Currahee Mountain — Attraction in Toccoa

I did the Currahee 5k and 10K for Toccoa Military Weekend. The view from the top is made better by knowing you just did the climb. Fair warning. The trail from the small parking lot by the museum to the base of Currahee is relatively flat with rolling terrain. I say relatively because once you get to the base of Currahee, it's about a 12% grade over about a mile to get to the top. You can drive to the top. But with a larger vehicle there are limited spots to turnaround until you get to the top. I barely managed a turnaround in a short bed F150 when the road was blocked by a recovery vehicle. The road is very doable in good weather with 2-wheel drive vehicles. I did it in 2-wheel (rear) drive in my F150. If it's wet or conditions are not good, consider 4-wheel drive or AWD. Given the steepness of the road, make sure you have good brakes before going up. In an automatic, shift to low or "1" before going down. If in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, consider shifting into 4-Low. Even in "1" I needed to use more brakes than I liked. By the way, from the small parking lot at the trail head, it's about 2.5-2.75 miles to the top not 3. If you're looking to do "3 miles up, 3 miles down," start at the museum entrance, run down to the pump company, then run back to the parking lot and go up the mountain. When you get abeam the museum on the way back, that will be...

Currahee Mountain is a great little side trip for World War II enthusiasts. Located just outside Toccoa, Georgia, with easy access from I-85, the mountain served as training grounds for thousands of Airbourne soldiers before deployment to Europe. Tom Hanks' classic "Band of Brothers" is a 10 part series depicting Currahee's "Charlie Company's" 3 year journey with Allied Forces as they bitterly fought their way to Germany and eventual victory. The mountain itself can be climbed in a bit more than an hour...or you can drive up on a gravel road. The climb is moderate to strenuous. The view from the top is well worth the effort plus you will see interesting rock formations as well as plenty of flora and fauna. Unfortunately many of the rock formations are covered with graphiti. At the base of the mountain are the remnants of Camp Toccoa with a moving Memorial and several World War II airplanes housed in a restricted space. The Currahee Museum is located in the charming town of Toccoa. The Museum contains first class exhibits about World War II in general and Currahee in particular. Plan on spending an hour or two in the museum. Well worth it. You will also enjoy...

I was not just taking a hike for fun, but tried to find some inspiration for life from "three miles up, three miles down". One can drive to the top. The parking lot at trailhead was pretty small, near Camp Taccoa. The last mile, the last half mile to be exact, was quite exhausting.

On the top, Many young hawks were soaring while adult hawks were watching and coaching.

In "Band of Brothers ", E Company was started here at Camp Toccoa, also Colonel Robert Sink.

Currahee is the last mountain in the Blue Ridge chain. The name Currahee, given by the Cherokee Indians, is translated "stand alone." During World War II, the mountain again became a part of a war. The U.S. Army selected Currahee as the site for its first Parachute Infantry Training Center to be named Camp Toccoa. E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the...