After a long bout of freezing temperatures throughout the southeastern US this January, temperatures soared to near 70 degrees here in Georgia this past weekend. As an avid hiker and landscape photographer, there was no way I was about to sit inside and let this kind of day pass by. If there is one thing I like about what I do for a living, this is it. I love having the freedom to wake up, get a day’s worth of food together, pack my hiking/ camera gear, and take off on the open road. Well, maybe not so open near Atlanta with non-stop traffic congestion but hopefully you can picture what I’m trying to get at.

I wanted to get a good workout on this hike and also wanted to see a nice sunset so I knew almost immediately where I wanted to go, Yonah Mountain. This little gem lies in the heart of the north Ga mountains. It isn’t the tallest mountain in north Ga but it definitely provides gorgeous views and peaks at a towering 3166ft. Just before reaching the trail-head, you can see the mountain very well from the highway as shown in the featured image at the top of the page. Once you reach the trail-head off of Chambers Rd., the 2.3-mile trail takes you up a bouldering 1500ft in elevation. That’s roughly a 12% incline! Talk about working up a sweat! The views from the top are totally worth it, though.

I had been here once before and I was literally one of three people on the entire mountain. However, today was incredibly busy with a line of cars leading all the way down to Chambers Rd. I should have known it would be a hot destination location especially after such a cold spell that has been lingering around for far too long now. There were even a few large sheets of ice still present at the top of the mountain. This caused extreme caution when I began exploring the cliffs to get some cool images.

In my opinion, this hike is considered a difficult hike. There are some flat areas along the trail but the continuous incline begins to take its toll after 45 minutes or so. I thought I’d add a few pointers here if you’re deciding on taking a trip to Yonah Mountain for the first time. I advise bringing a small daypack, mostly something big enough to carry about 2 liters or more of water and a light snack. A protein bar usually works well for me depending on the amount of time I want to plan for exploring at the top. It takes me about 50 minutes but that’s moving on with maybe one stop halfway to catch my breath and drink some water. If you want to see the sunset, try and leave yourself at least 90 minutes for the hike just prior to the event. You should also plan to bring along a headlamp or a small flashlight to use while hiking back in the dark. Make sure your batteries are charged! If you have hiking boots, I highly recommend them over any other shoes mostly for the ankle support while climbing up and over large boulders that make up parts of the trail. If you have issues with your knees or any other joints, I’d recommend a set of trekking poles as well.

BAFX has a super cheap pair and very dependable (review here) but you can also find a nice thick stick in the woods if absolutely necessary. It can be a bit tricky finding the trailhead if you’re not familiar with the area so just put Yonah Mountain trail-head into GPS. Make sure that your destination is just off Chambers Rd. and you will end up in the right spot. Last and def not least, the sheer cliffs at the top can be fatal if fell from so please proceed with caution. The dangers are not to be taken lightly here. With all that being said, its a super fun and intense hike. So, opt outside this weekend and go check it out!

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