlonega. This weekend I was in the mood for a longer ride, and decided to do the 6 gap route, leaving from Dahlonega Highschool. I found a route on “ridewithgps” which is the route used by the Six Gap Century, a yearly event which occurs in the fall. The ride covers 104 miles, and ascends and descends the six relatively steep mountain passes: Neel’s Gap, Jack’s Gap, Unicoi Gap, Hogpen Gap, Wolfpen Gap, and Woody’s Gap.
I left Dahlonega Highschool shortly after daybreak, solo, and took Black Mountain Road north to Yahoola Road, then picking up highway 19 toward’s Turner’s corner. At about mile 19, the first climb up Neel’s Gap climbs ascends 1600′ in 7 miles. The weather had been overcast, but the top of the climb was in the clouds, and it became evident that it would probably rain at some point during the ride.
I refilled the bottles, and mixed some Perpetuam, and headed down the back side of Neel’s gap, passing Vogel State Park, and turning East on State Route 180. Seven miles later, and I was at the top of Jack’s gap, below Brasstown Bald. Clouds were increasing, but no rain yet- I headed down the backside of Jack’s and turned south on 75 towards Helen, to begin the Unicoi Gap climb. Sometimes this climb can be very tiring, but, the temps were relatively low with the cloud cover, and the climb to the top seemed much less difficult than usual.
6 Gap - Google Earth
The descent from Unicoi gap to Helen is 9 miles, almost all downhill. Outside of Helen, I made a store stop, refilled my bottles, mixed some more Perpetuam, and ate some Fig Newtons. Looking North, some dark clouds were looming over the mountains. I headed off towards Richard B. Russel scenic highway, and the climb up Hogpen Gap. The rain let loose shortly after I began the climb, but traffic was light, and I did the climb comfortably, reaching the summit in about 49 minutes. The rain had stopped along the way, and I relaxed a bit at the top, and ate the almond butter / honey /date / sunflower seed sandwich I had brought along, before cautiously working my way down the steep descent on the backside. Before re-joining State Route 180, the rain began again, but it was pretty light, and I pedaled onward.
Turning south, I headed back toward Vogel State Park, and, with the rain stopping, turned east on Wolf Pen Gap road. This is probably my favorite climb on the ride- 3.5 miles, winding 1600′ upward, through forest, to the gap between Wildcat Knob and Slaughter Mountain. The next 8 miles towards Suches was pleasant, beginning with a 2.5 mile descent, then a short climb to scenic Lake Winfield Scott. About a mile before Suches, the rain started again, and I pulled into the gas station at Woody Lake for a last water bottle re-fill. A couple of cyclists and some motor cycle riders were taking refuge here, but the rain was light, and I carried on south, toward Woody Gap. It was a soggy decent down Cedar Ridge, back to the “rock pile” at highway 9. A couple miles further, and I was back on Black Mountain Road under clearing skies, returning on my route from earlier in the morning, the last 9 miles back to Dahlonega.
