Cant decide on whether to go hiking this Saturday at Blood Mountain Ga or Standing Indian, in Tn.. been to the latter but not the former.. but I dont necessarily want to deal with the weekend ATL crowds.

If I decide to go to Standing Indian, I will probably start at Deep Gap and hike the AT to the top of the mountain and back for a shortish round trip. I did this once before a few years ago, but no pics..

Fort Mountain: May 23, 2009

My dad and I headed out to Fort Mountain, Georgia, a little over an hour's drive from the house in Hixson, Tennessee. My dad still claims he's never been here before, but I'm fairly certain we both went to Fort M. about 9-10 years ago. On the way there, we had to dodge a few drivers going 100-m/p/h on I-75-- the Chattanooga to Atlanta stretch easily one of the most dangerous stretches of Interstate I've ever been on. The idiots weaved in and out of traffic without using their blinkers, and tailgaited us in the fast lane while we were at least 10 mph over the speed limit. After that crazy bit, we exited the Interstate and took the Dalton bypass to Chatsworth, the last town before you get to Fort Mountain, reminiscent of a giant sleeping elephant at just under 2900 ft elevation.

A few showers threatened our hike, but when we got to the top, and paid our 5 dollar parking fee ( last time I hiked in a GA state park I recall paying 3 dollars; oh well, still a cheap way to spend a Saturday), there was only a light drizzle. I had only T-shirt and shorts on, having neglected to remember the 3-degree rule per 1000 ft in elevation gain. Usually Im better prepared, but this was only a spur of the moment hike and I knew we wouldnt be doing a very long hike. As it turned out, being so out of shape, I got warmed up quickly (it was a bit cool up there, probly high 60s with mist and wind) and set out to climb the rock steps leading up to the Stone Wall and Tower, leaving as usual my slow-going dad (and Rosie, our dog) behind.

Not sure if I properly identified them, but there were really annoying swarms of black flies on the mountain, pretty much the entire length of the trail, beginning at the parking lot and all the way to the Overlook, which looks west into the valley and north to the Cohuttas... As long as you kept moving at a fast clip they werent a problem, but whenever I stopped to take a breath or take a picture, clouds of them swarmed my face, but they didnt bite. They only attacked my head. Going by a couple internet searches, true Black Flies actually bite, but it's only the females that do so. So, not sure if they were mostly just the males or were an entirely different kind of non-biting, but incredibly annoying fly. I plan to do a lot of hiking this summer in Georgia, Tennesse and North Carolina, at varying elevations, so I can only hope not every hike will be dampered by these things.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the trip, which was all and all interesting and enjoyable, even with the fly problem: