Mount Yonah from Chambers Lake 2009-10-28

Yonah Mountain (commonly referred to as "Mount Yonah" or, by older Georgians, "Yonah Bald") is a mountain ridge located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. It is between the cities of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. Yonah is the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

word for Bear. There is a signed trailhead from Chambers Road and an approximately 2.3 mile trail (gaining 1500 feet in elevation) leads to the summit. There are also side trails that lead to neighboring Pink Mountain. The 5th Ranger Training Battalion,

Ranger Training Brigade The United States Army Ranger School is a 62-day small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training wa ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

conducts the Mountain Phase of

Ranger School The United States Army Ranger School is a 62-day small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training wa ...

on Yonah Mountain. It has been a popular training ground for rock climbers. Like

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-centu ...

's Rock City, Yonah Mountain is the site of a Native American legend about a beautiful Cherokee maiden named Nacoochee who fell in love with the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

warrior Sautee. When their love was forbidden by their tribal elders, a war party followed the eloping lovers and threw Sautee off the mountain, with Nacoochee then jumping to her death, a ''

Lover's Leap Lover's Leap, or (in plural) Lovers' Leap, is a toponym given to a number of locations of varying height, usually isolated, with the risk of a fatal fall and the possibility of a deliberate jump. Legends of romantic tragedy are often associated w ...

''. Although he did not invent the legend, George Williams, the son of one of the original white settlers, popularized it in his 1871 ''Sketches of Travel in the Old and New World''.

References

External links

USDA Mount Yonah Trail Head

Yonah Mountain Trail

Summit Post
Mountains of Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas of White County, Georgia Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Mountains of White County, Georgia {{WhiteCountyGA-geo-stub