You may be more comfortable running 60 over to Dayton and down US27 to Corridor J/111 across the mountain to Dunlap and straight on up to Fall Creek Falls.
I used to run Corridor J in order to get into Hixon and then back home. Much faster than I24 and a fairly decent road.
For roads I'm unfamiliar with, I like to open up Google maps and drop the little "dude" onto the road and "drive" it to get a better look at the roads and intersections.
If you are accustomed to driving the roads around Ellijay, then you should have no problem with Corridor J/111. It's like US 76 west of Ellijay
