March 1-2, 2025 – Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, GA, USA (elevation: 3,166 ft and 4,784 ft)
Having improved my fitness by rucking over 100 miles per month in January and February, it was time to put my stronger body to the test in the mountains of North Georgia. This is my story.
Yonah Mountain
Acquaintances from Active Climbing Augusta tipped me off that this mountain (also known as Mt. Yonah) was a good spot for rock climbing. This particular Saturday, however, it was just a diagnostic hike to gauge how much stronger I had become from the previous 59 days of intense exercise.
I left home (just outside Augusta, GA) at about 9:30 am, reached the backlog of cars leading to the parking lot around 12:45 pm, hoofed a steep quarter mile uphill, and hit the trailhead at 1:00 pm on the nose.
For the first half mile or so, I was closely behind a group of younger, fitter gents who I took to be mountaineers. One mentioned to me that he was there for training. I caught bits of their conversation–from a gradually increasing distance–and heard foreign words like “Seattle” and “Denali.” (One then jokingly corrected his friend, “Don’t you mean McKinley?”)
The diversity of folks enjoying the mountain was striking: a couple of people with dogs; fit, silver-haired ladies; families with kids; a young guy in overalls who looked exceedingly Southern; a slim, teenage girl running up the trail; another dude running up the mountain with a physique that Iron Man would find intimidating… I was also struck by how slowly I progressed upwards and how often I needed to stop for breath. The ascent wasn’t a terrible strain on my muscles, but it sure was on my lungs.
On the way down my right ankle was sore. I felt winded enough on that short hike, it gave me second-thoughts about whether I should actually attempt Brasstown Bald the next day. Trekking poles would have been worthwhile, but I had forgotten them in the car. According to AllTrails, I completed the 4.3 mile, out & back hike with 1,489 feet of elevation gain (average time: 2 hours 42 minutes) over an actual 5.0 miles in 2 hours 26 minutes… but that’s an exaggeration. I wasn’t that fast. Based on the timestamps of photos on my phone, it was slightly under 3 hours. Under the hood, I wonder where the app starts keeping time if you tell it to start a hike from your car rather than the trailhead? It seems to have counted the extra mileage, but not the extra time.
Intermission
Before leaving home I had determined that there were campsites nearby, but I neglected to make a reservation. (I didn’t entirely trust myself to leave on time and then arrive within a particular window.) I tried at least three campsites between Yonah and Brasstown Bald, but all had their offices closed by the time I reached them. It would have been smarter to get a campsite in the morning before the hike.
Best Western (Blairsville, GA) became my makeshift camp site. It was at least twice the cost of camping, but the real bed and shower were nice.
Brasstown Bald
Since Brasstown Bald is the high point in the State of Georgia, I wanted the hike to be more than a casual walk up from the visitor’s center. Internet research yielded a couple substantial out-and-back routes to get there and I decided on the Arkaquah Trail. Getting there, however, was a nightmare since someone had placed a pin in Google Maps that kept leading my GPS to private property, so I was repeatedly turning around to avoid trespassing. So much for an early start!
Cell reception was spotty up there, but I eventually got AllTrails to load, which led my GPS to the right spot. The trailhead itself was across the street and slightly uphill from the (tiny) parking lot.
The hike began gently, but quickly got steep. For 1.5 miles it was brutal, just as other hikers on AllTrails had mentioned in their reviews. Arkaquah Trail’s saving grace was a series of level portions where weary travelers could regain their strength after completing a challenging section.
Pop Quiz. What are those brown pellets in the photo above?
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Bear Scat
- All of the above
Sorry, I don’t know, but I invite you to educate me. Please leave your answer in the comment section below!
Georgia had an unseasonably cold winter, with nighttime temperatures dipping into the 20s. The ground was frozen in places. One highlight of this hike were the icicles along several rock formations. Again, this is Georgia, the Deep South. Freezing temperatures are uncommon. The ground was also still frozen in places.
Overall, Yonah was harder per mile, because it was more like a staircase (high steps required) as opposed to Arkaquah Trail being more like a ramp.
The way back still had its ups and downs. My knees began to hurt almost immediately leaving the summit, but I still hustled in hopes of reaching the car before sundown. On this hike I did bring my trekking poles; they were utterly essential. Remember the steep mile and a half at the beginning of the hike? By the time I got there I was hobbling and struggled to trudge my way downhill. But I made it. In hindsight, stuffing a 10 lb. cast iron weight in my backpack for added challenge both days was overkill.
How’d I do? The AllTrails app lists the Arkaquah Trail as an 11.4 mile, out & back hike with 3,720 ft of elevation gain, that can be completed in an average time of 7 hours 12 minutes. The app tells me that I did it in 12.2 miles over the course of 8 hours 46 minutes. That’s a result I’m happy with: slow, but I’m still working on fitness. (I also took time for snack breaks–Spam & cheese sandwich, beef jerky, trail mix, gummy bears, and water–and wandered around the open air viewing area atop the building at the summit to take in the views.)
Lessons Learned
Yonah: It’s popular, get there early.
Camping: The is no shortage of campsites in the North Georgia mountains, but the offices close early.
Arkaquah: A small parking lot, but hardly anyone uses it. A brutal hike so trekking poles are critical.
AllTrails: Fantastic reference, but not entirely reliable due to poor signal, low battery, etc.