155th Anniversary of Battle at Kennesaw Mountain
Im in Atlanta on a couple of weeks’ business and I wanted to find a “Georgia Adventure Saturday” I could enjoy away from my family. I got on Google Maps and saw that the tallest mountain near Georgia was just a few miles from where I was staying.
It is Kennesaw Mountain, the site of a Civil War battle in 1864 when the Confederacy was desperately trying to keep the Union forces from decending on Atlanta. Eventually of course, Sherman found a way around the defenses and burned Atlanta to the ground, hastening the end of the war that divided our nation.
When it comes to nature trails, I’m not a seasoned veteran, but I’ve done many hikes before. Heck, I’ve even climbed mountains, including Diamondhead in Hawaii. And other vistas on Oahu as well. But I’m no spring chicken anymore, plus I’ve lived in flatland Florida for 7 years now, so hills, much less mountains, is something I don’t encounter very much anymore.
There is a road that will allow you to drive to the top of Kennesaw, but today it was closed. I saw the many civil war re-enactors on the site around the visitor’s center, but I just that that was a normal weekend thing. I didn’t know today was special, and I didn’t bother reading the list of events they had published on a whiteboard near the main entrance. I wanted to get to the top of Kennesaw, and if I had to walk it, so be it!
It was a bit of a struggle. Legs were getting noodly as locals casually strolled past me on the 15 degree upgrade across the hardscrabble and dirt. Even little kids were zipping past me! But I took my time, rested a few times, but finally made it to the top.
I was surprised to learn that they had a cannon emplacement built and it was the 155th anniversary of the battle, and they had storytellers, historical artifacts to demonstrate, and a willing happy crowd of fellow climbers that made it the mile vertical to the top. Check out the video above.
The climb down was of course easier, but it was so steep care needs to be taken to not slide on the dirt and gravel or trip over a root. By the time I reached the bottom, my legs were week and my feet felt like I had trekked around all four Disney parks! But it was a beautiful day and a wonderful Georgia Adventure Saturday.
