The first blue blaze hike we did in our 2023 Appalachian Trail Section Hike was to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the state of Georgia! In 2023 we section hiked 1,225 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world, and spent 13 weeks day hiking, working, and van camping on the Appalachian Trail as we moved up the trail slowly from Georgia to Maine. In this series we cover each section we hiked and in this article we cover our blue blaze day hike up Brasstown Bald to the top of Georgia!

IF HEADING NOBO (NORTHBOUND) ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL you will take a side trail (blue blaze) to the summit of brasstown bald. this is a strenuous 9 mile roundtrip hike via Jacks Knob Trail (we did see thru hikers doing it!)
OR
You can do a combination like we did (thanks to our camper van) and hike to the brasstown bald summit and then do a few miles on the arkaquah trail which also leaves from the brasstown bald parking lot. this was a perfect 6 mile “nero” (nearly zero) hiking day for us as our rest day.

Brasstown Bald Blue Blaze Hike Need to Know’s:

1. The Appalachian Trail is littered with state high points that are directly on the trail (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee) and then a few that are very close but require basically a day “off trail” to hike them. Georgia’s Brasstown Bald and North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell are two of these such AT state high points!

2. While you could take blue blazes off the AT (which is marked by white blazes) and do a side trail hike of about 10 Miles Round Trip via Jacks Knob there are different options to add this summit in. We opted to drive to the parking lot area (section hikers often have cars which is a huge plus) and we hiked to the summit from there and added in the Arkaquah Trail which was also in the parking lot. This made for a nice 6 mile hike and it was our first “NERO” of our Appalachian Trail Section Hike. NERO stands for “Nearly Zero” and is considered basically a rest day. I also did some much needed yoga that morning before hiking and the combo was perfect.

3. The Brasstown Bald parking lot is on National Forest Land property. If you choose to enter the parking lot there is an entrance fee. Our Annual National Park Pass covered the fee. There is an additional fee to take the shuttle to the summit (a great option for those unable to do the hike.)

4. Visitors to Brasstown Bald likely will not be used to seeing hitchhikers like some of the trail town residents so I think a best bet for a thru hiker would be to do a monster day on Jacks Knob or have transportation arranged ahead of time to get back down to the trail after reaching the summit.

5. This is the highest point in the state of Georgia at 4,784 feet and has the state high point sign in sheet, panoramic views of the Northern Georgia Mountains, and a paved (but steep) hiking trail to the summit. It’s a fun day getting off trail in my eyes and doing some exploring near but off of the Appalachian Trail. We met a lot of hikers from Atlanta who were doing it as a day hike and then exploring some more of the area nearby.

What gear did I use and like the most on my 2023 AT Section Hike?

1. Hoka One Kaha’s were my trusted shoes for this day (and for the whole summer on the trail.)

2. I used my REI 40 Liter Backpack. This worked great since I was coming on and off the trail every day but most thru-hikers or multi-day section hikers were looking at bigger packs than mine.

3. Darn Tough Vermont and Merino Wool Socks from REI and SmartWool were my go to’s.

4. Osprey Water Bladder and Lifestraw Collapsible Filter for hydration.

5. I wore New Balance running shorts mainly and much preferred that to more typical hiking shorts.

6. Gaiters were a must as was coating our clothes in Permethrin to avoid ticks. (We did not get any ticks remarkably while hiking the AT in 2023.)

7. The AT Guide by AWOL and AT Conservancy are AMAZING resources for a hike on the AT!

This was a perfect ending to our first week hiking the trail and living in the camper van.

It also felt very loose and non rigid to be able to just choose to do a day hike off the Appalachian Trail. That’s one of the benefits I believe in doing a section hike. When you are thru-hiking your body can often handle only so many miles and this would be a LARGE detour early on a NOBO Hike.

But for us…it was clearly the closest we had ever been to the top of Georgia and it was a fun adventure to get there as left Georgia after one week hiking the AT.

Georgia has 78.2 miles on the Appalachian Trail and I hiked 89 miles total my six days in Georgia (some of them doubling back and a few blue blazes.) My section hike included flexibility and detours and looking back on it now I am super glad I let myself roll that way on the AT.

Brasstown Bald was the first of several state high points during our 2023 Appalachian Trail Section Hike and it was a great way to cap our first week in the state of Georgia.

Our. next stop was Franklin, North Carolina where we were also meeting our first “trail guests” that were friends meeting us along the adventure. Goodbye Georgia, Hello North Carolina!

Thanks for reading and happy trails to you! Whether you are planning a thru, section, or day hike…or are a trail town local, trail angel, or just someone wanting to learn more about the longest footpath in the world…I hope the Appalachian Trail (and its blue blaze side trails like Brasstown Bald) gives you what you need!

Comment below with questions or your experience on this section.
Our Georgia AT Trail Towns Podcast Episode can be found HERE or on your podcasts app and it details all of the trail towns we experienced in the state.

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R