Hike up Blood Mountain

Saturday October 27, 2012, my dad and I arrived at the Byron Herbert Reese Trailhead around 10 am in order to meet Bob Garbeilsen and his meetup.com group of hikers. We started our hike shortly after that, and wow what a hike. It was not easy, but it was not boring either. I thought it was ironic that we hiked Blood Mountain during the Halloween Season. Bob is a great hiking guide, he's outgoing, funny, and full of knowledge. He even told us a few ghost stories and a few of the legends as to how the mountain got it's name. One legend says it was from a battle that occured nearby, another says that the lichen turns a blood red in the fall. 

Once we hiked up the Reese trail we arrived at the Appalachian Trail and took a short hike backwards to an old Native American meeting place known as Council Rock. We then proceeded to continue our journey to the summit of Blood Mountain. The day was not as clear as last weekend so we were hoping that some of the clouds would begin to part a little bit. Ultimately they did some, but not as much as we were hoping. We were not able to see the Atlanta skyline from the summit. But we still had a marvelous view. One can understand why some of these mountains are known as the smokies when seeing them in the clouds. At the top one of the other members of the group, a kind-hearted Japanese woman was nice enough to let me have one of her extra sandwiches. Another woman was kind enough to let me have an extra bottle of water, for I had already finished my own bottle. 

The hike back down was another challenge in itself, half the time I had my head tilted down to make sure I did not trip over any rocks or roots. Bob told us that some people actually get a thrill out of running that trail. I frankly do not see how it can be done without breaking a bone in your foot. Bob had told us that Blood Mountain is the place where they have the 2nd highest number of Bigfoot sightings in the United States after the Pacific Northwest. The only plausible explanation I have to so many sightings is this, my old 8-12th grade classmate Blake must be living somewhere near the mountain. 

All in all I would rank the hike an A. It's a huge calorie burner and a magnificent view, especially with all the fall colors. The perfect way to end such a hike is with a campfire, hot cider, and cookies.