Camping at Red Top Mountain, Georgia

[Sylvester]

My oldest boy and I went camping last night, sort of an impromptu trip, when you go camping you always forget something, when you rush it you forget a lot. It was snowing when we left Saturday. Now I know to you Chicago guys, and the PNW's and GlassEye, snowing is common where ya'll are, I did it too in Ohio for 25 years. However, down here in Atlanta, to say you are going camping and it is snowing out, will have even my Hoosier sister asking what am I doing? Well, it has been since I was a wee lad in Boy Scouts that I have camped in the cold, and I could not resist the challenge when my oldest boy asked if we were going camping while he was staying with me. I told him hell or high water we would be going this weekend, and we did. It snowed and sleeted when we got there, it was in the high 20's. And I admit, I brought my small ceramic heater with me. Now before the hardcore campers cringe at the thought of having a heater while camping, I digress. One, I think I earned the right to have one being over 40, been in the Boy Scouts for 6 years and having camped in the woods in a reproduction 1860's tent Civil War re-enacting for ten years, being stationed in the desert and living in a tent during the summer, to feel I EARNED this small piece of comfort. So to the purists among you that have camped in 4 feet of snow with no heater, and have reported that you awoke to your water froze solid in the Bus, and that your first wife (Rest Her Soul) froze to death, well you are more man than I am. I will say, we had the campground practically to ourselves, and camped on a finger of a peninsula right next to the water. It was cold, but we lit a fire, then abandoned it when it was too cold to even stand outside. Also, we did watch a movie on a DVD player, but hey being stuck in a Bus in the woods with a 15 year old, you do what you have to do. We did stay warm though, and had a good time. It was so quiet there, you could hear people walking on the road 1/4 of a mile away across the lake. The Bus ran like she was not 37 years old but anew, she happily chuged along and got a few compliments from the rangers at the park. The bugger of it was I didn't take my camera, I forgot it. I have a few phone camera shots I will try and post tomorrow, but here is a shot form their web site, this was a great park, we will be going back again for sure. The campground is not in the picture, just the lodge, but you get the idea that the entire park is surrounded by water, Lake Alatoona to be exact.



They even have a yurt there, we were to the right of this campsite.

[chitwnvw]

Sly, I am all for heat. Especially when watching movies with the young uns in the bus. You want positive camping experiences. The important thing is to get away and do some one on one. Time slips away so fast. Soon we will only see them at the holidays and birthdays, if we are lucky.

I hadn't thought of heat if I have a AC hook up. Shoot I might get one of those oil filled radiators. You've got the wheels turning.

PS: As I was spelling wheels I just remembered that was the word that got me bumped from the 8th grade spelling B. I was uncertain if it was weel or wheel. Why is that h in there anyway?

PSS: That place looks awesome, so beautiful. It's in the teens here and that feels pretty warm. It was -17 2 days ago so that's a 30+ degree change.

[hambone]

How the hell did I miss this thread? Good stuff. No photos??!!?
You're a brave man to go out when it's a high of 20. That's too cold for me.

[Ritter]

That's too cold for me.

Wimp. Kidding--our low was around 15 overnight with a high of a balmy 50 or so.

From a few weeks ago (no bus, just skis):

Home for the night
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Not a bad view.
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Dad cooking up some breakfast. Crazy man packed in a sled with a full Coleman camp stove. Guess who got to pull the thing up the hill.
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Gratuitous posting to show I like to camp in cold weather too.

[hambone]

Nice pics, dig that big ponderosa pine.
A HIGH of 20 is too cold. 50, that's balmy.

[Ritter]

A HIGH of 20 is too cold. 50, that's balmy.

No argument from this Californian!

[Sylvester]

How the hell did I miss this thread? Good stuff. No photos??!!?
You're a brave man to go out when it's a high of 20. That's too cold for me.

I had forgot the camera, and took some shots with the phone camera, but never did transfer them over. I want to go back in the Spring, this place looks very promising for things to do. It really was the coldest and most miserable camping conditions (Snow, sleet and rain all night), but I enjoyed it since I like a challenge. I found this picture online, you have to cross part of the lake just to get to the mountain, nothing like crossing it in a Bay Bus!