The Blood Mountain Wilderness was designated in 1991 and currently consists of . The Wilderness is located within the borders of the

Chattahoochee National Forest The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattah ...

Lumpkin County Lumpkin County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,488. Its county seat is Dahlonega. History This area was settled by the Cherokee, who also occupied a ...

and Union County,

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 ...

. The Wilderness is managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. In November, 1999, three fires burned through parts of the Blood Mountain Wilderness and the

. Fire crews came from across the nation to help fight the fires. The highest

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

in the Blood Mountain Wilderness is the peak of

Blood Mountain Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail and the sixth-tallest mountain in Georgia, with an elevation of .Brown (1996), p.93 It is located on the border of Lumpkin County with Union County and is withi ...

. The Wilderness includes of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

, which may be the most heavily used portion of the AT. The Blood Mountain Wilderness is the first wilderness encountered on the AT after its starting point on

Springer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serves ...

. Due to conflicts with

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

s, in 2012 the Forest Service implemented a seasonal requirement for all overnight campers to carry bear-resistant canisters. The requirement goes into effect every year, from March 1 to June 1, and it encompasses all areas within quarter mile of the AT, from Jarrard Gap to Neels Gap.

References

External links

Blood Mountain Wilderness - Wilderness.net
{{Protected Areas of Georgia (U.S. state) Wilderness areas of Georgia (U.S. state) IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of the Appalachians Protected areas of Lumpkin County, Georgia Protected areas of Union County, Georgia Protected areas established in 1991 Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest 1991 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

See also

References

External links