walk through the woods . . . or how I lost myself for a bit on Mount Yonah, Helen GA

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write since I have had problems with my laptop the last couple of months. Long story I had to totally reformat everything back to the factory setting which meant losing my Microsoft Office Suite and I had no disk to reload it back on. I’ve loaded another program until I have the disc so hopefully there will be no formatting issues.

Another winter day has come and gone away in Helen I know so I decided to take a break and hike a longtime old favorite trail. It was a beautiful day with temperatures at freezing this morning but warmed into the sixties by afternoon. This beautiful rock outcropping in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains near Helen Georgia was a long ago hang out of mine in the seventies. I had the pleasure of flying a hang glider off the rocky overlook several times in my youth and have several fond memories of hiking and camping there.

Mount Yonah today still is the gateway guardian into Helen Georgia and the surrounding Sautee Nacoochee valley. The Nacoochee Valley is known for the Nacoochee Indian Mound, at the northwestern end of the valley, which was constructed between 700-1200 AD. Many tourist visiting the German Alpine village of Helen stop by to take photos of the burial mound with Mount Yonah in the background or the deer or cattle grazing in the valley.

Nearby Yonah Mountain is the site of a folktale where a beautiful Cherokee maiden named Nacoochee fell in love with the Chickasaw warrior Sautee. When their love was forbidden by the tribal elders, a war party followed the eloping lovers and threw Sautee off the mountain, with Nacoochee then jumping to her death, a Lover's Leap. Although he did not invent the legend, George Williams, the son of one of the original white settlers, popularized it in his 1871 Sketches of Travel in the Old and New World.  

Yonah is the Cherokee word for Bear. Some things have changed over the years since I last visited the mountain as the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade of the United States Army conducts the Mountain Phase of Ranger School on Yonah Mountain. It has also been a popular training ground for rock climbers.

There is a signed trail head from Chambers Road and an approximately 2.3 mile trail (gaining 1600 feet in elevation) leads to the summit. There are also side trails that lead to neighboring Pink Mountain.  The climb is reasonable with good shoes or boots as there are rocks, some loose all along the trail.

My trek was about three hours with several stops for a drink and to take in the views along the way. All of my previous trips were in summer with lush vegetation and trees blocking most of the views except rocky face clearings. With the Ranger activities there are two clearings for helicopter landings or rescue type missions. One is about half way up and the other LZ is at the top of the mountain.

The hike up is strenuous but worth the views from the top sides of Mount Yonah with the town of Helen to the north.

The foothill mountains to the north going into North Carolina.

South West view looking toward Cleveland, GA.

Rocky face where we took off in our hang gliders.

Placido Flamingo lost in space and thoughts on Mount Yonah.

Hiking the mountain there are many similarities to life . . . the ups and downs of our everyday existence. The forks in the road where decisions have to be made about where you want to go. The twists and turns with sharp rocks or hazards that you have to navigate your way through to keep from hurting yourself or falling down which happens more often than not in our real lives. The signs of the trail markers leading the way . . . or do we just go and find our path to the top possibly blazing through new territory or keeping to the same tried and true routes to the top?


On this day I saw only two other people who were making their way down, sitting on rocks enjoying the sun. I virtually had the whole mountain to myself, just my thoughts, my sometimes breathing sounds from a little out of shape and tired body. I’ve seen much in the wilds of Alaska but there is something comforting in being in the South once again in the foothills of the Appalachia where the cadence of speech and a laid back attitude gives sometimes much needed reminders of where we come from and where we are going.



Take time for yourself to stop, find that quiet spot and enjoy all that is around you. Listen to the birds singing in the trees, the wind whispering in the pines and be aware of your place in this sometimes trying world we live in. Be kind to one another as we all have different views, different vantage points, and information to base our thought processes on. “When you lose yourself you may just find the key to paradise!”



Ice