Toccoa Traces Journal

If you drive any road near Toccoa, you will see it. It stands off by itself, with a tower on top, and it shows up in the view no matter which way you turn. That is Currahee Mountain.

The name fits the place. Currahee is a Cherokee word. It means stands alone, or lonely mountain. One look tells you why. It does not sit in a long line of peaks. It rises up on its own, and you can pick it out from far off.

Folks ask me where to go first if they are new to this part of north Georgia. I tell them to go to Currahee first.

From the top you can see for miles. On a clear day the view runs out over the hills to the far mountains on the edge of the sky. You get the lay of the land all at once. The roads, the woods, the town below — it all makes sense from up there.

You do not have to go to the top to get the good of it, though. Just drive the roads around Toccoa in fall. The leaves turn red and gold, the air turns cool and clear, and that lone peak keeps showing up in front of you, road after road. Fall is the best time for it. That is when this place shows its best face.

That is why we put Currahee on so much of what we make here at Toccoa Traces. It is not just a mountain. It is the mark of this place. You see it once, and you know where you are.

Come see it in fall if you can. Go slow, look far, and let the lonely mountain welcome you in.

— Earl