The goal: Finding ‘Colorado in Georgia’

Eric Wilhelm describes himself as a recovering workaholic. Founder and former CEO of Wilpak, a large supply chain company, the 48-year-old bought his home in Cherry Log two weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks.

“My business was so draining that I needed a place to get away,” Wilhelm said. “I charged my agent with finding me ‘Colorado in Georgia,’ and she found 18 acres that backs up to national forest land. My primary requirement was that I needed to have fly-fishing on my property, and she found it.”

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Christopher Oquendo / Special

The vacation home Eric and Deborah Wilhelm bought in Cherry Log has seven decks, five bedrooms and three baths on three floors.

Getting there

Take I-75 north to I-575 north to Ga. 5 north. Cherry Log is between Ellijay and Blue Ridge.

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Everything they wanted: Wilhelm and his wife, Deborah, 45, bought a lot on Fighting Town Creek with a house under construction. “I wanted to have a place to take our horses to ride, to be able to fly-fish, to be able to ride ATVs and motorcycles, to have a shooting range and a top-of-the-mountain view. We got it all,” he said.

The house: When the Wilhelms saw the property, there was a house under construction, about 50 percent complete. The finished Colorado-style, round-beam lodge house is about 4,000 square feet, with seven decks, five bedrooms and three full baths in its three stories. Engineers were brought in from the northwestern United States to design the round-beam structure. The house is big enough to entertain the Wilhelms’ friends and extended family. “There’s always something to do,” he said.

Getting away: “For the first few years, we went up as many weekends as we could, and I would go up and work during the week,” Wilhelm said. “It took me as long to get there as it did to get to my office, so literally, if the traffic was bad, I took a left instead of a right on I-75 from my home in west Cobb and I could be at the lodge before I could be at my office near the airport. … Our absolute favorite pastime is sitting around the fire pit down by the creek, with a roaring fire, and creating memories.”

Cherry Log

The Cherry Log area offers the proverbial something-for-everyone Wilhelm says. “In Cashes Valley, there are 100-year-old towns and cemeteries to explore. We can ride ATVs, hike the wilderness, fly-fish for wild trout or ride horses. There are endless things to do out there, and yet you’re just 15 minutes from Blue Ridge or Ellijay, with their dining and shopping and exploring those areas.”

What’s in a name

Rachel Callihan of Georgia Mountain and Lake Properties said, “My aunt, Alma Callihan, a lifelong resident of Cherry Log, says it’s rumored that the town got its name when a man cut a cherry tree and used it as a footlog to get across the creek. Now the creek and the community bear the name Cherry Log. Whether that’s true or not, Cherry Log is a small town with three churches, a post office, a community center and country store, and some of the best barbecue in Georgia at the Pink Pig Restaurant, owned by Bud Holloway.”

Current listings

$359,000: 12879 Appalachian Highway, Morganton; 4-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath home of approximately 6,500 square feet, two garages; on 1.5 acres

$299,900: 1291 Cashes Valley Road, Cherry Log; 2-bedroom, 3-bath cedar log home with private pond, mountain views, on paved road; 3.11 acres

$132,759: Maxwell Road, Cherry Log; 13.41 acres, seasonal views, wooded with a small creek and springs; price reduced

Information

706-632-9700; Georgia Mountain and Lake properties