Georgia Natural Wonder #68 - Rabun Bald. 820

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #68 - Rabun Bald

OK I am going to stay on a mountain theme for my next few Georgia Natural Wonders as we continue to assent to the pinnacle of College Football. I am exploring the top 10 peaks in Georgia. We already did Brasstown Bald as Georgia Natural Wonder #20. Probably way overdue we finally come to the 2nd highest mountain in Georgia.



Now I have never done this hike but I will one day go. All the descriptions and photo’s are from the Net.


View from top, not a pure wilderness view.

Rabun Bald, with an elevation of 4,696 feet, is the second-highest peak in the U.S. state of Georgia; only Brasstown Bald 4,784 feet is higher. It is immediately southeast of Sky Valley, Georgia, and is the tallest mountain in the county. An observation tower on the summit provides hikers with views that, on clear days, extend for more than 100 miles. Surrounded on all sides by the vacation homes of the well heeled, Rabun Bald truly is an oasis for the eyes.


Now this is a more wilderness view looking toward Rabun gap.

The hike to the top of Rabun Bald is 5.8 miles round trip via the Rabun Bald Trail. The Rabun Bald Trail connects with the Bartram Trail system, which passes over the top as it winds through northeast Georgia for 37 miles. OK the descriptions and mileage on this hike is all over the place. Do your own research for details as I have never been here.


#2 highest peak in Georgia.

According to Native American legend, Rabun Bald is inhabited by fire-breathing demon people: some campers still report hearing strange sounds throughout the night. Something about wanting to Rock and Roll all Night.


Dang it, now I will always associate this mountain with KISS.

Rabun Bald was the site of the first fire tower in the area, which was constructed by Roscoe Conklin "Nick" Nicholson, the first forest ranger in Georgia. The fire tower was operated by the United States Forest Service until the early 1970s.


Fire Tower then.


Ranger Nicholson by a tree.

After the fire tower was taken out of service, a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew dismantled the tower's uppermost component, a metal-framed enclosure with glass windows that sat atop a stone base. Leaving the stone base intact, the YCC crew replaced the metal "cabin" with a railed wooden observation platform. A quick climb up the stairway to the observation tower opens a 360 º panorama of rolling mountains.



Particularly at the height of the fall colors, we can imagine this would be simply breathtaking! The tower platform is conveniently lined with benches so you can take photos, eat your lunch, or simply relax and drink in the views.



Birds of prey circle in thermal uplifts in the seemingly endless valleys below. The rolling southern Appalachian Mountains, weathered by time, surround the summit, creating an endless panoramic view that’s stunning no matter where you turn.



This hike on the Bartram Trail to Rabun Bald offers a generous dose of serenity and a gorgeous dose of natural beauty from a soaring summit, the second highest in Georgia.



Georgia’s loftiest peak, Brasstown Bald, offers equally stunning, see-forever views. But unlike Rabun Bald, there’s a paved access to Brasstown’s summit. While Rabun Bald is often quiet and serene, visitors often crowd Brasstown Bald by the literal busload. While access to Rabun Bald requires a bit more effort, the payoff seems so much sweeter, and the views just a bit better given the workout to reach the summit.



This day hike is the easiest, and shortest-distance, access to the Rabun mountaintop. The hike follows the Bartram Trail, a long-distance trail that treks some of northeast Georgia’s most beautiful landscapes before entering North Carolina north of Rabun Bald. The trail follows the route William Bartram, a writer and naturalist, journeyed in the late 1700s, including a particularly beautiful stretch of the Bartram Trail on the wild and scenic Chattooga River just south of Rabun Bald.



Bartram Trail to Rabun Bald: the hike

Rabun Bald via Bartram Trail is a 4 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Dillard, Georgia that features a waterfall and is rated as difficult. Most documentation on the trail lists it as 4 miles round trip, and it certainly feels about that distance. However, the sign at the beginning of the trailhead reads 1.6 miles up, which cuts the overall distance by 8/10ths of a mile. There is a total elevation gain of 2,383 feet. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.



Rabun Bald's main ridgeline, which is indicated by the Bartram Trail on the map, is the Eastern Continental Divide, dividing waters draining northward into the Tennessee/Mississippi Gulf system from those draining southward to the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Rabun Bald's streams are located on the mountain's southeast flank and drain via Warwoman Creek to the Chattooga River, then to the Savannah River, and finally to the Atlantic.



Addie Branch Falls is tall, low-flow waterfall is located on the east slopes of Rabun Bald in the headwaters of Addie Branch. Best seen during wet weather. This waterfall is accessed by a tough bushwhack off the Rabun Bald Trail from Hale Ridge Road (FS 7).





Waterfall Location: 34.967481, -83.294105


This waterfall is even more of an adventure in the winter.

The Rabun Bald area rates among Georgia's leading botanical sites; spring wildflowers are exceptional. Near the summit is a zone of dwarf oak heath (mainly scarlet oak and purple rhododendron). Look for the striking red berries of mountain ash. In some places there is a thick ground cover of blueberries. Together with the Chattooga River to the southeast and the Cowee Mountains to the north, the region is a prime habitat for deer, black bear, wild boar, and, reportedly, even mountain lion.



There are plenty of places to stop and bird along the way. There are rarely other people here, which adds to the beauty of this short hike. Nearby are spots to search for both Least and Willow Flycatchers. Key birds: Common Raven, Canada and Black-throated Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ruffed Grouse.


Warbler - Tanager - Veery - Grosbeak. The Tanager and Grosbeak have the right school colors.

