Bringing in the New Year: Wagon Train Trail via Brasstown Bald

The icicles (look behind our heads) lined the rocks the whole way up the trail.


On New Year's Day, we cooked up a fantastically delicious lunch of cubed steak with black-eyed peas, collards, and other fine Southern staples. 'They' say that every leafy green eaten on New Year's Day is a dollar earned in the new year, with every pea equating to one cent. We packed up our winter gear and headed north, blissfully hoping that each layer of clothing we wore would follow the old peas & greens New Year's superstition and bring something prosperous into 2016.




Wagon Train Trail spurs off the summit trail for the highest peak in Georgia, Brasstown Bald (elevation 4,784 feet). I wish we would have discovered this trail much sooner. All the times over the years that Gadget and I have walked the summit trail (and paid the $5/person entrance fee at the parking lot), we were fools for not checking out this section of the park. I feel an undeniably strong connection with this little spot in the woods, because the first time Gadget & I hiked it, I was dealing with losing my great-grandfather to a very brief fight with cancer. The peace and serenity of the woods overtook me then, and I was able to, in some way, make sense of his passing. I will always be reminded of my Papa Clint and his appreciation for nature when I return to the Wagon Train Trail.

Now, I should dote on how amazing the Bald is. The observation tower on the tip-top of the mountain can be reached by even those who are unable to walk the steep 0.6 mile paved trail to the top; so long as you visit within business hours, that is. The entrance fee covers a ride in a van to the observation deck on a separate road along the ridges. If you're in the Union County area, this attraction is one not to miss. And even if you're not in the mountains, this gem can be accessed anywhere, anytime via webcam.

Sunset view from the Brasstown Bald observation tower




1/6 mile up the paved summit trail, the Wagon Train Trail is well marked to the right. Unlike the summit trail, the path is dirt (or mud and ice, this time of year), more natural; also, this trail stoops in popularity beside the breathtaking Brasstown Bald, thus it's quieter. It's slightly longer, weighing in at roughly 3 miles if you don't finish the summit trail to the Bald, but it's easier on the knees, the view is equally exhilarating, and the trail, simply put, is more enjoyable. 



We didn't capture as many photos as usual because Gadget got a new gadget for Christmas, a Hero GoPro Action Cam, so a lot of our documenting has been through videos, which we'll be posting on the YouTubes as we perfect our filming craft. 


Beautiful sunny skies, and a cold 46 degrees... I was still way overpacked with my down coat in my backpack. 



See those birds up there?


Yet another wonderful hike on Wagon Train Trail; three miles for 2016 down, and forty-seven more to go! In 2015, we completed almost 30 trail miles, and we're upping the ante for 2016.  It is our intention to make some really amazing GoPro videos to accompany the blog, but it might be a little while before we can work out the technical difficulties we're facing with stitching video clips together. Until then, here's a teaser video of us approaching the vantage point on the trail that we uploaded to test the quality of YouTube videos. 
Get out and find your inner adventurer, folks! 
- Goose

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