Getting High in Georgia
Apr. 19th, 2025 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerGeorgia Travelog #20
Hiawassee - Saturday, 12 Apr 2025, 4:30pm
Most of the hikes we've been doing this trip involve waterfalls. While we love waterfalls, we're not one-note hikers. Peaks, ridges, canyons, etc. are all fun to see, too. When I was researching our two previous hikes today, the amazing double feature of Anna Ruby Falls and the inaptly named Horse Trough Falls, I saw on the map that Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, was nearby. How could we not bag the highest peak in the state while we're in the area?
Bagging Brasstown Bald doesn't even require a hike, per se. A public road leads to a visitors center 420' below the peak. From there one could hike the remaining elevation... or ride one of the park shuttles for $3. It was already late in the day when we arrived (after 4pm) and we still want to hike two more hikes, short ones, after this, so we opted for the shuttle.
Atop the mountain is another visitors center, a smaller one, with a rooftop deck that provides 360° views. The elevation here is 4,784' (1,458 m).
The view back down across the parking lot shows how much toil we saved by not hiking up. We considered hiking down but chose not to. We figured 1) the walk through the forest wouldn't be very pretty with most of the trees still brown from the winter— at this elevation the seasons are similar to Winnipeg, Canada— and 2) we've still got 2 more hikes we want to do, and daylight won't last forever!
I mentioned there are views in all directions from the top. This one (above) I found especially interesting because it's a view across 3 states. The near mountain ridge and the broad valley dotted with lakes are part of Georgia. The tall mountains in the mid-ground are in North Carolina. And the mountain in the far distance, appearing smoky gray, is Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Tennessee, at elev. 6,644' (2,025 m).
Hiawassee - Saturday, 12 Apr 2025, 4:30pm
Most of the hikes we've been doing this trip involve waterfalls. While we love waterfalls, we're not one-note hikers. Peaks, ridges, canyons, etc. are all fun to see, too. When I was researching our two previous hikes today, the amazing double feature of Anna Ruby Falls and the inaptly named Horse Trough Falls, I saw on the map that Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, was nearby. How could we not bag the highest peak in the state while we're in the area?
Bagging Brasstown Bald doesn't even require a hike, per se. A public road leads to a visitors center 420' below the peak. From there one could hike the remaining elevation... or ride one of the park shuttles for $3. It was already late in the day when we arrived (after 4pm) and we still want to hike two more hikes, short ones, after this, so we opted for the shuttle.
Atop the mountain is another visitors center, a smaller one, with a rooftop deck that provides 360° views. The elevation here is 4,784' (1,458 m).
The view back down across the parking lot shows how much toil we saved by not hiking up. We considered hiking down but chose not to. We figured 1) the walk through the forest wouldn't be very pretty with most of the trees still brown from the winter— at this elevation the seasons are similar to Winnipeg, Canada— and 2) we've still got 2 more hikes we want to do, and daylight won't last forever!
I mentioned there are views in all directions from the top. This one (above) I found especially interesting because it's a view across 3 states. The near mountain ridge and the broad valley dotted with lakes are part of Georgia. The tall mountains in the mid-ground are in North Carolina. And the mountain in the far distance, appearing smoky gray, is Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Tennessee, at elev. 6,644' (2,025 m).
