{"id":633,"date":"2012-03-16T01:30:12","date_gmt":"2012-03-16T06:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/?p=633"},"modified":"2012-03-16T01:30:12","modified_gmt":"2012-03-16T06:30:12","slug":"camping-in-georgia-and-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/trailstealth\/camping-in-georgia-and-virginia.html","title":{"rendered":"Camping In Georgia and Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carter\u2019s Lake, Georgia<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Last May, I drove down through the Nantahala Gorge<\/a> to Northern Georgia.\u00a0 My friend, ‘Grasshopper’<\/a>, had been wanting to do some camping, and it seemed like a great opportunity to just relax and check out some Georgia trails<\/a> and waterfalls<\/a>.\u00a0 I had just a little trouble navigating my way through Ellijay, but the rest of the drive went fairly smooth, ending up at the campground on Carter’s Lake.\u00a0 Grasshopper had gotten there before me and had already set up her tent.\u00a0 I was feeling a bit cooked by the time I arrived, not having any air conditioning in the car, but the weather at the lake was nice and the campground was quiet.\u00a0 We spend the rest of the evening getting acclimated to our camp, which was quite easy actually, partly because it had running water, electricity, and 2 conveniently located bathhouses (with hot water).\u00a0 While I am not accustomed to so many comforts and luxuries when I camp, I have to admit, they were very nice to have.<\/p>\n

\"Carters<\/a>

Carters Lake, Georgia<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Anyway, we were up early the next morning and soon on the road to find some trails to hike and some mountain vistas<\/a> and waterfalls to admire. Driving eastward toward Black Rock Mountain<\/a>, we saw quite a lot of storm damage around the area–remnants of the tornadoes that struck the U.S. in April.\u00a0 Not only did we go to Black Rock<\/a> Mountain, but we also went to The Glen Falls Trail, The Chinquapin Mountain Trail, a couple of scenic overlooks<\/a>, and at least one more waterfall.\u00a0 The Chinquapin Mountain Trail was the place we spent the most time on; it was very nice, featuring a small, shady creek<\/a>, mountain vistas, and several wildflowers<\/a>.\u00a0 By the time we arrived back in Ellijay, we were kind of tired and it was already getting dark<\/a>, so we decided to just buy a pizza and take it back to camp with us.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Black Rock Mountain, Georgia<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Chinquapin<\/a>

Chinquapin Mountain Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

The next day, we made plans to go see the Amicalola Falls at the Amicalola Falls State Park to the south.\u00a0 The waterfalls there are pretty awesome\u2026and since we weren\u2019t in nearly as much of a hurry as we were the day before, we walked around some of the park trails<\/a> while we were there.\u00a0 It is a fascinating place, and I hope to go back again someday.\u00a0 While driving through the area, we stopped off and looked at the rather infamous \u2018Tate House\u2019<\/a>, which besides being haunted (I am told) is constructed out of pink marble that was quarried nearby. The house and the gardens are quite impressive.\u00a0 After some discussion, trying to decide if we should hike to some more waterfalls, or not, we eventually decided to return to Carter\u2019s Lake early and cook some seasoned tilapia over our campfire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Amicalola<\/a>

Amicalola Falls<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Amicalola<\/a>

Amicalola Falls<\/p><\/div>\n