Ride to the Top of Georgia 1/2/2011
Jeff Dilcher
(click to enlarge)
Looking East from the Brasstown Bald observation tower. 4760’ above sea-level, the highest point in Georgia.
I’d been wanting to climb Brasstown Bald since I passed the spur leading up to the summit of the mountain in the fall of 2010. On that day, I was riding a loop of the “back 3” gaps: Hogpen Gap, Jack’s Gap, and Unicoi Gap. It was at the top of Jack’s gap that I first caught a glimpse of the tortuous route leading up to the summit of Brasstown Bald- on that day I was just too weary to attempt the climb, so I passed it by. But, I kept thinking that I wanted to return, so, with temperatures predicted to be in the mid 40s, I decided to drive up and try and complete the climb, starting from Unicoi state park just outside of Helen, GA.
The round trip to the summit, from the lake at Unicoi State Park, is a little over 43 miles, and 7800’+ of climbing. Along the way you climb the long ascent to Unicoi gap (2860’), descend 600’ and turn west on state route 180, and then climb Jack’s Gap (2860’). From Jack’s Gap the spur leading north to the summit of Brasstown Bald, is incredibly steep- 1800′ climb in 3.5 miles at an average grade of 9.8% (400 meters of the final climb is @ 20% grade, and 200 meters is @ 24% grade!) I had to shift into my lowest “granny” gear (34 front, 28 rear), and tack back and forth, zig zagging diagonally upward, just to overcome the steepest portion. I had to stop once- my cadence was so slow I feared I might topple over! After a minute of rest, I struggled on up the rest of the climb, and on up to the impressive observation tower, from which the view, above, was photographed. The group in the picture were not riding with me, but we all happened to ascend the mountain at about the same time.
(click to enlarge)
