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Date Climbed
Conditions
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Georgia's County
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Georgia has 159 counties - second-most in all of the United States behind Texas' 254. Situated at the south end of the mighty Appalachians, Georgia boasts some of the finst hiking in the southeast. I had just a touch of it, visiting the state highpoint and two other county tops on a quickie 4-day whirlwind of the southeast.
Over Memorial Day Weekend of 2000, I made a trip to the Southeast and the Appalachians for a few days of highpointing. It all began with a long flight from Phoenix to Atlanta with a stopover in Las Vegas. It was a red-eye flight and I was lucky to get 3 seats to myself so I could stretch out somewhat and get some sleep. Finally, we landed in Atlanta. It was early in the morning and I was able to get my stuff and my rental car and get going before 7 a.m., local time. I then joined rush-hour traffic, barely awake. The number of accidents I caused were few, fortunately.
This was my first time in Atlanta - it's a very pretty city, I think. Nice skyline, including Turner Field, home of the Braves. I proceeded north out of Atlanta along Interstates-75 and 575, then some Georgia routes. The countryside became hillier as I proceeded into the southern extension of the Appalachian Mountains. Brasstown Bald is the Georgia highpoint at 4,783 feet, located in extreme northern bit of the state. It's easy to find since the signs all lead to a state park at the summit. By 10 am I arrived at the parking area in somewhat dense fog. The park was closed but the parking area and trail were still accessible. I walked a half-mile up a paved "nature walk" to the summit, with 450 feet of gain. In about 20 minutes I was at the top, where an observation tower and museum sits, but they were both closed. The fog was so dense I wouldn't have seen much anyway. State highpoint #27, check. As for county highpoints, this is the highpoint of Towns county, and also Union county if one bothers to walk a few feet west of the summit, since the county line zigs slightly that way. I walked over and made some educated guesses. Then, it was a quickie run-walk back down to my car and on over to...
Rabun Bald sits at the very extreme northeast corner of Georgia and is the second highest county highpoint in the state, and an honest-to-goodness hike instead of the paved stroll up Brasstown Bald, Georgia's highest point. I arrived at Rabun Bald about an hour after I'd visited Brasstown Bald. To get to the trailhead, I had to get to the town of Sky Valley, Georgia, which is an exclusive gated community and apparently is a popular ski area in these parts. Interestingly, the only way to get to Sky Valley via paved roads was to briefly pop into North Carolina and double back in Georgia, following the signs religiously. Once back inside Georgia, the main road is named Bald Mountain Road, which I followed for a couple miles to Kelsey Mountain Road on the right, and then a mile further to the end of the pavement. My thanks to the nice guard at the booth at the gated entrance to the town. Seems like they get lots of hikers.
The route begins at the dead-end; a small sign nailed to a tree points the way. Two routes start from here: a 4-wheel drive road on the right and a footpath on the left. They both meet again half-way into the hike. I chose the footpath as it was much less distance than the road. Sure, it was slightly steeper but at its steepest the trail is still pretty easy. It's an excellent maintained trail in dense trees. Ferns dominated the underbrush (and ivy, too). Locust-like bugs bounced around, making a click sound each time. Some bounced into my legs but they were not a problem.
At the point where the road and footpath meet, the footpath continues past some rocky obstacles to the steeper switchback portion of the hike. The trail is rockier in places, and the vegetation is so thick that it creates a canopy above; I felt like I was hiking in a tunnel sometimes! Finally, the switchbacks cease and the path makes its final approach to the summit. A large 20-foot tall lookout deck is on the summit, but I literally didn't see it until I was about 30 feet from it, that's how thick the trees and brush were. From the deck the views are outstanding in all directions. The rolling hills and peaks shoot off in every direction, all covered in a thick mantle of trees. Brasstown Bald is visible to the west (although I had clouds blocking the highest portions).
After about 20 minutes, I hiked down back to my car. The one way mileage to the top is just over a mile and gains about 1,100 feet. It took me a little over an hour for the entire hike, including my rest up top.
For the next few days I poked around up north, visiting the various states and county highpoints up in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Just before I was to fly home, I made one last visit to an easy county highpoint...
I was on the tail-end of a four-day hiking binge in the southern Appalachians, and I'd spent most of this day with Fred Lobdell, who is a highpointer based in North Carolina. Together we hit a pair in the Nantahala Wilderness of North Carolina and then popped into Tennessee for a drive up in Bradley county, before parting ways in Chattanooga. I was heading back to Atlanta for my flight home the next morning, and Fred suggested I could nab an easy highpoint very near the Atlanta airport in Clayton county. He loaned me his map. The highpoint is located near the intersection of Interstate-85 and Georgia-6 (Camp Creek Parkway), which is opposite the International Airport. This area used to be a housing development but the airport bought out the homeowners, razed the homes and left the area fallow. When I came upon it around 7:30 in the evening in the dusk, it was overgrown, with much trash strewn about. It did not look like a friendly place.
The highpoint is easy to find if one has a good topo map. It didn't take long for me to find the highpoint, but I did have to drive some extra roads to ensure the landmarks all added up correctly. The highpoint itself is (was) a simple grassy hill just a few feet off the road. A quick jog up and back took about a minute. Obviously there wasn't much to this one but it was easy, convenient and on my way, so I grabbed it while I could. From here it was a short drive to my hotel near the airport.
Update: The highpoint I visited is gone! It's been graded and developed, so far as I know. I have no idea where the 'new' Clayton county highpoint is.
And that was that - a fun few days in the Appalachians, bookended by some fun Georgia highpoints. I'd love to go back and get a hundred more, but for now I am happy with my meager harvest.
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(c) 2000, 2006 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience. |