Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

Georgia 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).

In what has sadly become far too common of a story, police officers pulled over Black motorist Tyre Nichols for an alleged traffic violation, beat him heavily in a confrontation that turned violent, and Nichols subsequently died of his injuries.



Nichols, 29, was pulled over by Memphis, TN police on January 7 allegedly for reckless driving. I take care to say allegedly because in evidence that's come out since then, there's no evidence that Nichols was driving badly. That's also part of the sad pattern— police making questionable claims of wrongdoing as pretext to detain a Black or brown driver.

Nichols was beaten repeatedly by several officers in a confrontation that lasted for several minutes. He was prone and crying for mercy most of the time. He was taken to a hospital and died of his injuries 3 days later.

So far so sadly familiar. Then the story took an uncommon turn.

A week after Nichols's death, the Memphis police chief announced 5 officers who participated in the beating would be fired. Even that level of accountability is uncommon. So often officers are protected by their departments, put on paid administrative leave as internal investigations wind on for months, then returned to duty or hired by other jurisdictions.

But just getting fired wasn't all. Yesterday the Memphis district attorney announced the 5 former officers would be charged with 2nd degree murder.



Finally! Swift action by the authorities against bad cops! I thought. No more 'open season' on Black men!

Then I saw the picture of the 5 men charged with murder. They're all Black men, too.

That gave me pause for a moment. Does this mean this isn't part of the pattern of police violence? After a moment I decided no because the scourge of violence against Black men isn't limited to just some white people in positions of authority. The scourge is, more broadly, violent abuse of authority. The mentality, the training, and the groupthink that create that can infect police officers of all colors.

The photo of the 5 Black officers triggers another concern, though. Why are consequences so slow & unlikely to come when White officers are the alleged perpetrators, but swift & hard when they're 5 Black men?

Note, I am absolutely not saying these officers are innocent or even that they're being prosecuted inappropriately. There's a video being released this afternoon of their actions that's downright horrifying. The problem is how often such evidence is seemingly swept under the rug when the cops are White.