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Sat, Jan 16 2016 - Arkaquah Trail to Brasstown Bald plus Challenging Off-trail Extras (View Original Event Details)

Trip Leader(s): Jared S
Participants:Jared S, LIM Verona (Laura M), Mark P, Jon Duresky, Fardis, Jasmine, Emily


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Write Up:

It turned out to not be quite as cold as we were expecting. It was well into the 40s on the southern side of the mountain but it did cool down near the top and on the northern sides. After the stairmaster5000 climb that is the start of the Arkaquah Trail, it didn't take long until our first off-trail section. It took us less than 10 minutes to get to the top via a route that has probably been used in the past. Slight winter views from that high point. We scurried along to the parking lot where we had some lunch. Heading down the Wagon Train Trail for a bit, we branched off the trail and into the woods again. Again, the route was pretty easy going. Much easier than expected. Little Bald mountain also had winter views. We could even see the Brasstown tower through the trees. We returned back to the trail the way we came but instead of retracing our steps on the Wagon Train Trail, we decided it might be fun to try to bushwhack up the north side of Brasstown Bald! It started out fairly easy but the higher we climbed, the denser the rhododendron became. There were points where going forward was not an option without hand saws (we had none). Brody the dog had no trouble since he was so short and small. We got the distinct impression that he was getting bored with our slow progress. After a couple of small missteps, we eventually pushed through and busted our way out onto the small parking lot! If only it wasn't paved up there. Checking out the views from the tower, I think I noticed a few strange looks from the other visitors -- some of us were filthy. The way back to the cars was uneventful but we were all pretty worn out but having reached the top of Brasstown the hardest way possible was an accomplishment I think we were all proud of.