Southern Appalachians offer stunning color

Once, I gave fleeting thought to moving to Florida for retirement. But I could not conceive living in a place where I can’t see, feel, even smell the changing seasons — especially in late October and early November, when the hardwoods are sporting their breathtaking fall colors and entire mountainsides shimmer with every hue from red-violet to yellow-green.

To me, there’s no better place to savor autumn’s colors than the ancient Southern Appalachian mountains, which include most of North Georgia‘s peaks and valleys. And the best way to savor them is to take a hike in the woods.

I did that last week in the Nantahala National Forest, just across the Georgia border in North Carolina, with the Over-the-Hill Hikers, a group of folks from Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Decatur. They regularly tromp over rugged mountain trails for spectacular views of deep valleys, scenic waterfalls and roaring streams.

One of our hiking destinations was the 5,000-foot Pickens Nose, whose multiple nose-like rock outcroppings form a prominent peak. After negotiating a tunnel-like trail through dense rhododendron, mountain laurel and hardwoods, we carefully stepped onto the “nose” to enjoy one of the most awe-inspiring views in the Eastern United States.

Spread below us was the 23,473-acre Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area, half of which lies in North Georgia. Making the view even more magnificent were the vibrant red, orange and yellow hues adorning the steep mountain slopes.

We also walked a short portion of the Appalachian Trail to a historic fire tower atop 5,280-foot Albert Mountain, which afforded stunning views of the Coweeta Valley, also ablaze with color. It’s the home of the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, where the University of Georgia conducts major ecology research.

Forest rangers say there should still be good fall color this weekend in lower mountain elevations. Above 3,000 feet, the colors mostly are past their prime.