Tales From the Trail - "Inspiration...I Think"

(Blood Mountain, Blairsville GA)

This is the second story of a series that I'll be posting entitled Tales From the Trail.  The stories themselves will be based on encounters that we had with people during our most recent vacation in the North Georgia Mountains.

 (Some of the rock outcroppings on Blood Mountain)

 (Here's Karen signing the log book at the shelter.  Just around the large rock to her left is where we had our picnic.)

(More rock)

Upon reaching the summit of Blood Mountain, my wife and I settled in for what has become a sort of extreme pursuit of ours, if you can really call anything we do extreme.  It's probably better worded as a picnic spot bucket list.  However I choose to articulate it, what I mean is that we looked for a prime picnic spot to replenish ourselves.  We needed a break.  Next to the stone shelter, we found a few rock outcroppings that served as the perfect spot.  Though our first choice was occupied by someone else, we were able to find a nice location a bit below them. It was a bit close, but not too close.  The time had now come for our traditional selfie and our PBJ rewards!

(Our selfie)

(Our view)

While reveling in both the vista and our sandwiches, we noticed two other hikers settle on a spot to our left, and guess what...they had PBJs too!  Not long after their arrival, we began to make trail talk. It didn't take long for us to realize that they had done many hikes before this one - I was sure that they were veterans of the trail.  It's encounters such as these where we find valuable tips and suggestions, friends are made, and stories are tucked away for a later day. This time was no different.  As our conversation continued, one of the men recommended that we plan to hike to the summit of Rabun Bald, Georgia's second highest peak (Brasstown Bald is the highest peak in Georgia).  Having previously marked that hike off of our currently unwritten bucket list of hikes, Karen and I both swelled a bit with confidence as we found that we too were able to relate our experiences at Rabun Bald.  The excitement in this man's voice was contagious as he bantered on.  But then, in a matter of fact way, while Karen and I both had a mouthful of wonderful PBJ goodness, he enthusiastically quipped "Yeah, that descent was so brutal that one of my toenails popped off!" And without hesitation he added, "Rabun Bald is a great hike!  I highly recommend it to anyone!" 

 Karen and I found those last few bites a bit more difficult to swallow, but we were able to choke them down and prepare for our own descent.  I will have to admit, however, I thought about my own toe nails way too much after that!

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