Cohutta Cat Bikepacking Adventure - Day 1

Everyone has that "friend."  You know, the one who makes questionable life choices and invites you along.  Lisa managed to rope me into riding the Cohutta Cat, a 290 mile bike packing route through the North Georgia and East Tennessee mountains. I said yes, as long as we could motel camp. This body needs a warm bed at night.

 Matthew Schweiker had taken over as "race director" from Daniel Jesse, the original creator.  For 2024, the route has changed some, taking out the Sylco Trails, which have been in severe disrepair, think 1,000 downed trees to climb over, and instead added some additional single track at the Ocoee Whitewater Center.  The route has also been changed a little to add more Aska trails and more flowy trail at Bull and Jake mountain.  So the course now has more single track and gravel, and less pavement.  Single track 20%, gravel 60%, and pavement 20%.

Wednesday October 17, the warmest morning at 37 degrees

Since neither of us could make the November 9 Grand Depart, we saw a good weather opportunity this past week and decided to give it a go. Lisa did the planning and decided we would start in Eton, as this would break up the ride into 3 manageable sections, with 2 nights staying at the Douglas Inn in Blue Ridge.  Since we could not find secure parking in Eton, we drove to Mulberry Gap, left our vehicles there and then pedaled the 7 miles to join the route in Eton. We started a little after 7:30 am, at daybreak.

Grand Depart is at MG, we started in Eton

We both rode our SuperCalibers.  I had a Revelate Designs Shrew seat bag and Mountain FeedBag. I wore a USWE Pace 14L vest, with a 50 ounce bladder.  For day 1, I started out with 2 bottles of LMNT and filled the bladder with 1 liter of Skratch High Carb. Ride food consisted of Snickers, PayDays, Honey Stinger waffles, Cliff Shot Bloks, Betty Lou's fruit bars, and a 500 calorie Amish made granola bar.

Once we hit Holly Creek Road, I knew it was gonna be a hard ride, as Lisa set off on a pace that had me struggling to stay in her draft.  Doing Chris Joice's (Dark Horse Productions) Scruffy Cat the Saturday before plus 2 long days at work had my legs barking right from the beginning.  When will I ever learn? 😆

The legs began to feel better on the climb up Mill Creek.  The Sumac Creek single track was in good shape, with only a few downed trees.  We motored along the relative flatness of Old Hwy 2 and stopped at the pit toilet at Ladd Springs Road.  The sun was out, but most of the route was still heavily shaded as the leaves were just beginning to turn.  I shed only my wind breaker, but still had on a wool base layer and arm/leg warmers.

Sumac Creek Trail

Turning right onto FS 221 was a pleasant surprise, as the forest service has been doing significant road bed improvements.  Smooth as glass all the way up to the Big Frog turn off!  

FS 221 - smooth as a baby's bottom

We stopped at Big Creek to filter water and then continued on to hit the trails at the Ocoee Whitewater Center. Kudos to Ocoee Trail Responders (Mike Johnson and many others) for clearing many many downed trees.  The trails were in great shape! We stopped at the Hardee's in Ducktown to refuel before hitting the remaining miles to Blue Ridge.  I had a hamburger patty, fries, and a Coke.  I think the last time I ate Hardee's was 20 years ago! I think Lisa is a regular, as she knew exactly what she wanted.

From there began a pleasant pedal over to Tumbling Lead, followed by the long arduous climb up to Watson's Gap.  The gravel started out pleasant, but once we began climbing, it became obnoxiously marbly.  And we were both carrying food babies. All I wanted to see was Dally Gap, but around every corner ... more climbing and no gap.  Finally, we were there.  We still had a few miles to go to Watson, but I was able to get back into the right mindset. 

FS 22-2

The smooth part of FS 22-2, Tumbling Lead area

FS 22-2, before it got rough

At the top of Watson Gap, we turned our lights on.  From here, it was about an hour of riding pavement, most downhill, to the Wal-Mart where we stocked up for Day 2.  We then pedaled a 1/2 mile to the Douglas Inn, showered, and then walked over to Wendy's, which was an adventure in of itself.  We had to scramble down a 100 yard steep embankment, walk over to the drive-through window, and pitifully beg to be served, as they had just closed the dining area ... it was 9:15 pm. Fortunately, the assistant manager was super nice, let us in, and took our order.  We then had to climb back up that embankment, which was the worst part of the whole day.  But man, did that square burger and fries taste so good, especially when I spiced it up with some gluten free bread and real cheese.

Dum Dum's at check in ... a little token PTSD!

After stuffing our bellies with a 1000+ calories, charging devices, and prepping for tomorrow, we finally turned the lights off around 11:30pm.

Distance: 109 miles

Elevation: 11,560 feet

Moving time: 11:57

Elapsed time:  12:58

... to be continued.