Directions: Take US 441 north from Clayton for 1 mile past Dillard; turn right onto GA 246 toward Highlands, NC; continue on GA 246 and NC 106 for 7 miles; turn right onto Hale Ridge Road (FS 7), which is beside the Scaly Post Office; go 2.1 miles and take the right fork (FS 7 goes left); go 1.3 miles and take a left fork on a steep dirt road toward Beegum Gap; after 1.6 miles, park and walk 2 miles to Rabun Bald. The directions are a bit confusing since Bald Mountain Road is not marked at the turn off. Rather it is shown as Hale Ridge Road. This meets Bald Mountain Road at the Y intersection noted and turns to dirt after the left turn. Kelsey Mountain Rd. trailhead is reached by traveling along Bald Mountain Rd. about 1.2 miles and turning left to the end. From Beegum Gap the trail is easy to follow. It follows a woods road uphill and joins the Bartrum trail entering from the left. then, just follow the yellow diamonds.



The trailhead for our hike starts at the dead end of Kelsey Mountain Trail or Beegum Gap. The hike departs a quiet, upscale Sky Valley neighborhood near the end of a gravel road (and please be sure not to block any driveways or the gravel road). My Sherpa Guide says that the road is gravel, but it has clearly been paved since the books printing. The trail isn't well marked so keep an eye out for the blazes you see. The path immediately starts to incline and doesn't stop. The hike veers left to follow a green-blazed trail, an access trail to the nearby Bartram Trail. (A gravel road veers to the right; take the path to the left.) The trail immediately climbs elevation, ascending Rabun Bald’s lower elevations through a forest dense with rhododendron and mountain laurel.



Tangent Bartram Trail

The Bartram Trail follows the approximate route of 18th-century naturalist William Bartram. His southern journey from March 1773 to January 1777. Bartram explored much of the territory which is now the states of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.



The most established section is a hiking trail that winds about 115 miles from the North Georgia mountains into North Carolina. It has been designated as a National Recreation Trail in Georgia and in North Carolina.



The Bartram Trail Conference, Inc., was founded in 1976 to identify and mark the route of Bartram’s southern explorations and to promote interest in developing recreational trails and botanical gardens along the route. The BTC also encourages the study, preservation and interpretation of the William Bartram heritage at both cultural and natural sites in Trail states.



The North Carolina Bartram Trail Society was organized in 1977. The Society reached an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to mark the general trail corridor within the Nantahala National Forest, and to blaze and build the trail, which was completed. They conduct meetings in the Spring and Fall each year, and organize trail work hikes.

Back To The Hike

The access trail reaches the Bartram Trail at just under .2 mile. The hike turns right, trailing the yellow-blazed Bartram Trail southbound toward the Rabun Bald summit.



The trail gains elevation unrelentingly; however, the difficulty is moderate, thanks to a series of sharp trail switchbacks that conquer the height slowly.



Note the northern hardwood cove, boulderfield, and wildflower area.



The Bartram Trail meanders through a rocky landscape dominated by gnarly, blue-green leafed rhododendron that cast a lattice of shadows on the trail’s path.



In springtime, ferns unfurl and wildflowers dot the trail’s sides, framed by large rock outcrops covered in green moss and silvery lichen.



The Bartram Trail reaches a campsite in a wide clearing at .8 mile. It is a decent spot.



Glassy mica speckles the trail’s sandy surface, glimmering in rays of the sun. The hike turns left, following the yellow-blazed Bartram Trail southbound in a switchback-saturated final ascent toward Rabun Bald.



The trail crosses a large slab of cemented rock, and passes a large outcrop at 1 mile.



Meandering through the last few switchbacks before beginning the final, straight-shot trek to the summit.



The Bartram Trail summits Rabun Bald at 1.5 miles, passing a small campsite. The fire pits at the summit are perfect for an overnight stay. An observation platform caps the mountain’s rocky, bald summit, and the platform is accessible by steep-pitched wooden stairs. The tower’s foundation is historic: it was the first fire tower in the area, and was more recently converted to a wood viewing platform above the original tower’s stone base.



Outstanding views surround the Rabun Bald summit, offering hikers a 360-degree panorama anywhere they turn. Rabun Bald’s lofty peak sits on the Eastern Continental Divide, offering sweeping, long-range views of the surrounding North Carolina and Georgia wilderness. Georgia’s Black Rock Mountain is visible to the southwest.



To the northwest, the North Carolina summits of Standing Indian Mountain, Pickens Nose, and the firetower-capped Albert Mountain rise from the horizon.



And the enormous, sheer-sided slopes of Whiteside Mountain are visible to the northeast.


Can't see Whiteside this good, but this does illustrate similarities to Stone Mountain - all the same sea of granite from Atlanta to North Carolina.

Departing the breezy, sun-drenched Rabun Bald summit, this out-and-back hike doubles back on its outbound route, retracing the Bartram Trail northbound. The route turns left off the yellow-blazed Bartram Trail at 2.75 miles, following the green-blazed access trail to the Beegum Gap trailhead. The access trail reaches Beegum Gap at 3 miles, completing the hike.



On the return trip back track down the trail to the trail junction ½ mile below the summit. Take the left trail (old road) for adifferent view on the trip back. This short walk down give you views of the ridge line and the vacation homes below. If the sight of million dollar vacation homes disturbs you as you walk through the wilderness, then you might want to consider backtracking down the trails that you took to the summit.


Ice on rocks north of Wilson Gap.

This adventure takes less than an hour of hiking. With it being the second highest peak in Georgia, this is an adventure you need to add to the Georgia bucket list.



The 360-view can be great for a sunrise or a sunset hike! (Or even both!)



I am leaving this extra large so you can scroll across page for this 360 detailed mapping of Rabun Bald view.



Top ten peaks in Georgia continues tomorrow. Added two GNW Gals, they may not all be on Rabun Bald but they are mountain hiking worthy additions.