This trip in the fall of 2022 will lead me on a 14-day tour of northern Georgia, southern Tennessee and a slice of South Carolina.
After the first two days with some hurdles and issues, I have arrived in northern Georgia, where I will spend most of my time during this trip, hiking in forests while the foliage is rapidly changing its colors, making for some beautiful sights.
Poole’s Mill Covered Bridge
Poole’s Mill is the last covered bridge that I will visit in Georgia, as I have seen most existing bridges here.
It is also of a Town Lattice Truss design, with the diagonal boards that hold up the bridge. This one has had some issues, where during its build many of the holes for the trunnels (wooden pegs) were misplaced, which is still visible when you closely examine the boards.
Additionally, the covered bridge started sagging, which led to the addition of an extra concrete pillar under the center of the bridge during the late 1990s.
Built in 1901, it is 96ft (29m) long and replaced the original bridge, which was washed away in a flood in 1899.
Currently the covered bridge is part of a larger park area with some nice natural features, that are worth to spend a few hours.
Fort Mountain Overlook
About half a mile before reaching the Fort Mountain state park, a gorgeous overlook appears on the side of the road.
Time to relax a bit, enjoy the views and take Joey out for a stroll.
Fort Mountain State Park
This state park has some stunning trails, but is better known for a 855ft (260m) stone wall that meanders through its forest.
Rock Fort
A 1.5 mile (2.5km) loop trail visits this mysterious, zigzagging stone wall, which has been baffling people for centuries.
While its meaning is unknown, some say, that the make up of this wall is similar to the walls around the effigies, found further south.
A stunning view of the landscape below, is the best reward of this trail and a surprising CCC (Civil Conservation Corps) Outlook Tower at the top of the mountain makes it only better.
Unfortunately, the viewing platform of the tower, was not accessible at the time of my visit.
Fort Mountain Lake
On the way to my next destination, I drive by Fort Mountain Lake, that has an easy hiking trail around the lake, with nice views, especially during this season of changing foliage colors.
Mill Creek Overlook
More driving on forest roads towards the next peak, lead me to a roadside overlook at Mill Creek.
Lake Conasauga campsite
I chose this location for some free boondocking and the access to multiple hiking trails.
The camping has a small fee now, but not yet enforced. And from the available trails, I chose the Grassy Mountain Tower trail for its outlook tower.
Issues with the sound recording of my camera setup, left me with too little time today for this hike. Decided to do the hike tomorrow morning. Spent the rest of the day, watching a movie and catching up with some work.
Locations
- Poole’s Mill Covered Bridge ➜ 34.2909, -84.2425
- Fort Mountain Overlook ➜ 34.7543, -84.6891
- Fort Mountain SP ➜ 34.7593, -84.6919
- Rock Fort ➜ 34.7801, -84.7094
- Fort Mountain Lake ➜ 34.7573, -84.7077
- Mill Creek Overlook ➜ 34.8853, -84.65
- Lake Conasauga campsite ➜ 34.8544, -84.6559
Trail Download – GPX
