I rode very conservative up the first climb of the day to Broadway gap, and dropped down into the small town of Scaly Mountain where I turned off the highway. I was unsure about cutting through the town of Sky Valley, because there was a possibility that the road I planned to ride wouldn't connect through. I rode past the community center that was already quickly filling up for a pancake breakfast. The roads were nice, little traffic, most of it heading towards the pancakes. I soon turned down a gravel road and through a gate that indicated the road was for the town's utility easement. No sign saying I couldn't be there, so I bombed the really steep descent and soon popped out to Kelly Creek road. Next challenge was Darnell Creek. The climb on gravel to get to the trail was extremely steep but fairly smooth. The trail, which was on an old logging road, was pretty easy going for awhile. There were several fords of the creek. I just went ahead and got my feet wet here. Had to walk a bit here and there but I rode most of the trail. Eventually I emerged to the junction with the Bartam trail and a gravel road. I followed this nice gravel track down to Warwoman road. I passed a tiny gas station and then a skinny, bearded old man walking down the road and carrying a gas can, while smoking a cigarette. I turned down Sandy Ford road and began to feel a bit worried about the river crossing. Widespread rain had fallen last night, leaving the creeks I had already passed muddy and so I feared it would be too high to cross. I forded a small creek on the way to the river and when I arrived, there were two trucks parked but no one around, which made me glad no one would see me stumbling around awkwardly and trying not to fall in. The calm middle of the crossing looked deep but it was hard to tell because it was muddy. I ended up following a large rock that underlaid the river. It was mostly about knee deep but very uneven and required a lot of careful stepping to not fall over. The deepest point was about midway on my thigh and soon enough I was safely across. I followed a trail up to the empty parking area and continued on. I rode some quiet gravel miles to the next challenge, Earl's ford. I was less worried this one because it was further upstream. When I got there I found lots of cars in the parking lot, and at the crossing found lots of people in and around the river on the GA side. Two boys were standing in the middle of what looked to be the deepest spot, and only up to their waists. This helped me get across without worrying. The riverbed was small river rock which was much easier to cross than Sandy Ford. I got really confused when I arrived at the riverbank, which was littered with people, and trucks and camping paraphernalia. I almost wandered into a campsite looking for the road, and a helpful onlooker helped me by pointing me in the direction of the road. The road out was very eroded and full of big holes. Definitely required a fully equipped 4x4. No problem on a gravel bike though. Not long after I came to the Warwoman creek Ford, almost as wide as the river but not that deep. As I was crossing there was a large group of people attempting to set up a folding table in the middle of the river. Their Jeeps were parked upstream a bit in the middle of the creek. Ah Georgia. I was low on water and looking for a good place to refill. But this took several more miles till I ran across a small creek next to a cliff, on a climb. I had just ran out so it was good timing. I also got all the rocks out of my shoes and changed to a dry pair of socks I brought with me. I settled into a rhythm on the rolling gravel deep within Warwoman WMA. The sun had been out all morning and I was wondering if there would be rain later on as the chances were pretty high. Soon enough a dark cloud popped up and followed me for awhile. It would rain hard while I was climbing and then I would outrun it on the downhill. Eventually I turned into the direction of the storm and it rained on me for the better part of an hour as I rode up and down Hale Ridge road, dodging mini creeks running across the road. By the time I got to highway 28 it had stopped just in time for a lot of pavement climbing. I was pretty pooped by this point and kept trying to stay on top of my nutrition and hydration. I had already refilled my bottles a couple more times and was going through food like no tomorrow. Still I felt more tired than I should have. For sure it's a hard route but it was beating me down more than I thought. I climbed up the back way to Glen Falls on disused but passable singletrack and mostly rode it all except the few really steep bits. A few more agonizing steep climbs in Highlands and I emerged to the final descent and forded the Cullasaja for the 3rd and final ford. It was a very hard and wet ride but very satisfying. Honestly I enjoyed the rain too, much rather a rainy day than a really hot and dry one.