The Georgia Loop has been on my running list for quite some time. I can't remember exactly when I heard of it, but probably in 2016 or 2017 when I was running with Sean, Deano, and Kevin quite a bit. The idea of doing it seemed well out of my skill set at the time and even as I racked up more trail miles and ultra finishes, it intimidated me.
Cut to 2021. My crew started toying with idea of doing B.R.U.T.E.S., a series of 5 tough and long trails in the southeast that are major accomplishment on their own, but are extra difficult to do within 365 days. We went out in April to complete the Foothills Trail and thus, began the clock. When Aaron texted he was interested in doing a Georgia Loop shortly thereafter, I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to get back to it both mentally and physically.
However, I was feeling great after nearly a week of no running and then just some short and easy weeks following Foothills. My short workouts felt awesome. My easy runs felt really easy. So I bit the bullet and texted that I was in for the Georgia Loop.
Logistically, this is the easiest for us to plan as the trail is only an hour away and we'd run all of the sections before. I knew exactly what I was getting in for which in hindsight, can be both good and bad!
The original plan was to do the entire loop with Aaron, Jared, Kaleb, and Ben. David was planning on doing 17 miles with us to start. I was excited we'd have a lot of support and always appreciate the extra conversation and safety of more runners. Jared met me at my house and then we picked up David at 3:50 a.m. on Saturday morning to allow for enough time to get to the trail head and situate before a planned 5:00 a.m. start. Everything was rolling on time and aside from both David and Jared forgetting headlamps, we got to Woody Gap with 20 minutes to spare.
Unfortunately, Ben was dealing with food poisoning overnight on Friday and decided to not start. So our group of 6 was now 5. We took our starter pic at the sign, clicked start, and headed off on the Appalachian Trail counterclockwise from Woody Gap.
The weather was perfect at this time. Cool, but not cold and no wind. I was super comfortable in a tank and shorts once we started moving. Conversation was flowing easily amongst the group as we covered the early miles. I've run this section countless times and it's one of my favorites so I was in my happy place as we eased into sunrise.
Unfortunately, as we were coming off the descent of Preacher's Rock, barely 2 miles in, we all heard a pop and commotion when Jared rolled his ankle. It was enough that he had to stop for a few moments to collect himself. He continued on, but he was in visible pain from that point and eventually favoring his other foot.
Because Katherine graciously volunteered to come out and meet us at two places in the early miles, we continued on past Slaughter Creek around mile 7.6 without anyone needing to fill up water. Once we got to Wolfpen Gap around mile 10, she and the kids were waiting for us with water, sodas, Chick-fil-A biscuits, fruit, candy, and plenty of smiles. We needed to get David to the next point by 10:30 a.m. so they could head out for Fritz's soccer game, but we stayed long enough to enjoy this oasis in the woods.
In the next section, one of Kaleb's friend's Alfonso ran into us coming the other direction and hopped into our caravan. Our group grew to 6 again and this point and we tackled the early miles of the Duncan Ridge Trail all bunched together.
Once at Mulky, Katherine again had an amazing spread. In addition to everything at the prior stop, she also now had a container of bacon as well as some avocado wraps. Our pace was slow enough that I was happily eating without feeling nauseous and making sure that I was staying on my 30 minute timer. It is definitely something I stole from Katherine to have my watch beep every 30 minutes telling me to eat and has been incredibly helpful during the long efforts to stay on top of calories.
Kaleb was ready to drop at Mulky, but was talked into going on and making it to Highway 60. Partially because there really was not any room in the Sullivan's car, but partially because it was so early to call it a day. We got him to rally and make the decision to go on.
I loaded up my pack with hydration from the beginning, carrying 84 ounces/2.5 L almost every time we were at a water stop. I knew the heat of the day would creep up and the section after our last stop at Mulky was going to be waterless for 13 gnarly miles. I topped off and then we said our goodbyes to David and the rest of the Sullivan crew as we made our way to Highway 60.
Jared had taken off ahead and Aaron, Kaleb, and I trailed him in the next few miles. There had been a controlled burn in this section and that coupled with the buzzing of cicadas created a very eerie atmosphere in the otherwise quiet woods. Unfortunately, the controlled burn also meant that while we would have normally been shaded in this section, we were very exposed heading into the heat of the day.
Once I got to the road, I was feeling a little cooked from the sun and the effort. I took off my pack and laid next to a tree in the shade for a few minutes. A hiker who was doing the same loop in 5 days struck up conversation and we chatted while we both waited for our respective friends to emerge. I took some time to wash my face in creek and then get off my feet.
When Aaron and Jared came in, I was able to get into my drop bag and repack all my food and top off my hydration again. I downed a Coke and grabbed a chicken wrap that Aaron graciously offered. Kaleb arrived and then we figured out how to maneuver the cars because both Kaleb & Jared had decided to not continue. I was super bummed that we weren't going to have the additional camaraderie for the second part, but understood that it was the best choice for them.
About an hour after I arrived at the road (and subsequently timing out my watch), Aaron and I waved goodbye to our friends and continued onto the second section. I knew that the water stops in the second sections would be how I'd break up tackling it mentally. We had the Swinging Bridge at 32.5, Long Creek at 40, Justis Creek at 48.5, and then we'd be finished.
Aaron took the opportunity to fill up at Swinging Bridge and I did too since we were there.
The descents were getting harder and harder on me, but I was still in great spirits and excited that barring anything crazy, we were getting it done. Once we got to Long Creek, we filtered and filled up for the next long section to Justis Creek. I sat on a big rock and enjoyed a few minutes of being off my feet, drinking cool water, and having a snack. These little stops were reviving both of us each time and as we came away from the waterfall, our conversation would be revived for awhile.
As the sun started to set, we took another short break to pull out our head lamps and Aaron tried to text Taylor who was running in the opposite direction from Woody to bring us to the finish. We were within our projected window, but service had been spotty all day and with it getting darker, we wanted to make sure all was well. I was getting a bit tired of eating at this point, but very glad that I had options and was kind of forcing myself to just eat whatever sounded okay. I never got nauseous, just felt like I had irritated taste buds and a dry mouth.
Not too long before we needed to turn on our headlamps, just after we had 9 miles to go, Taylor and Katherine were a sight for sore eyes. I had no idea Katherine had intended on coming back to run and was so excited that we would both of them to run us in. Our party of 2 was definitely livelier as a party of 4 and while we were tired, they definitely rallied us to bring it home.
We made one more water stop at Justis Creek and then knew that comparatively, the rest of the miles were pretty easy to the finish. I knew there were still a few more climbs and there were some technical spots in the final mile, but we'd finish within our projected 17-19 hour timeframe. I was powerwalking as much as I could whenever possible as the pounding of running on my legs hurt more than running. Aaron, hearing that I was walking, put the hammer down in the last mile or so and I had to find that last gear to bring it home.
At the sign, we clicked off our watches, finishing in 18:15:14.
My legs and feet were beat up, but I was happy I stayed in a really good mood all day and that I had zero thoughts of stopping. Maybe the Foothills up my mental toughness, maybe it was just one of those randomly good days, or maybe I was just excited to check off this route from my bucket list. In any case, I feel really proud of this one based solely on how mentally good I felt.
