Cohutta Wilderness

If you watched Real World: Sydney, you would already be familiar with that boy with the unpronounceable name.   Even some of his roommates messed it up after months of living with him.   The patience that boy has is admirable.   Anyway, there is a reason for that name.  The Blue Ridge mountains are a part of the national forest called the Cohutta Wilderness.  Mr. Grindstaff grew up here...fell in love with it...and found a name for his son.  Cohutta was born and raised in Blue Ridge also. From the time he was young, Cohutta and his dad spent so much time fishing, hunting, and camping here that they have the trails, rivers and creeks memorized!  

I have yet to go camping/fishing with Cohutta in the Cohuttas (ha).   On the way back to Athens after Thanksgiving at his dad's in 2009, Cohutta and I drove through these beautiful mountains.  Even though it was nighttime and I couldn't really see anything, I will always cherish that memory because I could tell how special that area is to him and realized it was the first time that he was letting me into his life.  I smiled the entire two hour ride:)

These pictures are from our sunset drive through the mountains.  We took our time to look around and snap a few photos, so this trip took us more than four hours!

Can you see why they are called the Blue Ridge Mountains?  Apparently the reason for the color is the humidity of the air down here.

Just as it was beginning to get dark, we made it to Lake Conasauga.  It is the highest lake in Georgia, and man is it beautiful!!  (That line of bright orange on top of the trees is not Photoshopped!)  There is a dock on this lake that made me immediately suggest the thought of having a wedding here...until Cohutta reminded me how long the journey was to get there...and oh yeah, we are not engaged :/

If you're looking to visit the north Georgia mountains, you can camp/fish/swim at Lake Conasauga.  Also, if you would like to know more about the Cohutta Wilderness, look here.

Thanks for letting me share my "touristy" ride through the Cohuttas. -Kamila