Brasstown Bald
Georgia
November 2012
Brasstown Bald. In any event, it’s difficult these days to identify the highest point in Georgia as a bald because there is this large excrescence of a building right on top of it.
After we hike past the information sign and a pleasant little grassy area (not bald) set up with a picnic table, the building comes into sight, an imposing round section made of stone and glass with a shingled roof, and a large tower adorned with a dozen or more antennae. An excrescence, as I say. The round section contains a Visitor Center complete with rest rooms, a drinking fountain, dioramas and an information desk, sometimes staffed by a knowledgable person who can answer the endless questions posed by visitors. Walking around on the perimeter deck gives you a 360 degree view of some of the best Georgia has to offer, mountain-wise. There are information plaques showing the terrain and the names of various peaks and several silver-colored, permanently mounted binoculars that, for a quarter, draw distant sights closer.
Inside the Center is a creepy, life-size animatronic man — more clown creepy, less I’m-going-to-lick-your-eyebrows creepy. Fine shade of difference. Push the button and this droid-man tells you about himself, or the human self he was modeled after, that being Arthur Woody. Part of his story has to do with his efforts to preserve the forest land and the critters therein. Additionally, this doppelgänger is on display because the real Mr Woody (1884 – 1946) was responsible for the original proposal to erect this Brasstown Bald Visitor Information Center Excrescence.
Mr Woody, right? What are the chances of getting a name like that when you are so intimately involved with the woods? What would the guy behind the information desk be called? Mr Facty? Since I hiked up this mountain to get here, you can call me Mr Booty.