Saturday, 30th July, 5pm

Today, we visited Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia (4784 ft). It’s another of these mountains where you cheat by driving within half a mile of the summit – but it’s a steep half mile. At the top is a little visitor centre with good exhibits about the history of the area (I particularly liked the talking model of Woody, a 1920s Ranger) and a stupendous circular viewing platform from which you can see four states if it’s not too hazy. We probably could see them, but the guide maps supposedly telling you what you were looking at weren’t very clear so I couldn’t swear to it. The picture gives some impression of the waves and waves of blue hills rolling away, but doesn’t do it justice.

We then headed to Vogel State Park for a picnic lunch and to walk the Bear Hair Gap trail, a 4+ mile loop which rises to an overlook from which you get a very pretty view of Lake Trahylta, the main focus of Vogel.

So now we’re back at the cabin drinking tea and contemplating the detritus of 3 weeks holiday which needs to be packed up for our journey home tomorrow. Before that, we have the joy of cooking up all the stuff we have left into a giant pasta concoction. The packing can probably wait till tomorrow – checkout’s not till 11am. We’re about 90 miles from Atlanta and our flight’s 9.15pm so there’s plenty of time. However, I hate these last days and although we usually do something on the way, I never settle till we’re at the airport.