It’s Weihnachten, rivers turn to Gluehwein, animals "sprechen", trees blossoms & bear fruit, mountains open up to reveal precious gems, and church bells  & music can be heard  from the bottom of the sea. German fairytales and legends begin. The Christmas Tree  (Tannenbaum) is decorated with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and  lights. The custom of trimming the tree ( Paradise Baum ) began to symbolize the tree in the Garden of Eden.  Presents and special Christmas plates  with stolen for each family member is placed in the room. The Chriskind  or Sankt Nikolaus und der Weihnachtsmann brings gifts.

The Christmas season is upon us and family and traditions bring a sense of promise. I observe the German traditions &    Communion on Christmas Eve. I  thank God for my blessings.  Whether you are celebrating  Hanukah, Kwanzaa , Christmas, Eid El Fitr or Solace – I wish for you a Happy Holiday and a Blessed New Year.

The Appalachian Trail (AT) begins in Georgia at Springer Mountain and ends approximately 79 miles later at Bly Gap N.C.T his rugged rocky terrain reaches a height of more than 4400 feet.  The Georgia AT extends through primitive areas of the Chattahoochee National Forest with ascents and descents steep and challenging. The reward is grand views from rocky outcrops and open summits.   Springer Mountain is hard to reach by automobile so an approach trail begins at Amicalola Falls State Park . A great way to begin exploring the AT is to stay at the Len Foote Hike Inn  and do the Hike Inn Trails.  Other scenic first hikes could include Tallulah Gorge State Park and the Tallulah Gorge Loop Trail or Brasstown Bald and the Wagon Train Trail.  Lake Winfield Scott with Slaughter Creek & Jarrard Gap trails or Duke Creek Falls and the Duke Creek Falls Trail are easy but beautiful trail especially in spring.

As you begin to adventure out for overnight on the trail you will experience outstanding scenic views from mountain tops .The trail passes through five of Georgia's wilderness areas: Raven Cliffs Wilderness with the Raven Cliff Falls Trail & Neel's Gap to Hog Pen Gap AT Trail; Mark Trail Wilderness between Unicoi Gap and Hogpen Gap; Tray Mountain Wilderness with Dick Creeks Fall Trail; the Southern Nantahala Wilderness ; and Blood Mountain Wilderness  (Vogel State Park) from Neel's Gap to Woody Gap. Bly Gap on the Georgia/North Carolina border is the northern end of the AT in Georgia.  

The trail is marked throughout its length with rectangular white blazes and is generally easy to follow. Double blazes indicate caution, usually meaning a turn in the trail. Side trails and trails to water are blue-blazed; signs are placed at road crossings, shelters, and other important intersections. There are 12 shelters on the Georgia AT, placed more or less at intervals permitting easy day hikes. All but one of these shelters are three-sided, open-front types with floors.  A picture of Tray Mtn Shelter., Blue Mtn . Shelter, Springs are reasonably close by. The exception is the Blood Mtn. Shelter which is a stone, two-room structure atop Blood Mountain. It has four sides, a fireplace, windows, and a sleeping platform. There is no water on top of Blood Mountain. Video of Blood Mtn. Shelter.

Theodore  Roosevelt ,a conservationist, proposed the AT in 1921. Benton MacKaye wrote the original proposal, "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning". The original proposal did not include Georgia. In 1925, the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference extended the trail into Georgia. Roy Ozmer & Arthur Woody made it a reality. The trail in Georgia was completed in 1931 through the combined efforts of members of the newly organized Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and the U.S. Forest Service. The original southern terminus of the trail was Mt. Oglethorpe, near Tate, but development and chicken farming on private land between Amicalola Falls and Mt. Oglethorpe intruded on the wilderness experience of hikers, forcing the terminus to be moved in 1958 to Springer Mountain. In 1968 Congress authorized the AT as the first National Scenic Trail; in 1978 Congress appropriated funds to acquire lands along the route to protect the trail from encroaching development. Maintenance of the trail rests with the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) and  Appalachian Trail Clubs. In 1984, the secretary of interior signed a delegation agreement with the ATC assigning to it unprecedented responsibilities for operation, development, monitoring, and maintenance of the trail. Volunteers in AT clubs carry out these duties.  President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Trails System Act in 1968. This act, originally intended to protect the land near the Appalachian Trail was rewritten to include any footpath designated as a National Scenic Trail. Today "America's Trail" and others in the National Scenic Trail System, with few exceptions, are on land that is federally protected.

Information obtained from Georgia Trails & Sherpa Guides.

Official Appalachian Trail Maps