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Date Climbed
Conditions
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Georgia's County
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My highpointing in Georgia has been limited to a single trip I made to the Southeast back in 2000 over Memorial Day weekend. I flew into Atlanta and was able to hit a couple peaks in the state before exiting into North Carolina and points northward. On my last day, I ended my travels with a quickie county highpoint not far from the airport.
Georgia is a beautiful state, situated at the south end of the Appalachians with some gorgeous mountain and hill-country scenery. There are 159 counties crammed into the state's boundaries, the second-most in the country. As a result, they tend to be small in area with many opportunities. I see myself coming back with my RV in about 15 years.
My flight to Atlanta was a red-eye from Phoenix via Las Vegas, but I had three seats to myself so I was able to sleep, sort of. We landed early and I got my rental car, joining Atlanta morning rush-hour traffic. What little I saw of the city looked nice.
I made a beeline out of the city, following Interstates 75 and 575, and some local state routes, getting myself close to Brasstown Bald, the Georgia state highpoint. Plenty of signs point the way and I had no trouble finding the visitor's parking area below the summit. It was still early and no one was here. It was slightly foggy and very humid, but the temperatures were pleasant.
I grabbed a water and my camera, and started the short hike up the paved walking route and some up dirt paths. The walk covered a half-mile and 450 feet of gain to the top. A large building is smack on the summit, but it was closed. I walked the perimeter and tagged any natural high rocks I could find. The fog was pretty thick up here.
The highpoint for nearby Union County is nearby, a few dozen feet below the top, which is inside Towns County. Going by the map and landmarks, I walked the area for about 10 minutes to convince myselkf I had visited this "highpoint" as well. Then I hiked back to my car. At this time there were a few more people here, but I was done, and on my way to nearby Rabun Bald.
Rabun Bald sits at the very extreme northeast corner of Georgia and is the second highest county highpoint in the state. 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 carefully. 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 farther 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 where 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. 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). I enjoyed this hike very much.
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 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.
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(c) 2000, 2011 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. |