The Travelogue Continues -- Fort Mountain State Park, GA

November 1, 2009

If you haven't had the opportunity to visit Fort Mountain State Park, you are missing an outdoor delight. Located off Hwy. 52, north of Ellijay, just the drive to the park is a wonderful experience. Hwy. 52 winds it's way up the mountains from Ellijay to Chatsworth, GA. And at this time of the year, the drive is spectacular. The leaves have turned color, and as you wind your way around the mountains, you are delighted with bright yellow, red, and orange colors along the roadway. You'll also see some nice houses with views that are "to die for".

Fort Mountain derives its name from an 855 foot rock wall which stands at the tallest point of the mountain. It is situated in the Chattahoochee National Forest, close to the Cohutta Wilderness area, and boasts a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, boating, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The state park covers 3,712 acres, including a 17 acre swimming lake with beach, 14 miles of trails for hiking and backpacking, 15 cottages (which are for rent during the summer), 7 picnic areas, 25 miles of horseback riding trails (rent a horse or bring your own), plus during the summer a minature golf course and boat rentals. So you can see -- there is something for everyone. (for more information, go to www.GeorgiaStateParks.org/FortMountain)

I have a yearly pass (which I don't use often enough) which I use for hiking around the top of Fort Mountain. There are several overlooks from which you have fabulous views of Georgia into Tennessee. While there are trails throughout the 3,700 acres, thus far I have limited myself to the trails around the historic portion of the park. As you drive into the park, you'll turn left and just follow that road to the end -- this is the Old Fort Picnic Area. There you can take a variety of trails (West Overlook Trail to the left, the Stone Wall Trail to the right, and Tower Trail straight ahead). All of these trails will lead you to the West Overlook, "Fort Mountain Tower", and the historic stone wall. But you have to be able to walk up hill, over rocky paths, and there are parts that will test your breathing, as you walk up very large stone stairs. It's like an aerobic stairmaster -- but in nature.

I stay more around the "traveled" section of the park, but you can also do 8 mile hikes on the Gahuti Trail, which winds throughout the park. I've never tried this trail, but it is wide, well marked and takes you through a variety of terrain, up and down hills, and across the roads in the park. This is my goal -- someday. And if you are a "back country" kind of person, there are many more areas that can be explored (you will need a park permit to do this).

I've been told by the rangers that there are black bears in the area, but I've never been lucky enough to see one (I'm sure the bears stay away from where the normal visitor plays). They say no one has ever been attacked or hurt by a bear, so that is always good news. If I do the Gahuti Trail, I might have more chance of seeing a bear. I do keep my "bear bell" in my backpack -- just to warn the bears I'm coming.

Aside from the beautiful trees, the multitude of boulders, the overlooks and rock outcroppings along all the trails -- the other thing I really enjoy is the history of the area. I've found that I really enjoy visiting places where hundreds of years ago, pioneers or Indians roamed the area and built structures for us to wonder about in our modern time. Fort Mountain is ripe with this type of history.

There is a mystery in Fort Mountain. The "stone wall" trail leads to a mysterious and prehistoric wall of loose rocks from which Fort Mountain takes its name. Many generations of explorers, archeologists, geologists, historians and sight-seers have wondered about the identity of the unknown builders and the purpose of their handiwork.

From the brink of a cliff on the east side of the mountain, the wall extends 885 feed to another precipice on the west side. It's highest parts measure about 7 feet, but generally rises to a height of 2 or 3 feet. There are 29 pits scattered fairly regularly along the wall, with the ruins of a gateway at one point. The wall is without peer in southeastern archeology.

Speculations about the builders and their purpose covers a wide field. It includes references to sun-worship and last-ditch defense by prehistoric white people, bloody warfare between rival Indian tribes, defense fortifications for Spanish conquistadors hunting gold, and a honeymoon haven for Cherokee Indian newlyweds.

