A Southern Thing
Last week, I boarded a plane to Georgia in hopes of defending my Assault on Kennesaw Mountain 5k title; however, it wasn't meant to be courtesy the Federal Government. The race is located at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. The park was the site of some of the heaviest fighting in the internecine Atlanta Campaign during the Civil War.
It's just an amazing place to race. As you're running up the mountain road at the break of dawn with the smell of autumn campfires burning, you can't help but think about the history. Especially with all of the Civil War cannons that still rest in the open fields that become blanketed with an eerie fog on early fall mornings.
To put some icing on the cake, any proceeds generated by the race get donated to the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation. The race is rescheduled for November 23rd, so if you're in the area go run. Register here.
Georgia is a state with a lot of American history, so missing out on Kennesaw Mountain only opened up the possibilities. In the end, I wound up attending the 44th Blairsville Sorghum Festival, photographing Atlanta's Historic Oakland Cemetery, and running 8 miles of Blood Mountain after camping at the summit the night before.
Blood Mountain is one of my favorite places to trail run on the Appalachian Trail in North Georgia. The Cherokee say it's the home of the Nunnehi, "The People Who Live Anywhere," or "The Immortals." -No wonder I love this mountain.-
The summit of Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, and it has a stone shelter built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Just like Kennesaw Mountain, Blood Mountain's summit provides the runner with views of history. It's the difference in the Northwest and the South. In the Northwest, the summit offers views of majesty, snow capped volcanoes, and the feeling that you're a little dot on a big planet. You feel alive because you're vulnerable and insignificant. The trails are the bleeding veins of geologically young mountains.
In the South, the summits of the 480 million year old Appalachians offer views of eroded mountain tops, breathing taking fall colors, and the feeling that you're connect to the history of everything you can see. You feel real because of the simplicity and the historical scars of the land. The trails are footpaths of folklore and the pathways to the birth of a nation.
Also, Blood Mountain has some of the most energetic sunsets:
