Summary
Distance: 11.67 miles
Elevation gain: 3,350 feet
Type: Out and Back
Trailhead: Gravel parking from paved road. (map)
Another day working on the GA 4000 Challenge, this time starting at Jacks Gap. We started by hiking south on Jacks Knob trail to the junction with the Appalachian Trail (AT). The two trails meet in Chattahoochee Gap. The headwaters of the Chattahoochee River are a short way down a side trail from the gap.
AllTrails.com map here.
We tackled Horsetrough Mountain first, heading south-bound on the AT. Our plan was to bushwhack up a spur near Cold Springs Gap at about 1.2 miles from Chattahoochee Gap. However, when we reached the spur, we saw nothing but thick vegetation, so we changed our plans and continued south-bound looking for an easier way to reach the summit. We ending up climbing a spur that looked less bad, but definitely not good. This was a rough bushwhack, and the summit was covered with blackberry canes making the summit difficult too. We fought our way through the blackberries attempting to find a definitive summit, and gave up after a little while trusting that our gps took us to the top.
We bushwhacked our way back down to the AT. We got off course a little and ended up reaching the AT at an 8 foot high dirt bank. The AT was following an old road here, and we had stumbled into a spot where the road cut into the mountain.
After sorting out a way down, we headed north on the AT to climb Spaniards Knob. After a quick snack break in Red Clay Gap, we started our bushwhack to the summit. Rhododendrons were thick as we started climbing, but it was possible to pick your way through them. We came to a small knoll, and descended into a saddle. It was a straight forward climb from the saddle to the summit of Spaniards Knob. Vegetation wasn’t that bad and we made our way up easily, well, perhaps as easily as we could given that it was a long day.
From Spaniards Knob, we just needed to backtrack to Jacks Gap and our car.
8 peaks down, 24 to go.
Steve's Outdoor Life 