Blood Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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- For the album, see Blood Mountain (album)
| Blood Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Elevation: | 4,458 feet (1,359 m) |
| Coordinates: | |
| Location: | Georgia, USA |
| Topo map: | USGS Neels Gap |
| Range: | Blue Ridge Mountains |
| First ascent: | unknown |
| Easiest route: | hike: Appalachian Trail, other trails |
Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail and the 6th-tallest mountain in Georgia, with an elevation of 4,458 feet (1,359 meters) [Note: Some references put the peak at 4,461 feet]. It is located in Union County and is within the boundaries of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Blood Mountain Wilderness. There are many waterfalls, hiking trails and other recreational areas in the vicinity.
Two Indian tribes called North Georgia home starting in the 1500s. By the late 1600s the Cherokee and Creek had begun to compete for the same resources and fought a battle on the mountain near Slaughter Gap. The Creek lost, ceding Blood Mountain to the Cherokee, who considered it a holy place. Archaeological evidence has been discovered that tends to back the story of the battle, but the date of the battle and its participants are still hotly disputed.
Some people believe that the name of the mountain comes from this bloody battle between the Cherokee and Creek Indians. Others believe that the name is based on the color of the lichen and rhododendron growing on the summit.
This peak has scenic views from the large rock formations that top the mountain. There is a hiker's shelter at the top of the mountain maintained by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, and at the bottom of the eastern side of the mountain is a hostel and store (at Neels Gap, where the Appalachian Trail intersects U.S. Highway 19/129) at the Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center. The summit shelter is a two-room stone shelter which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Walasi-Yi Center started out as log cabin constructed in the early 1900s by a logging company and was renovated and expanded by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933-34.
There is no water for hikers on top of Blood Mountain, and the shelter and surrounding area is often crowded with weekend hikers during the spring and fall, as well as hikers all summer. There have been numerous problems with people hiking to the top of Blood Mountain in the summer months without taking water and becoming dehydrated.
There is a short (2 mile) but steep (1,800 foot elevation gain) approach trail to the top of the mountain from a parking area to the immediate north of the Walasi-Yi Center. This hike affords spectacular views as one apporaches the summit but is fraught with switchbacks. Another approach is from the other side at Lake Winfield Scott via the Slaughter Creek Trail. This approach, which is easier to hike, has excellent campsites and abundant sources of treatable water.
[edit] In popular culture
The Georgia heavy metal band Mastodon released an album called Blood Mountain, although said album is a fantasy-themed concept album and is most likely not about the real-life Blood Mountain.
