If you've never been to Georgia before, never heard of NGAR or the Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race, or the tour of Georgia, you may not know what exactly lies in store for you at this years USARA National Championship to be held in Blue Ridge, Georgia. We've put together a quick survival guide of some of the info you won't find anywhere else.

First off, one should be warned of some of the dangers that exist in our back yard. There are numerous varieties of poisonous snakes, like the copperhead, cottonmouth, timber and eastern rattle snake. There are black bears, ticks, scorpions, mosquitoes, poison ivy and oak. Did I mention rumors of cougars? On top of all that we are in the midst of a multi year severe drought.

Once you get past all that, we've got some fantastic single track mountain bike riding and hiking like in the photo above. We've also got great rivers and lakes to paddle, assuming there is any water left in November. I'd suggest taking a look at the various topo maps for the area, but that only leaves you with half the story. There are countless old logging roads and game trails that are great to get around on as well. Rest assured, we're all memorizing all of them and when we suddenly disappear from sight, we've probably taken a short cut.

For all those who will be coming in from out of town and looking for a place to grab a bite to eat on the way to or from Blue Ridge, I highly recommend stopping by Pooles Bar-B-Q in Ellijay. You'll drive right by it if you fly into Atlanta. It is a classic north Georgia joint and I try and stop by every time I head up there. No matter where you eat, you'll need to specify how you want your iced tea; sweet or un-sweet. If you are diabetic, be warned, sweet tea in Georgia uses about a cup of sugar for every cup of water.

If you are looking for lodging for the weekend, you may want to skip the host hotel and call any of the cabin rental places in and around Blue Ridge. For a little more than the price of a couple nights in the hotel you can get a whole cabin with all the amenities, all within 5 to 20 minute drive. It's a great option for those looking to spend a little more time in the area.

My final tip, brush up on your Southern American English. While many of us in the big towns are transplants from other places, you'll be up in the woods and folks up there talk a little different. Y'all have fun now, y'hear?

-Peter