Blood Mountain Cove - Waterfalls, Streams, High Vistas, and More - Sat, May 5 2012

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Blood Mountain Cove - Waterfalls, Streams, High Vistas, and More


The Basics:
Event Type:Hike
Event Location: 15 miles north of Dahlonega   Hike: Blood Mountain Cove - Waterfalls, Streams, High Vistas, and More  National Weather Service Forecast
Date(s) & Time:Sat, May 5 2012  7:30 am >> Sat, May 5 2012 7:00 pm  (Carpool Departure: 7:30 am   *log in for location*)
Registration Opens: Mon, Apr 30 2012 9:38 pm
Registration Cut Off: Fri, May 4 2012 6:08 pm
Event Duration:Per itenerary
Difficulty Rating:D6: Advanced (Exploratory)
Distance:15 Miles
Trip Leader(s):
Mark
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Member Cost:None

Participant Info:
Who's Invited: Members Only, 21 And Older Only
Maximum Group Size:8
Minimum Group Size:2
Number Registered So Far: 8 / 0 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)
Are Dogs Permitted: Yes

Note: This is an "EXPLORATORY" trip. This means that there are parts of this trip, or perhaps the whole trip, that is new to your Trip Leader(s). However, they are confident that this will not be an issue.
This note is here so that you can make an informed decision. When a Trip Leader isn't personally familiar with a trip, there is an increased chance of things not going as planned and you need to be prepared. The Trip Leader may have additional details in the itinerary.

Itinerary:
This hike has a little of everything... There are 8-10 waterfalls along the route, a few open fields with wildflowers, clear mountain streams, lush coves, valleys, ridges, the highest point on the Georgia AT - Blood Mountain, and maybe more.

I wanted to visit Blood Mountain, but wanted a much more scenic, unique, an interesting way of getting there than the normal heavily used trails that are typical.  So even if you've visited Blood Mountain before, this will give you a whole new perspective of the area.


The general route will be to start off along Dicks Creek, travel up Crow Mtn creek, traverse a few saddles, cross a few streams, hike acoss a few scenic grassy fields, and then head up Blood Mountain Creek - this entire section will be along trails, although, ones that are unmarked, lightly used, and lesser known.  We will then continue up Blood Mountain Creek off-trail for about a mile, visiting a little known waterfall along the way, until we reach Freeman Trail.  We will then head east on Freeman Trail until we hit the AT at Flatrock Gap. From there will will head west/south on the AT to summit the highest point in Georgia on the Appalachian Trail - Blood Mountain.  After taking in the views from atop Blood Mountain, we will continue along the AT a short distance past Bird Gap to Turkey Stamp.  From there we will head off trail again for approximately a half mile, hit an un-marked trail for a bit, head off-trail for another half mile, see a few waterfalls along upper Dicks Creek, until we hit another trail. We will then take more un-named trails until we reach the lower section of Blood Mtn Creek.  From there we hike down Blood Mtn Creek visiting its middle and lower waterfalls until we reach Dicks Creek again.  From there, we will hike along Dicks Creek until we return to the vehicles.  We may make a stop somewhere in the last 1/3 of the hike to take a refreshing and cleansing dip in one of the Blood Mtn Creek pools.

I'm expecting the entire hike to be 15 miles and have a total ascent of 4,000 ft.  The pace of this hike is listed as "N/A" as it will vary in different sections.  It will probably vary from the quick side of moderate on any well maintained trails to somewhat slow on ones that are not not as well traveled or off-trail sections.  I have hiked about 85% of this route, but there are still parts that I have not done, so this is still listed as an exploratory hike.  This is a long tough hike with some very steep sections and a couple miles of free (off-trail) hiking.  So if you haven't completed some recent D5/D6 events I will be contacting you to see if this hike is suitable for you.


If you are into adventure, going to new places, seeing some things that are less common, you'll love this.  If you have to have an exact route and agenda then this event is probably not for you... this is all about fun, adventure, and exploration.

BE PREPARED - Please read/review ALL of the "Required Items to Bring" and "Recommended Items to Bring" sections!!


Required Items to Bring:
  • * A flexible mindset, good attitude, big smile, and sense of adventure
  • * Good hiking shoes/boots
  • * Lunch and enough snacks to maintain energy for 7+ hours of hiking.
  • * Plenty of water - 3 quarts minimum.  Seriously, it's a long tough hike and the temps will be warm.
  • * A change of clothes for afterwards is highly recommended; as well as a towel.
  • * A hand/foot towel and extra pair of socks is highly recommended in case yours get wet during a creek crossing.

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.
  • * Hiking poles if you are inclined to use those things
  • * A flexible attitude (yes, I'm saying it twice)
  • * Bug repellant - the ticks are bad this year and we will be off-trail a few times on this hike. (although almost every tick I've got so far this year has been ON a trail - so bring it)
  • * Sunscreen
  • * Long pants - the poison ivy is healthy this year.  I've been in areas where it's thick and areas where there is absolutely none - no idea what it's going to be like here.  I plan to wear shorts, but bring light weight pants to pull over in any areas where we are off trail.  If you have convertible pants/shorts you may want to wear them.
  • * Quick-dry shorts/top etc in case you want to refresh in a clear mountain pool.  May be nice to take a dip near the end of the hike.
  • * A pair of water shoes for creek crossings.  You may want to just bring a foot towel instead (that's what I'm doing) and remove your shoes/boots instead, as I believe we will only have two places that require this.

How to Get There:
Carpool to Event Distance (round trip):120Mile(s)
Carpool Departure Time: 7:30 am
Carpool Location:   Log in for location
Carpool Directions:   Log in for directions
Carpool Cost: Estimated cost per vehicle for this event is $48.00 using a reimbursement rate guideline of $0.400 per mile. The total amount should be divided by the number of people in the vehicle, including the driver. This is a guideline, not a rule, for drivers but the cost should not be higher unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Notes:
Dogs are allowed on the hike as long as they can be trusted off leash. This is because with the types of unmaintained trails (possibly no trails) we will be hiking it's impossible to keep a dog on a leash.  And your dog must be able to complete a hike of this nature.
* We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines while participating in AOC events.


Cancellation/Partial Attendance:   Please review the AOC cancellation policy.