Eagle Mountain and Bell Mountain - Autumn Colors - RESCHEDULED

Eagle Mountain is one of Georgia's 4,000 ft peak (#13 on the list), close to Hiawassee, with great southerly exposure that is virtually unexplored by most hikers. 

We will begin this hike after parking on Bell Gap Road (FS 829), depending how far we can drive down the road without four wheel drive vehicles. We may need to park about half way down, there's a space for 1-2 vehicles and walk to the trailhead. For this reason, there will be limited "meet at the trailhead" for this hike. We can meet locally at the Ingles in town to consolidate cars, if needed.

The iron gate is the "official" start of the hike, walking along the undrivable part of FS 829 as it continues past the gate. We will follow several old logging roads, with three major turns, and eventully the summit of Eagle Mountain, reaching it at 4.2 miles. The summit will have two different overlooks, one is much better than the other. The second overlook that looks to the south is where we will take a break and enjoy a liesurely lunch. From here, we will enjoy great views of Hiawassee, Lake Chatugue, Brasstown Bald and the AT on either side of Unicoi Gap (Blue Mountain, Rocky and Tray are in full view). 

After enjoying our views of what we hope will be full Autumn colors we will descend 4.2 miles back to the iron gate near Bell Gap. We will make an attempt another FS road plus a short bushwhack to the top of Bell Mountain to enjoy the 360 degree views of Eagle Mounatin and the entire area. 

Due to limited parking at the trailhead, Meet at Event will be the Ingles in Hiawassee.