My Friday started early, way too early. The first part of my trip involved beating the sun to the highest peak in Georgia, Brasstown Bald. I left a little before 5 and about 2 hours later I was in the parking lot at the base of the peak. It is about a 1/2 mile trail hike to the 4,784 feet above sea level overlook. I got my camera bag and tripod and headed toward the trail. When I got to the trail start, I was surprised by the “Caution : Ice” signs and yellow rope everywhere. I strategically found a way around the ropes and made my way to the trail. Ironically, I slipped on some ice when doing so, haha!
As I made my way up the trail to the top, I began to realize a couple things.
One: “It’s really cold...........in fact.........was that snow on the ground? yes.......oh my!” - Apparently it had snowed quite a bit the day before.
Two: “This is not a normal 1/2 mile hike......this trail is a constant incline.......ok, now I need to jog......ok, I think I need to walk.”
Finally I made it to the top of the peak, and to the overlook patio. The patio was covered in snow with up to 2 or 3 inches in the corners. I had made it in plenty of time before the sun hit the horizon, but I could already tell that the conditions would not be very good. In just the 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot, there was a lot of cloud cover and wind. Not great for getting a sunrise shot. I made my way to the eastern overlook on the patio and setup my camera.
After my heart rate slowed from my race up the mountain, I soon realized that it was stinkin’ cold up here. I had 6 layers, and the bitter cold was still getting through. I was glad that I had grabbed my gloves as I left the house, but they only helped a little. And it’s really hard to take pictures with frozen phalanges. I called my camera all sorts of bad words as I tried to hit the the shutter button with my ice-cubed fist. hahah! Really though, the view was amazing and no picture could do it justice. I always think of Psalm 50:1 when I see a sunrise, and know that these are the sights the author was writing about.
Above is a timelapse video of the sunrise from Brasstown Bald's Eastern overlook.
It is about 90 minutes compressed to 2 minutes.
Click to view on YouTube to see in 720 HD.
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I was able to get a few decent pictures, but not what I was hoping for. I also took my pocket vid cam and was able to get the sunrise on video. When the sun had fully lit the land, I could really see the beauty. From the overlook patio you can see out very far in every direction. The fall colors were apparent no matter which way you looked and the trees near the overlook were still covered in ice. Really a beautiful sight to see. I stayed up there for about 2 hours enjoying the scenery and snapping pics.
As I headed down the trail to the parking lot, the snow and ice began melting off of the trees. I dodged the frozen drops as i quickly descended down the trail. From the parking lot you could again look out over the mountains of north Georgia and see the fall colors. And looking back up toward the overlook tower you could still see the bright fall colors meet the white ice in the tree line. What beautiful sights to see from the highest point around. It was definitely fall down in Georgia and I was so glad I got to see it in the mountains this year. The first part of my adventure was over, but as I headed toward Dawsonville and Amicalola Falls the beautiful scenery would only continue. (Read Part 2 - Click Here)
To see these and more pics click here:
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