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

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 always the possibility to see wildlife.  With the recent rains we've had, I expect the waterfalls should be flowing nicely.

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... especially Blood Mountain Cove.

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 through Blood Mountain Cove - this entire section will be along trails, although, ones that are unmarked, lightly used, and lesser known.  We will then go off-trail and follow Blood Mountain Creek for about a mile, visiting the little known, upper waterfall of Blood Mountain Creek.  We will then continue off-trail for about a half mile uphill until we hit the Freeman Trail, which skirts the south side of Blood Mountain.  We'll take the Freeman Trail to the AT at Flatrock Gap and from there will will head west (southbound) on the AT to summit the highest point in Georgia on the Appalachian Trail - Blood Mountain.  After taking in the spectacular views from atop Blood Mountain, we will continue along the AT to Turkey Stamp, where we will head off trail again.  After approximately a half mile, we'll hit another un-marked trail for a while, 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.

This hike is 15 miles, has a total ascent of about 3,700 ft, and has approximately 3.5 miles of off-trail hiking.  The pace of this hike is listed as "N/A" as it will vary in different sections.  It will probably vary from quick/brisk on any well maintained trails to somewhat slow on off-trail sections.  Although I have hiked this route before, due to the fact that parts of it are off-trail, there will always be some variation.  So, although we're not going to get lost or anything like that, there is always the possibility that we will have to vary the route slightly based on potential obstacles... so, you could still consider it exploratory "in nature."

This is a long tough hike with some very steep sections and a few miles of free-form (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're afraid of getting dirty, have a need to move every small branch out your path, don't like any scrambling, afraid of stickers snagging your clothes, terrified that you might find a tick, intimidated with going places where 5 million other people have NOT been, always prefer a well worn path to follow, then this hike is probably not your cup of tea.  This is all about fun, adventure, great sights, the sounds of nature, and avoiding the masses.

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

I am allowing up to 3 well behaved dogs on this hike.  However, the dogs must be able to complete the hike (it's tough) and they must be able to be trusted off leash during the off-trail portions as it is impossible to have a dog on a lease in these areas.  The TL has the right to refuse any dog if they believe they are not suited for this hike.