Three miles up! Climbing the hill at Currahee in Georgia

They were made into heroes thanks to Anthony Ambrose’s Band of Brothers. They were immortalized on the screen by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg but these ordinary heroes started at Currahee.

For those fans of the Band of Brothers HBO series, it may be something you want to do someday, walk, attempt to run, or drive to the top of Currahee, a three-mile-up roadway in Toccoa, Georgia.

The base has long since been abandoned but more than a few fans of the series but more importantly the history buffs who have followed and researched the men of the 101st Airborne Division, know the Currahee cry.

In Toccoa, Georgia, the remnants of the parachute infantry training grounds still stand but they are a far cry from the grounds that used to house the 506th PIR. Today Mount Currahee, Cherokee for what many believe to mean, “We stand alone together” allows visitors to make the trek to the top of the three-mile incline that weaves across the hill.

The mountain is the last of the Blue Ridge Mountain trek in the South and offers caves and hiking trails. Yet it’s the “Currahee” cry and an October challenge that brings visitors and runners to the area.

On the first Saturday of October each year, a race, the “Currahee Challenge” is held along the Colonel Sink Trail. The race is six miles in total, “Three Miles Up And Three Miles Down.” It is the trail and path that was originally used by the soldiers training to become parachute infantrymen in the early days of World War II.

Over the course of the weekend, military reenactments, dances, parades, book signings, and so much more are offered around the Toccoa community.

Admission to the hill is free and you are also free to tour the area on your own. Sadly, the rock pinnacle has been vandalized over the years and cell phone towers stand atop the hill but the trek is still an amazing hike or run and it’s hard to believe that so many years ago, soldiers made this run in full gear, almost daily.