Currently, most scholars believe that the wall originated about 1100 AD, and has a religious purpose. Most early cultures built structures related to astronomical events. In this case, the wall runs east to west around a precipice. The effect is that the sun illuminates one side of the wall at sunrise and on the other side at sunset. Native American cultures worshipped the sun and all things in nature.

But the truth is ..... nobody knows which of the legends and theories is true, and may never be unearthed.



What we do know about Fort Mountain

Welsh and Cherokee legends coincide here on Fort Mountain. Welsh legends tells of Prince Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (referred to as Price Madoc), who sailed first to Mobile Bay in 1170 AD. After a brief exploration, Madoc returned to Wales, only to sail again for the New World with numerous settlers in a fleet of ships. They never returned to Wales. In the new world, they built stone forts, including this one on Fort Mountain, and warred with the local Cheyenne before deciding to move west sometime around 1186. Madoc's travels had been told in Welsh Songs and stories since the twelfth century. Of course, you realize that this was about 300 years BEFORE Christopher Columbus "sailed the ocean blue in 1492". I find this very interesting, and if you would like to read more about the Prince and Ft. Mountain, here is a great web site: www.tylwythteg.com/fortmount/Ftmount.html

In 1782, 90 year old Cherokee chief Oconostota told John Siever of Tennessee about the Welsh who had once ".....crossed the great water and landed first near the mouth of the Alabama River near Mobile..." Oconostota told that these whites had built the fortifications in this country. Other American legends tell of encounters with Indians who possessed pale eyes, red hair, beards, and spoke Welsh.

In the early 1600's, the Cherokee inhabitated the area that now encompass eastern Tennesse, northern, Georgia, northwestern South Carolina, and western North Carolina. With the arrival of white settlers, the Cherokee adopted their way of life, taking up many of the European ways. These included cloth clothing, living in log cabins (and later in normal 2 story homes), and learning new ways of agriculture. They learned English (and had their own spoken and written language), had their own representative government, had built roads and schools, and were farmers and cattle ranchers.

You may have heard of the "Trail of Tears" -- settlers flooded into Georgia, some spurred on by the rumor of gold. In 1830, our government passed the "Indian Removal Act" which would remove all these "first Americans" from their lands. Davy Crockett argued against this move, and it was fought through a variety of court systems. But in 1838, General Winfield Scott arrived with 7,000 solders, and rounded up the Cherokee Indians. With minimal food and supplies, they were forced to march 1,000 miles to Oklahoma during a horrible winter. Over 4,000 Cherokee died on the march, and it would have been more if Chief John Ross had not convinced the general to allow him to organize the march. I consider this to be a particularly dark period in our history.

However, I digress. Back to Fort Mountain. There is also a Legend of the Moon-Eyed People, which were thought to be the descendants of Prince Madoc. But some Cherokee legends tell of the moon-eyed people that inhabited this region before Prince Madoc arrived. These people are said to have been unable to see during certain phases of the moon. During one of these phases, the Creek people (another Indian tribe) annihilated the race. Some other tales said the moon-eyed people could see in the dark, but were nearly blind in the daylight. Other legends describe them as albinos.

So there you have it -- lots of history, lots of legends, but no one knows for sure who actually build the Fort Tower, or who built the stone wall. One of the very sad things, however, is that people still want to destroy these historical landmarks -- structures that date back 8-900 years. The bottom room in the tower has had most of the rocks pried out of their mortar. What an incredible shame -- it is a piece of history, and when the vandal who took the rock got home, it was just another rock and was probably thrown out into the back yard. Shame on them. Fort Mountain has removed the stairs leading to the second level, and put a board across the entrance, but vandals have broken through the boards to get in. It's hard to say the damage they have done to that room as well.

But if you have a free day, drive up to Ellijay and take Hwy. 52 heading west to Fort Mountain. The drive is beautiful, there are places to stop on the way to the park, and you can have a great day of fresh air, fun, and history -- all rolled up in one great experience.