Day 11 [Georgia: Mile 75.6 - Mile 69.4] Blue Ridge Gap -> Dicks Creek Gap
Date: July 21, 2025 (Monday)
Total Distance: 6.2 miles on AT
the night before, when we finally got a chance to plan for the next day, we realized that our original plan on the next day to get to the Stecoah Gap to be picked up by our driver in the afternoon is not realistic. The Farout app showed a monstrous 8.3 miles ascend from NOC northbound to Cheoah Blad, and another 5.5 mile hike to Stecoah Gap. We would not have enough time to complete it, on top of exhausted bodies for last two days of record miles. So we decided to instead finish the only missing puzzle in Georgia.
So we immediately contacted our driver Frank to change our schedule, and he happily accepted. The next morning, we were picked up by him after breakfast at the hostel, then were dropped off at the Bearpen Gap to pick up our car. Afterwards, we drove to the foothill of the Blue Ridge Gap where we left off before. By the time we were ready to hike again, it was already around noon.
Mile 75.6 Blue Ridge Gap
We parked our car at the bottom of the hill, and climbed all the way up to the gap. The condition of the dirt road on the hill is really bad and not many drivers are willing to drive to the hill top.
I didn’t know what got into me that day, and we ended up hiking for about mile into the wrong direction. So wasted about an hour in total to come back to where we started.
Although it is not that far from where we were yesterday, the forest feels different. It is brighter, drier, bushes are lower, flowers are thinner, rhododendron are almost gone here.
Mile 74.6 As Knob
A viewless small summit.
Mile 73.9 Plumorchard Gap Shelte
The shelter is 0.2 mile west to the Plumorchard Gap. We do not see the shelter, but some nice tent sites near the trail.
Mile 71.2 Cowart Gap
I think we ran into a bear on the climb. In a place that I stumbled and made a big noise on the trail, a big animal about 30 yards away on the uphill was disturbed and ran further away into the bushes. I couldn’t tell what it really was by only a glimpse of a big brown butt. We didn’t linger to find out but hurried away.
Mile 70.5 Litle Blad Knob Campsite
Very nice and flat tent sites with thick pine needles on the ground.
Mile 69.8 Tentsite
Mile 69.4 Dicks Creek Gap/US-7
We were picked up by our driver Grace. She drove us back to where we parked at the foothill of Blue Ridge Gap. We concluded our 3-day hike and happily returned home to recover.
