Blood Mountain, at 4,458ft, is the highest peak on the Georgia Appalachian trail (but not the highest peak in Georgia or on the trail). It is also the high point of the Apalachicola River watershed via the Chattahoochee River and on the border of Lumpkin County and Union County. The name of the mountain is thought to have either originated from a bloody battle between Cherokee and Muscogee Native Americans or from the reddish color of the lichen near the summit.
The Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains make up the southernmost part of the Appalachian mountain range and includes Blood Mountain. It is a part of the geologic system that extends from the Blue Ridge province of Virginia. The mountains were formed over 500 million years ago. A collision between the North American and African plates 300 million years ago caused massive plates of rock to pile up. However since then, erosion has withered away the Georgia mountains.
This portion of the Appalachian Trail is the most heavily used portion of the AT in Georgia. There is a rock shelter at the peak which is a two room stone cabin built by the CCC in 1934. On the bottom eastern side there is a hostel and store at Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center. Walasi-Yi was originally a logging company’s log cabin and was expanded by the CC into a larger stone building. It is the only place where the AT passes through a man-made structure.
The Blood Mountain Wilderness contains 7,800 acres and was dedicated in 1991. It is within the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Chestatee Wildlife Management Area. It consists of mostly second-growth upland and cove hardwoods and the forest is around 60-years-old. Notable wildlife includes deer, grouse, wild turkeys, squirrels, black bears and racoons. There is a lot of hunting and trout fishing within it as well as old logging roads.
Bibliography
Seabrook, C. 2006. Blue Ridge Mountains. Retrieved from https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/blue-ridge-mountains/
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.n-georgia.com/blood-mountain-wilderness.html
Blood Mountain. (2021, October 05). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Mountain