Hiking Blood Mountain
Tellico Plains, TN to the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains | Hiking Blood Mountain | DeSoto Falls Recreation Area | January 2023
On Friday morning, it was time to leave our cabin in Tellico Plains and move on. We had found a rental house near Chattanooga, TN that was very affordable and had everything we look for in rentals, but it wasn’t available until Sunday. Since it was the weekend and there was nothing on the schedule for work, we knew we’d be fine to camp for a couple nights and go without wifi. And so we reserved a campsite, then packed the car, cleaned the cabin, and finally got on the road!
I won’t lie — the drive from Tellico Plains to the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains was not our favorite. We took TN-68 South into Georgia, then GA-60 East to US-19, up North to our trailhead for the day. The road had so many ups and downs, and narrow twists and turns that actually made us queasy and dizzy. We drive a lot of highway roads through mountains and it takes a lot for either of us to feel like that, but this road was simply not enjoyable. It didn’t help that we were listening to a rather gruesome audiobook during the ride as well. But it wasn’t all bad, there were some nice views of Georgia countryside and farmlands, and the visibility from the few viewpoints was much better than it had been the week prior when we drove through during the snowstorm.
After an hour and a half of driving, we were so relieved to finally reach the Byron Reece trailhead for Blood Mountain, today’s chosen hike. When we arrived, we first just stood there breathing the fresh air and trying to ground ourselves. Charlotte appeared unphased and ready to get going on the hike. We packed plenty of snacks and water since this hike would be longer than any other one that we had done so far.
Curtis had chosen this hike because it was on his 300-meter prominence list. I think he was a bit apprehensive having picked a harder and longer hike than the others we’ve done this trip, and was checking in with me frequently to make sure I was okay with this. Truthfully, I would have hiked anything if it meant not driving on those roads again, and though I was out of breath I was just thankful to be taking deep breaths of fresh mountain air! Charlotte also seemed to be loving it, and definitely didn’t seem as winded as I felt. The beginning of the trail leading up to the Appalachian Trail was easier, gradually going up to the saddle, then once we met up with the AT it became steeper with more rocks and roots in the way. But the AT is usually very well maintained, so it was just a matter of pushing onward, with Charlotte not allowing us to take many breaks.
We finally reached the start of the rock face that lead to the summit, but this part stretched on for so much longer than we expected. At least we now had wide vistas to the South to look back at and enjoy while pushing ourselves further. After we finally reached the summit, we found the wind to be rather biting while we weren’t moving, so we retreated to the nearby shelter to get out of the wind. On this final stretch, we found a hot dog in a plastic bag and Charlotte was shattered over us not letting her have it (mostly because we had no idea how long it had been there…we do allow her to have hot dogs when we know where they come from). We tried to make up for it by giving her extra peanut butter and treats.
After we finished our lunch and were ready to face the wind, we began our descent. This of course went much faster and easier, and we made it back to the car safely. Altogether, the hike was 6 miles round trip with 1500 feet of elevation gain. If you’re interested, check out our AllTrails recording here.
From here, it was time to head to our campsite, which thankfully wasn’t too far of a drive from the trailhead. We drove back South on US-19 to DeSoto Falls Recreation Area where we had reserved a spot for the night. We set up our tent and relaxed for a bit before walking over to the trails for Upper and Lower DeSoto Falls.
We started with the trail to Lower DeSoto Falls, which was only a quarter mile long. The trail followed a stream, then went up a series of stairs to the observation deck for the falls. To be honest, this one was probably the least exciting waterfall that we saw this entire trip, and we didn’t stay long here. There just wasn’t a clear unobstructed view from the platform, and it wasn’t that tall or full.
After retracing our steps back to the trail junction, we started on the Upper DeSoto Falls Trail. This one was three-quarters of a mile long with a gradual elevation gain, and the waterfall was much better than the first. We sat down and enjoyed this waterfall for a while, and even Charlotte sat down to relax which doesn’t happen very often while hiking. Maybe we had finally worn her out!
Finally, we returned to our campsite where we made soups for dinner, relaxed, read, and turned in to our tent for hopefully a peaceful night of sleep. There were a few other groups camping, but no one immediately around us….. That is, until just after 10 when an SUV of college aged women arrived. Ok, we can extend some grace, it’s not easy to arrive during quiet hours and set up quietly in the dark. But the two hour long loudly animated fireside chat after that, that’s where our grace dries up. They were having some discussions about God and the Bible, and I have so say I’ve never heard so many F-bombs dropped during “Bible study”. Also, just as an FYI from someone that’s read the Bible cover to cover, having a Bible study loudly at a campsite during quiet hours doesn’t make you holier, it actually makes you a sinner! Pretty sure that was the 11th commandment that got left out. Ok, sorry for that rant, these were all just thoughts I was having while listening and wishing I was asleep. Yes, maybe we should have just gone out and asked them to be quiet, but we aren’t good with confrontation and you never know if people will be defensive or respond poorly when they’re called out. But don’t worry, we would have to face that uncomfortable feeling the following evening — all that and more is coming up next! 😉
