Search and rescue drill Thursday at Tallulah Gorge

North Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. Now try flying a helicopter into and out of it for six hours, which is exactly what to expect Thursday during a state-sponsored search and rescue drill.

Rangers from the state Department of Natural Resources will practice flying into the canyon and carefully dropping a rescue basket to its floor, something that involves spotters sitting just at the helicopter’s edge and guiding the pilot to the right spot without clipping the canyon walls.