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Chapter 1

Northwest Georgia

From the towering cliffs and waterfalls of Cloudland Canyon to the curious boulders atop Pigeon Mountain, northwest Georgia includes some of the state’s most fascinating and dramatic natural features. Hikers will also find a great diversity of trips, from multiday backcountry treks deep within the Cohutta Wilderness to day trips strolling down wildlife interpretive trails. This region is also notable for a number of historic sites where those curious about state history can walk among a Cherokee settlement and traverse the rugged battlegrounds of the Civil War. From the lush ravine that hides the Chickamauga Creek Trail to the stirring memorials that dot the Chickamauga Battlefield, the trails in this region explore the natural and human history of Georgia.

Cohutta Wilderness

Quiet. Solitude. The middle of nowhere. These things become more elusive as civilization creeps up on Georgia’s green spaces. But the ridgebacks and river bottoms of the Cohutta Wilderness can carry you far away from the city rumble. Spanning 36,977 acres, the Cohutta is one of the largest wilderness areas in the Southeast. From 1915 to 1930, the Conasauga River Lumber Company extracted timber from about 70% of the area, but the U.S. Forest Service purchased most of the land between 1934 and 1935. The forest started its slow recovery, and then in 1975 the Cohutta became Georgia’s first designated wilderness area. With this high level of protection, the forest is preserved in as natural a state as possible, prohibiting timber harvesting, human-made structures, and the use of motorized vehicles on the trails. The Cohutta Wilderness has more than 92 miles of hiking trails, and the adjoining 8,082-acre Big Frog Wilderness has another 33 miles, making this one of the most massive tracts of contiguous forest in the eastern United States. The five overnight hikes and day hikes included in this chapter are a good sampling of the area’s diverse terrain.

Beyond the five trips described in this chapter in this wilderness area, you might consider consulting a map of the area and checking out several others: The 1.8-mile, moderate Chestnut Lead Trail descends to Conasauga River and intersects with the Conasauga River Trail. The 13.1-mile, moderate Conasauga River Trail begins at the southeastern edge of the Cohutta Wilderness at Betty Gap and follows the attractive Conasauga River to a parking area off of Forest Service Road 17-B in the northwest section of the wilderness. Easy-to-moderate Hickory Creek Trail, 8.6 miles, runs south from the western side of the wilderness near Forest Service Road 51 to cross the Conasauga River and end at its intersection with the Conasauga River Trail. The 3.4-mile, strenuous but popular Panther Creek Trail runs between the Conasauga River Trail and the East Cowpen Trail, passing the lengthy cascades of Panther Creek Falls. The 3.9-mile moderate Rice Camp Trail begins at the western side of the wilderness at Forest Service Road 51 and crosses several streams before rising to cross a ridge and drop to end at its intersection with the Jacks River Trail. The 3.4-mile Tearbritches Trail begins at the southwestern edge of the wilderness at Forest Service Road 68 with a strenuous climb over Bald Mountain, but becomes easier as it descends to its junction with the Conasauga River Trail.

Jacks River Trail (Trip 5)

Chickamauga Battlefield

Civil War historian Shelby Foote wrote that among Civil War battles, Chickamauga was “not only the greatest battle of the West, but would also be, for the numbers engaged, the bloodiest of the war.” The wounded and killed included an estimated 16,170 Union soldiers and 18,454 Confederate soldiers. Despite their losses, the Rebels prevailed, though this would be their final major victory in the war.

Union Army headquarters site at Chickamauga Battlefield (Trip 9)

This battle was part of the Union offensive in southern Tennessee and northwest Georgia to capture Chattanooga. As a railroad hub and important manufacturing center, Chattanooga was seen as a vital objective for the Federal forces.

In September 1863, the Union army of the Cumberland, led by Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans, moved toward Chattanooga, while the Confederate army of Tennessee, led by Gen. Braxton Bragg, set up on the bank of Chickamauga Creek and prepared to block the Union advance.

The battle began on September 19 and raged into the next day, with the Confederates and Union soldiers launching a series of attacks and counterattacks in dense forest that was occasionally broken by farm fields. It was a chaotic scene as the tangled woods limited the visibility of the fighting men, causing great confusion.

The Confederates made several unsuccessful attempts to break the Union lines. Then, on September 20, Rosecrans inadvertently created a gap in his line of men, and forces under Confederate Gen. James Longstreet took advantage by plowing through the hole and driving a large portion of the Union army out of the area. That evening, the entire Union army withdrew to positions near Chattanooga.

Benton MacKaye Trail

Named for the man who first proposed the construction of the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) stretches 300 miles from the top of Springer Mountain in Georgia to Davenport Gap on the northern fringe of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. MacKaye not only envisioned what is now the AT, but he also hoped that a series of side trails would link the AT to other green spaces along the route, including a path along the Blue Ridge in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The surge in backpacking in the 1970s increased traffic on the AT, and the U.S. Forest Service worked with trail clubs to construct a series of alternate trails that would be less developed and have no established campsites or shelters. Employees of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources pushed the idea forward, working with the U.S. Forest Service and trail clubs. Formed in 1980, the Benton MacKaye Trail Association began plotting the course for this new trail system, and by 1989 the 80 miles of the BMT that run through Georgia were completed. Work continued to construct the BMT’s northern course, and on July 16, 2005, the plan was completed and the entire trail was officially opened.

Hiking the Benton MacKaye Trail between Dyer and Watson Gaps (Trip 6)

For the purposes of this book, I have included selected hikes on the Georgia portion of the Benton MacKaye Trail. If you wish to explore it further, I encourage you to visit the Benton MacKaye Trail Association website at bmta.org. The association does an excellent job maintaining the trail through the work of volunteers, and it is a prime resource for detailed information. Another great resource is Tim Homan’s Hiking the Benton MacKaye Trail.