Post by colonel on Nov 25, 2007 10:11:42 GMT -5
The last three years we have gone up to the Brasstown Valley Resort for Thanksgiving. It is just beautiful up there! If anybody wants to go for a run in the woods and combine it with family activities such as horseback riding, fly fishing, crafts, hiking, antiquing (sp?), wine tours (is that a "family" activity?), or golf, this is a great place to go. Here is a link to the resort: www.brasstownvalley.com/
Anyway, I had the chance during the couple of days we were there to go for one trail run. The hotel provided me with a map that showed about 9 miles of trails consisting of about three loops. The biggest loop is called the Miller Trek Trail. On the map it said this loop is 6.5 miles. I googled the trail name and found the following elevation chart. The chart shows it to be just under six miles:
The trail is well marked and even has a big sign with a map at a couple of locations where the loops intersect. I also ran a loop, I think it was called the Green Loop, that was supposedly 1.5 miles. However, according to the map, this loop overlapped Miller Trek a little so I don't know how much distance this added to the run.
The Miller Trek loop is very technical and gives you a great workout both up the mountain and down the mountain. The other loop is more of a horse trail. The shorter trail is a little wider, fairly smooth and not as steep.
The reason that I am not sure how far I ran is that I fell on the way down Miller Trek and landed on the GPS sensor. (my Timex has a sensor that you wear on your upper arm). The sensor broke off upon impact. It took me a few minutes to find it among the leaves. I'm not sure if I did permanent damage but it wouldn't turn back on after that. Fortunately, I fell on probably the only twenty feet of trail that wasn't covered in rocks or sharp stumps. I say "twenty feet" because that's at least how far I rolled on the steep decline before coming to a rest! Note to self: Don't try to look at your watch, to see how far you have run, while running down a steep root covered trail in the early morning light.
Once you reach the top of the mountain (Miller Trek) the view is amazing. I forgot to take my camera phone with me but I stopped at the "scenic overlook" on the way down the resort's driveway and took a few shots to show you what the valley looks like. Imagine these views from about fifteen hundred feet up the mountain and you have the view from Miller Trek! Sorry about the picture quality. This phone doesn't do the view justice. The mountains in the distance looked much bigger and more colorful than they appear here:
This is the view looking back from the "scenic overlook" towards the mountain that the Miller Trek Trail is on. Again, I apologize about the quality:
Here are a couple of signs at the overlook. The first shows the comments made in 1836 by the original surveyor of the valley. The second tells about the Cherokee legend of the Great Flood and the turtle (the Brasstown Valley Resort uses a turtle as part of their logo). The resort did a good job working with the State to preserve artifacts as they were found while building the golf course, hotel, etc. Many of these artifacts are on display in the hotel.
BTW - Janice told me that there is a great trail that runs up Brasstown Bald (the highest mountain in GA and very near the resort) but I didn't get a chance to check it out.
Bottom line: I highly recommend this area for any trail runner or outdoor enthusiast!
Anyway, I had the chance during the couple of days we were there to go for one trail run. The hotel provided me with a map that showed about 9 miles of trails consisting of about three loops. The biggest loop is called the Miller Trek Trail. On the map it said this loop is 6.5 miles. I googled the trail name and found the following elevation chart. The chart shows it to be just under six miles:
The trail is well marked and even has a big sign with a map at a couple of locations where the loops intersect. I also ran a loop, I think it was called the Green Loop, that was supposedly 1.5 miles. However, according to the map, this loop overlapped Miller Trek a little so I don't know how much distance this added to the run.
The Miller Trek loop is very technical and gives you a great workout both up the mountain and down the mountain. The other loop is more of a horse trail. The shorter trail is a little wider, fairly smooth and not as steep.
The reason that I am not sure how far I ran is that I fell on the way down Miller Trek and landed on the GPS sensor. (my Timex has a sensor that you wear on your upper arm). The sensor broke off upon impact. It took me a few minutes to find it among the leaves. I'm not sure if I did permanent damage but it wouldn't turn back on after that. Fortunately, I fell on probably the only twenty feet of trail that wasn't covered in rocks or sharp stumps. I say "twenty feet" because that's at least how far I rolled on the steep decline before coming to a rest! Note to self: Don't try to look at your watch, to see how far you have run, while running down a steep root covered trail in the early morning light.
Once you reach the top of the mountain (Miller Trek) the view is amazing. I forgot to take my camera phone with me but I stopped at the "scenic overlook" on the way down the resort's driveway and took a few shots to show you what the valley looks like. Imagine these views from about fifteen hundred feet up the mountain and you have the view from Miller Trek! Sorry about the picture quality. This phone doesn't do the view justice. The mountains in the distance looked much bigger and more colorful than they appear here:
This is the view looking back from the "scenic overlook" towards the mountain that the Miller Trek Trail is on. Again, I apologize about the quality:
Here are a couple of signs at the overlook. The first shows the comments made in 1836 by the original surveyor of the valley. The second tells about the Cherokee legend of the Great Flood and the turtle (the Brasstown Valley Resort uses a turtle as part of their logo). The resort did a good job working with the State to preserve artifacts as they were found while building the golf course, hotel, etc. Many of these artifacts are on display in the hotel.
BTW - Janice told me that there is a great trail that runs up Brasstown Bald (the highest mountain in GA and very near the resort) but I didn't get a chance to check it out.
Bottom line: I highly recommend this area for any trail runner or outdoor enthusiast!