seems to me, to go through Cherokee will have you going a ways out of your way to the west. depending on what you are traveling in, I would seriously consider taking Hwy 27 as far north as Rome then 75 into Tennessee and cut east just south of Knoxville somewhere.
I took that route in reverse several years ago when there was a race in ATL the Sunday I was heading home. Traffic heading south out of ATL (on 75) is almost always crazy on Sunday afternoon for some reason and I try to avoid it if possible. 85 usually isn't so bad, but I figured I might as well take 27 into Columbus as it was a more relaxing drive.
