Double Knob South

Via Wagon Train Trail, June 21, 2008

Elevation Start: 1,800'
Elevation at Double Knob, south summit: 4,040'
Elevation gain: 2,240'

Time Line
Start at red gate behind Rollins Hall at Young Harris College
To Wagon Train Trail (30mins)
Spring at the head of Darr Cove (59mins)
Crest of Double Knob Ridge (1hr 10mins) - this is where you begin bushwhacking.
Found USGS marker at 3,596' el (1hr 35mins)
Double Knobs, north summit (1hr 52mins)
Double Knobs, south summit (2hrs 4mins)
Back to Parking Area (3hrs 26mins)

This trip includes 54 minutes of blazing your own trail through underbrush. Most of Georgia's 4000' peaks are not directly accessible by trail, and involve a bit of bushwhacking. Some bushwhacking trips are more adventurous than others. This one wasn't too terrible other than when a lone hornet drilled into the back of my right calf as I was making my way back down to the trail.

As I pushed my way past laurel and rhododendron bushes, along with the occasional  brier patch, I made my way up towards the summit. There is no particular method I use in bushwhacking. The idea is to simply keep going in the direction of up until the highest point is reached. Hopefully a purchase of a hand held GPS in the near future will be of great help for trips like this.

I ascended the north summit from which I could plainly make out the higher south summit. I hate to sound like a broken record on some of these "peakbagging" trips, but the view from either peak is negligible. Both are completely covered with trees. In the near future I plan to do this trip in the winter when the views are completely different than the full foliage of June.

As you can see, coming down is a bit easier than going up, as it took only 1hr 22mins to return to the parking area. The best time to use this trail is when Young Harris College is not in session. With the students gone, there is abundant parking.

Brasstown Bald

Since it's been almost two months since I've posted anything, I figured I better get something on here. Not a whole lot of ridge walking going on as I have been bogged down with some painting projects, getting my garden areas underway, and a four day excursion to the Shenandoah Valley and Washington, D.C.

On April 11, 2010, I did get a chance to hike with the super dogs, Rocket (L) and Tobey (R), up the Wagon Train Trail from Young Harris College to the top of Brasstown Bald. It was about a 6-mile excursion, and not wanting to take the time to hike back down the way we came, I arranged for Jennifer to meet us in the parking lot for a ride back home. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

During the entire trek, that took about 4 hours, we passed one person on the trail. It was an interesting encounter. At around one mile from the parking area, around the bend came a fellow that was dressed head to toe in camouflage, including face paint. He was carrying what looked like a wooden bow with some arrows. Grinning like a jack-o-lantern, he commented, "Those are some nice dogs". I thanked him and kept heading up, in paranoid fashion waiting to hear the sound of an arrow slicing through the air just before it ripped into my back. Not this time, anyway. It was Turkey season, which if I had known this before, his presence wouldn't have seemed so odd.

I am going to try to share more of the informational aspects of my hikes as I post on here. As I'm hiking I like to make notes of interesting features or views and at what point they occur on the trail. I am a moderate to slow hiker, so feel free to use these as an informal guide depending on your own speed.

The following represents the time line of the hike:

9:15AM - Begin up gravel road at Young Harris College
9:32 - Large rock outcrop on the left.
9:43 - Reached the Wagon Train trail head.
10:17 - Spring branch at head of Darr Cove.
10:29 - Spine of Double Knob Ridge.
10:54 - Spring branch.
11:08 - Another spring branch (from here on to Buck Ridge, the trail frequently turned into a flowing branch. It has been a very wet year!)
11:38 - Spine of Buck Ridge.
11:55 - Great vista of the tower on Brasstown Bald (see photo at top).
12:20PM - Gap with a view to the East, overlooking Grass Branch Cove.
12:35 - Views to the NW.
12:49 - Gap with views of Chestnut Cove.
1:15 - Intersection with paved path that leads to the summit.
1:20 - Parking area.

The dogs and I laid down on a grassy area next to the parking lot, enjoyed some water and waited, while soaking up the sun, for our ride to arrive.

Our next trek will be up the Arkaquah Trail to the summit, again with a ride down. At some point later this summer, I hope to go up this trail and down the Wagon Train Trail in a one-day trip. It will be about 13 miles, and yes, I plan on being shuttled home after that one.