Brasstown Bald
Georgia
November 2012
You know what a switchback is. First you go this way, then you go that way, then you go this way again and then that way…
This trail climbs a relatively steep mountainside. To lessen the load, so to speak, design the footpath with many switchbacks. Not so steep this way.
My research turned up one source claiming 40 switchbacks from trailhead to the upper parking lot here at Brasstown Bald. Lisa and I, as we ascend this mountain, carefully count. We get 41. Is it a matter of counting incorrectly? Or perhaps the gentler, “What, exactly, makes it a switchback?”
What I want to know is why the heck, surrounded by all this exquisite forest, were we counting switchbacks?
A switchback is a hairpin curve, or expanded, a zigzag pattern in a trail, road or path. Some specify that the turn has to be 180° or more, but others are content with the change in direction of your standard sharp turn.
When you are climbing a steep upslope, you could just go right straight up the incline, the shortest distance between two points. But when you’ve got a lot of elevation to accomplish, this can be strenuous to the point of vexation. Also, you don’t want to harm or destroy the flora.
One time, my backpacking partner Martin and I hiked the Mid-State Trail in Pennsylvania. The chosen terrain upon which they designed and built this trail was largely uneven. Actually, mountainous. I believe, when they designed the trail, the engineers would stand at the bottom of the mountain and point to the top. “Okay, let’s find the shortest, most difficult climb possible to get from here to there.” And then they went straight up the side of the mountain. It was a test. Y’know, how bad do you want it!
Enter the switchback. You cover a whole lot more linear feet, but the incline is less strenuous.
You want switchbacks? Go out west. There is something a bit more civilized about the trail design on our western mountain slopes. More switchbacks, gentler inclines. I mean, our switchbacks here in the east are switchbackier, requiring a much tougher constitution. Heck, I’ve done some trails here that are so steep, the ground was right in front of my face while I was hiking upward. If my hat fell off, I wouldn’t have to bend down to get it.
If anyone asks about the switchbacks up to the summit of Brasstown Bald, there are 41 of ‘em. That’s okay with me. You?