My boss has been trying to gather a group of us to hike Blood Mountain to the shelter at the top on the Appalachian Trail for a while now. He has done this hike several times already. There is always an issue trying to get everyone's schedule to sync up and to be honest, getting up before the crack of dawn on a Saturday just is not appealing to very many people. I am not a morning person and I love my sleep, luckily my love of hiking and morning light trumps my hatred of 5:30 am. So after much smack talking it ended up being myself, my boss and his brother-in-law. Mind you these guys are much taller than me and one of them is an avid hiker. I really did not have much fear of the trail going into this as I hike a lot. We met at Waffle House in Cumming at 6:30 for breakfast. It is not easy to eat that early in the morning and I did have a semi late night so I wasn't bringing my A game. I could only stomach some toast and bacon and some water. I feared coffee may send me to the bathroom while on the trail later and not have a spot to go (smart cookie I am).
We jumped into my bosses truck around 7ish and started driving toward Blairsville. It wasn't as cold as we thought it was going to be so I dressed lighter than I planned. I did get chilly in the truck (big guys never turn on the heat). Then we hit those windy mountain roads and I started feeling woozy. I get car sick every now and then but usually I can mind-over-matter and control it, especially when the scenery is so pretty. Not today. I had to lay down in the back seat in fear I would get sick. Finally we arrived at the Walasi-Yi center just before they opened at 8:30am but stopped anyway to hit the privy. I was greeted inside the bathroom by a very robust kitty.
We arrived at the parking lot at the trail head right at about 8:30. The lot is small and fills fast so if you want to do this hike you have to get here early.
I was told this was a gradual ascent...LIES!
This is the first of many clues that is wasn't going to be a typical hike. It doesn't look like much until you are on it.
Byron Reese trail is the trailhead at the parking lot that you take to connect to the Appalachian Trail (AT) to head to Blood Mountain's summit (turn right) and the shelter.
This is looking back at the AT which you could take to Walasi-Yi Center (Mountain Crossings outpost) if you turned left off the trail
Here you can see the crossroads a little better. If you were to go straight you would be on the Freeman Trail (we said we would come back and do that one another time)
Let me show you some of the places that showed me I am not in near as good as shape as I thought I was
though they had nice views that would have been blocked had it not been winter
And this is pretty much where I had to use a hiking pole the rest of the way up
They may look like steps but don't be fooled. You are climbing from this point up and your heart is pounding if you are trying to keep up with your smack talking boss and his giant brother-in-law. (He is very tall so he naturally has a longer stride)
It was quite foggy which gave an air of mystique to our journey
You can see you really need to wear proper shoes as some parts are quite slick and steep but the views! So worth it
Wasn't lying about the climbing either
Nearing the top there were many magnificent boulders
And this is about where the view was at its peak for us before we were in the clouds
As we got to the top visibility was pretty much at zero. But honestly it was kinda cool to see the fog blowing in and out of our path
We made it! Took about an hour and a half to get here
Now to climb up to the second highest peak in Georgia
I am looking forward to coming back in the spring to actually SEE the view from the top and to see how much my stamina has improved by then.
Morbid side hike to the spot where Meredith Emerson was abducted and held for hours before she was moved
If you don't know the story you can read about it here
We know for sure this was the spot because on a prior hike my boss ran into her fiance on the trail as he was laying yellow roses on the trail on the anniversary of her abduction. He was told first hand the grisly details of what had happened. It was surreal to stand in the spot where her life and the lives of her loved ones changed forever. It was not that far off this popular trail. It is so hard to believe she was so close for so long and no one heard or saw anything.
If those shoes could talk...what a story to be told
Lots of well loved hiking boots adorned the inside and outside of this outfitter that ran along the AT. We stopped in to check it out, say hello to the kitties again, buy a book I have been hunting for (Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival)
I had more than burned off my bacon breakfast and luckily every one else was pretty hungry too.
Our journey ends with lunch at JR's Roadkill BBQ
It is everything you think it is and more! I couldn't think of a better way to end the trip and JR makes a mean Brunswick stew