Sunday April 19 - Thursday April 23
We leave Huntsville in the rain and 240 miles later we arrive in Hiawassee, Georgia in a waterfall of rain. Unbelievable just how HARD and LONG it rains in the South!! Windshield wipers are not up to the task and I am constantly fighting to keep the truck and trailer from hydroplaning on the highway. We set-up the 5th wheel in a rain storm sloshing through 6 inches of flowing water.
Spend most of the day hibernating as us SMART desert people normally do when it is 51 degrees and raining. Rain finally let up in late afternoon and with a bad case of cabin fever I take a drive up to BRASSTOWN BALD which is the highest point in Georgia at 4,784 ft. You can drive almost to the top and hike the final 1/2 mile. Typical Southern hazy mountain views even though the wind is blowing 30 MPH. Left picture is of our campground and Hiawassee in valley below.
Tuesday April 21 - JACKY JONES CHEVROLET / GMC, Murphy, North Carolina
This is the first sunny beautiful day in 12 DAYS since Pensacola, Florida and we are both excited to go hiking in beautiful SUNSHINE. Start the truck and get a "check engine" warning light, wouldn't you just know that would happen. Drive 45 miles to the nearest Chevy dealer in North Carolina and spend the day having the def exhaust fluid container and sensors replaced. BUMMER!!!
Wednesday April 22 - AMICALOLA FALLS STATE PARK, Georgia
Beautiful drive over rolling hills of trees in full spring bloom and valleys of lush green farmlands with creeks and rivers flowing bank to bank to AMICALOLA STATE PARK which is the starting point of the APPALACHIAN TRAIL. Hike the one mile trail to Amicalola Falls which is more stair climbing than hiking. 175 stairs to bottom of the falls and a heart thumping 425 steps to top of the falls. We did manage to discover a steep trail leading back down to avoid the stairs much to the delight of my knees.
Thursday April 23 - APPALACHIAN TRAIL / HIGH SHOALS FALLS , Georgia
Hike a 3 mile section of the Appalachian Trail from Unicoi Gap (Hwy. 17) over STEEP Rock Mountain and back down to Indian Grave Gap. Could not find any reasons for the name so I returned over the steep pass I had just climbed.
After the exhilarating (54 deg. when I got back to the truck at 3:00 pm) Appalachian Trail hike I take a side trip over to High Shoals Falls. Nice 4 Wheeling into the trailhead and easy 1.2 mile hike down to the cascading falls. Little warmer here as it was 56 deg. when I finished the hike!
