Gahuti Trail on Fort Mountain (Murray County, Georgia)

 

Fort Mountain State Park sets in the northern part of Georgia and is named for an ancient stone fortification near the summit. I've visited the stone wall previously, but didn't really get to do too much hiking here last time. When one of the local meetup groups planned to hike the park's longest trail, the Gahuti Trail, I thought it would be a great opportunity to see more of the park.

Arriving at Cool Springs Overlook, it seems I'm the first to arrive and take the opportunity to walk out to a constructed wooden overlook offering a magnificent view of the rolling green foothills at the southern end of Appalachia. A short time later, other members of the group begin arriving and we start chatting and getting to know one another. The group leader posts that he is running late, and while we wait, the small parking lot quickly fills to capacity. The last couple hikers to arrive are forced to park at a different lot a short distance away. It's only a slight delay and we quickly regroup and head off into the woods.

It's going to be a hot one and so, I've brought 3 liters of water for myself, which is quite a bit more than I would have carried out west, but I seem to require more here in the southeast, likely do the intense amount of sweating the humidity forces my body to do. I also chose to wear long pants today. I don't want to risk another bout with poison ivy.

The first part of the trail is well maintained and we seem to be keeping a pretty good pace. Essentially making a loop around the mountain, near the summit, the trail is supposed to be about 8.2 miles long. However, this group is prone to taking some detours, which I actually appreciate. I love exploring out of the way places. Though the trail is pretty easy, there is a quite a lot of up and down as we wind our way through the woods.

Everything is so green and lush here, and with the humidity, I wonder if it is anything like the tropical rain forests. At one point, we pass along a hillside covered with the greenest ferns I think I've ever seen. It's quite pretty.

Before too long, we arrive at the first of two small waterfalls. As the rains have been coming less frequently, there isn't a lot of water flowing over the eight or so foot drop, but it's still nice to see a small trickle. The second waterfall, just a half-mile further or so, is a bit larger and more active. We take this opportunity to stop for lunch near the cool, flowing creek water.

After a few minutes of rest, we pick up and get back to the business at hand. At one point, as we cross another creek some of our group members spot a black bear. As our paces have varied a bit and the group has stretched out, those at the front and rear seem to have missed the bear, while those in the middle grouping all commented about him. Apparently, he was not impressed with their attempts to scare him away and stood his ground as they yelled at him. I'm sorry to have missed my first chance to see a black bear in this part of the country, but I'm confident it won't be my last.

As we make our way up the final uphill section to the overlook I visited upon first arriving at the trailhead, we start to say our goodbyes and make our way to our respective cars. This was a pretty good hike. A nice workout on a hot summer day, but worth the effort. Total distance was just over 11.3 miles.