GA Traverse by Thrifty Overland

Currently working on building maps and planning for the GA Traverse trip that we will be tackling this month, we are looking to head out on Dec. 29th and return home in the new year on Jan 1st. We will be taking 2 vehicles, 3 people, and 2 dogs.

2017 Tacoma DCSB OR 4x4 driven by Me, passengers are my wife and 2 dogs
-Stock vehicle

2004 4Runner Sport 4x4 driven by Nick
-3" Lift
-32" tires

We are using caltopo and maps provided by GA Overland to plan the route. The gpx files are being transferred to the tablet and saved offline for routing during the trip. We have hit trey mountain and trails in Helen/N GA several times but this will be our first trek from start to finish (or as far as we get). It is only a 4 day trip but will be the longest we have done to date as we are just getting started in our explorations. I will try to take a lot of pictures and write about our trip as we plan, execute, and return from the short 390 mile trek.

 

I believe part of the traverse takes you through the Three Forks area. Hit Hawk Mountain Rd, there is a nice obstacle at the top that you have to crawl up and then come back down.

 

Cant wait for the pics and the report. I've heard of the GA traverse but very limited information online about it and very few pics.

 

Not a lot of technical stuff involved. Mostly FS roads. If you take some off shoots you can find some really fun stuff.

 

Maybe you can post some pics when you get done

 

Well, I got the maps downloaded today. I am using gpx files along with the "My Trails" app, luckily the route has been tracked long before we were ready for this trip by Georgia Overland so all I had to do was figure out how to get the offline versions.

 

I am at an impasse, I have read many posts and a lot of people suggest a chainsaw when traveling the FS roads and trails in general but I also would like some of the $89 xbull traction boards off Amazon. Problem being, with Christmas and all I can only afford to get 1 or the other. Any votes for one or the other? Opinions? If I get a chainsaw I want to buy one and be done so I was looking at stihl. As mentioned before, I saw good reviews on the xbull traction mats so I was going to go with those off of amazon, $89, so a lot cheaper than a saw but not sure which to buy now and which to save for later.

 

You won't need the traction boards up there. Just air down. Chainsaw is a must. Every time I've been up there exploring the FS Roads I have needed to use my chainsaw.

 

I have been looking at chainsaws, going to go with a small stihl homeowner saw. Also, given the weather forecast we are prepping for some cold camping. This will test our planning abilities, gear, and willingness to camp at all ranges of temperatures given we do not camp in below freezing temps often (not that cold, I know for some of you out there but we are southerners here) We are excited to get the trip kicked off. Recently got a free 1 year subscription to Gaia Maps so that's what we will use to guide us and track our progress. Picked up a Jerry can for auxiliary fuel for the chainsaw and any other riders that may need a gallon or 2 (ethanol free of course).

 

Aright, we did the trip and it went pretty well even with the below freezing weather. Over 12/29-1/1 we were able to complete 161.53 tracked miles at an average speed of 16mph. Our max altitude was 3281ft according to Gaia. We learned a lot about navigating offline using Gaia and about our set up. We found some things we would like to adjust but overall it was successful and we hop to go back and complete the traverse on our next opportunity. On the way to the trailhead i was able to upgrade my camp stove, I picked up a Camp Chef Summit and love it. It worked very well with the cast iron cookware, we ate pretty well every day. I will work on getting all of the pictures uploaded from the various sources we used. Trail conditions were pretty good, a lot of downed trees but they had already been cleared before we got there. There was no rain so it was pretty dry besides ice run off. We didnt run into any real obstacles, the worse section was a side trail to a campsite that someone rutted out into a giant mud hole.

 

That bad section wouldn't have been off of charlies creek rd would it? If so, it's the only challenging part of charlies creek.

 

It was early on in the trip, near the GA/SC border. We were exploring primitive campsites and slid into some mud holes. Charlies creek wasnt too bad but we didnt go down all the trails there. We were mainly interested in getting through the traverse when we got near Helen. We ended up pulling of the traverse in Elijay before heading home on the 1st.

 

Glad to hear it went well! I will be doing in this late fall or winter once I find the right Taco for sale.

From what I see on the site, the Georgia traverse is 390 miles: http://www.georgiaoverland.com/the-georgia-traverse.html

Would you mind letting me know where you started and finished?

Thank you!

 

I will get my tracks off my tablet when I have a chance. Its a good trip, you will enjoy it.

 

Thank you!

 

Oh man. I know this was awhile ago... But any updates??

 

I did the first section to Helen a few weeks ago, was really nice! There are three roads closed, this forest service site will help you see which ones:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices/?aid=51714

I believe it is Tray Mtn, Dick's creek, and one other.

I will probably be trying to run the east side to Dalton this weekend if my schedule stays free.

 

AWESOME! I'm planning to make a trip after I get home from deployment. Right now I'm thinking Veterans Day weekend will be a good time...

 

Hit me up whenever you start your planning! Happy to share my Gaia tracks and whatever you end up needing!

 

BRO!!! Thanks man I appreciate that.