Christmas
Party Summary
By Marianne Torchia
The
Christmas Party was a great success with almost 30 members and guests
participating. I, unfortunately, cannot gauge this party to those
in the past, but from the emails I’ve received…it was
one of the best! I want to thank everyone who came and enjoyed the
party.
The Chinese gift exchange got quite feisty, especially when we rounded
the corner to the 20 and above numbers. Certain gifts were taken,
given back and taken again….the bell, coffee cups, chip and
dip set and the boot vases were hot commodities, not to mention
all the other great gifts: horse slippers, horse shoe pick, dartboard
with cheese – favorite between Brett and Devon, a craft horse
sign, a chocolate moose; just to mention a few.
Many
thanks to the set up crew, Joe, Larry, Devon and Jayne Stevenson,
and the breakdown crew, Susan and Billy! (I know many others helped
for which I’m so grateful). Family Traditions did a great
job with the food and there sure was plenty of it! Can’t wait
to see the pictures. Susan had a great idea with photos taken throughout
the year; we put them in Christmas card holders and set them on
the table. They will now go into a scrapbook that will be brought
to our meetings for viewing.
Again, thanks
to all that made this party such a success. Have a very Happy New
Year!
Georgia
Pinhoti Trail
By Rick Moon and other Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association (GPTA)
Board Members
If
you are active in the outdoors you need to know about the Georgia
Pinhoti Trail (GPT). It is a multi-use trail for all types of non-motorized
recreation. This includes hiking, mountain biking, hunting, bird
watching, and horseback riding. Most of the natural trail is on
National Forest land in the Armuchee-Cohutta Ranger District of
the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.
The
GPT is the longest foot trail in Georgia. It stretches from the
Alabama line in Polk County just outside of Cave Spring to the Benton
Mackaye Trail deep in the Cohutta area between Ellijay, Blue Ridge,
and Chatsworth. The GPT has significant recreational opportunities
for those living close to its path but it also has national and
international impacts. It links to the Alabama Pinhoti Trail, which
extends for another 100 miles across the Talladega National Forest.
To the north it connects with the Appalachian Trail (AT) via the
Benton Mackaye. The AT ties to the International AT in Canada. With
some road walks interspersed it is now possible to walk from South
Florida on the Florida Trail System across the USA and Canada. This
network of trails is being called the Eastern Continental Trail
(ECT).
The
southwestern portion of the trail west of I-75 that lies on National
Forest land runs from High Point on Georgia Highway 100 north for
72 miles to Dalton. This is the ridge and valley section. There
are eight different mountains in this section and most of the trail
is single track within the National Forest. The ridge tops are usually
about 600-700 feet above the valley floor. The trail runs right
along the razor back edge of many of these ridges offering views
off both sides. The natural features of this section are subtle
but beautiful. The GPT runs just up the ridge from Sloppy Floyd
State Park and there is a connecting trail. It also goes by Keown
Falls on John’s Mountain.
There are about twenty miles of road walk between the Armuchee section
and the Cohuttas. The trail gets back on National Forest land on
Peeples Lake Road at Ramhurst just south of Chatsworth. From there
it climbs up Fort Mountain crossing Rock Creek several times and
coming very close to Fort Mountain State Park and the Cohutta Lodge.
It then drops down the northeast side of Fort Mountain into the
Barnes Creek and Bear Creek watersheds. Then the trail goes up to
Potato Patch and the Benton Mackaye trail. The Benton Mackaye takes
you to the AT or you can proceed to Amicalola Falls State Park.
Because
the GPT is a multi-use trail it receives strong support from many
user groups. Our workdays usually include mountain bikers, equestrians,
hikers, and other outdoor enthusiasts working side by side. We have
found that these folks have far more in common with their love of
the outdoors than even they imagined.
The GPT pays these user groups back with some unique recreational
activities. It offers point-to-point excursions on foot, bike or
horse. You can travel from camp to camp, state park to state park,
or bed and breakfast to bed and breakfast. This trail is very close
to several communities in North Georgia including Cave Spring, Rome,
Summerville, Lyerly, Calhoun, Lafayette, Dalton, Chatsworth, Ellijay
and Blue Ridge.
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