My Excursions in North Georgia

I am still digging dirt out of my fingernails and cleaning mud out of my ears and hair, but I had a blast at the Warrior Dash in Mountain City, Georgia over the weekend. It's a three mile run with lots of obstacles, and everything along the way is covered in mud!  I'm definitely not a recreational runner, but I am always up for a new physical challenge. 

A few months ago, one of my Anytime Fitness boot camp participants told me about an adventure race she wanted to train for, so I did a little research and developed a training program for her.  I was so intrigued by the pictures of her race experience, I decided I wanted in on the fun.  I registered for the Warrior Dash, and discovered there were lots of other outdoor activities in the surrounding areas, so I planned to make a whole weekend out of it. 

Saturday morning Lindsi Jones and I headed toward the battlefield hoping to prove our athletic ability. For more information on the obstacles and race path, as well as details about the Warrior Dash, please visit warriordash.com. There was a live rock band playing music to pump us up, and some warriors who had already finished the race were relaxing, eating turkey legs and drinking beer.

The actual race was tremendous fun. Most of the participants were laughing and cutting up rather than seriously busting it toward the finish line. There were about 500 people in each wave, so I was always surrounded by a dozen or more competitors. It would have been pointless to aim for a great finish time because I did not start out in a full sprint, shooting past every one else. I decided to just take it easy, and enjoy the course.

I had never completed an obstacle course, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I found that diving through mud, running up a tire covered hill, and climbing cargo nets and walls was definitely my idea of a good time!  The race wasn't near as challenging as I had anticipated, but it was entertaining indeed.  Even jogging trails up the side of mountain wasn't overwhelming.  I would certainly run with the warriors again if given the chance, but now I'm setting sights on the Tough Mudder!

Lindsi and I enjoyed the festivities on the lawn after the race, and then headed out to see what else the Georgia Appalachians had to offer. We decided to go hiking at Black Rock Mountain. We trekked about four miles up and around the mountain. The view from the summit was spectacular!  The trails were obviously well maintained, but there were many forks along the trail, and we weren't always sure which way to go.  The hike wasn't overly strenuous, and the forest was beautiful, but I would recommend using these trails only if you do not have another activity planned for a while because it may take quite some time to return to your starting point.

That evening we drove through the back roads of Tallulah Gorge State Park.  The moon was almost full, and the mountain air was crisp and clean.  As we rounded a curve, we saw a glimpse of a family of black bears dashing up a hill to get away from our headlights!  Where else could we capture this glory of nature?

The following morning, we decided to tackle the Tallulah Gorge.  The park ranger at the interpretive center gave us a map and explained the strenuous nature of the hike.  We obtained gorge floor permits and began our journey down into the canyon.  We descended down numerous flights of stairs to a suspension bridge overlooking a huge waterfall.  We continued down more steps to a platform right on the river.  From then on, we didn’t do much walking.  We had to crawl over rocks to get across the river, and then climb our way over boulders, but there were amazing sights to behold!  The waterfalls were breathtaking, and we got a great workout going up and down and around all the rocks.  At the end of the trail, there was a lake with a sliding rock, and we were able to slip down it and swim in the cold water below.

The trek back seemed to breeze by quickly.  I think we were more sure-footed around all the boulders than we were going in without much hiking experience.  The ascent up all the steps really got my heart rate up!  The gorge permits were free, and all we had to pay for access to the gorge was a $5 parking fee!  If you're in decent shape, and looking for an amazing hiking experience, I would definitely recommend exploring the Tallulah Gorge!


I have gone through phases of all sorts of workouts, but the only thing I have really stuck with for years is Zumba.  I have heard people say that Zumba is not a challenging workout, but it has kept me in good enough shape to feel extremely successful at the Warrior Dash and complete hours of strenuous hiking without any problems.  I love stepping outside of the box and really stimulating my muscles and brain in new and different ways!