Griff's Great American South (2025) Season 1 Episode 2

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Transcript

00:00I'm currently in a yellow aeroplane, and beneath me is the state of Georgia.

00:26We all know Georgia, of course, Georgia, Georgia, just that old sweet song.

00:35A lot of Georgia is made of mountains, forests, and farmland.

00:41It's the mythical slow south, but in reality it's a two-speed state.

00:48The urban areas are inventive, industrious, and dynamic.

00:52Welcome to the hip-hop, bustling, booming, sunbelt city of Atlanta.

01:02The Great American South.

01:06From the Atlantic to the Gulf, and a few points in between in a runabout sort of way,

01:13come with me, exploring its rich, its wondrous, and, let's face it, its sometimes troubled history.

01:19Rejoicing in the spiritual.

01:23And the creative.

01:26Now I have faith in welding.

01:28Wrapping myself in legend and myth.

01:31It's like a sort of American Gothic novel.

01:34Stuffing myself with southern food.

01:36And what is your secret?

01:39Me.

01:40I want to explore America where the crawdads sing.

01:49By land, by air, by water.

01:52It promises to be uplifting, exciting, and very beautiful.

01:57I'm going with Griff.

01:59Yes, ma'am.

01:59The Great American South.

02:01I've changed my mind!

02:03Ours for the taking.

02:04Safe travels.

02:05It's a natural city.

02:26It just keeps going and going.

02:27Yeah, you're absolutely right.

02:30The phrase you'll hear people say is Atlanta is an hour away from Atlanta.

02:34It's a huge area with a lot of people.

02:38The very phrase urban sprawl was first coined for southeastern cities like the one beneath me.

02:46Atlanta spreads 132 square miles along its freeways.

02:51It's the state capital of Georgia, but America's home because it's roughly three hours from the home of the rest of the U.S.

03:01But some here may say that the rest of the U.S. is only three hours from Atlanta.

03:07Wes, that was terrific.

03:08Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

03:09I loved it.

03:10And what a way to see the city and arrive in this extraordinary place.

03:16Wes, thank you very much.

03:18Glad you enjoyed it.

03:19Make sure you cut a shine.

03:21I'll try.

03:22I'll make sure I cut a shine.

03:24Of course, I'm in Atlanta.

03:26Thank you, Captain.

03:29Everything looks shiny in this place.

03:32Massive freeways.

03:34Chunky office buildings.

03:37So where better to start my journey of discovery than right at the birthplace of the city?

03:43Five Points, Atlanta.

03:45Okay, now this is confusing to me because it definitely says Five Points Transit Station pointing that way.

03:51We go around the other side.

03:57It says Five Points Transit Station and it's pointing that way.

04:03Hi, hi.

04:04Excuse me.

04:04I'm looking for Five Points.

04:06Is that near here?

04:07This is Five Points.

04:08Okay, so I found it.

04:10Yes, exactly.

04:11Okay, so this is the very beginning of Atlanta is here.

04:16Yes.

04:16This is where, in 1837, less than 200 years ago, the engineer stuck in a marker post to be the zero mile point on his new railway.

04:31At the time, he reckoned there would never be more here than a tavern, a blacksmith's, and a couple of houses.

04:43There are now six million people in Atlanta.

04:49The New South is really not a new idea at all.

04:52It was first coined in 1874 as a plan to throw off the lazy country reputation of the Old South.

04:59This city became a setter for invention and enterprise.

05:04A doctor here in Atlanta came up with a recipe for a thing that he called Coca-Cola.

05:12This idea was turned into a brand, the recipe was sold by the doctor, and Coca-Cola took off.

05:23Many other famous American companies were founded right here in Atlanta.

05:29CNN, Home Depot, Spanx.

05:34This city has railway lines and motorways etched in its DNA.

05:38But 21st century sensibilities are reshaping its future and mine.

05:49Intrinsically, I don't believe in electric bikes.

05:54I think as long as you've got two legs, you really ought to use your two legs to power yourself along.

06:02And a number of people who say to me, oh, we keep so fit these days, riding electric bikes.

06:08Keep fit?

06:09Let me see if I've got the fitness to get this thing going.

06:14Yeah.

06:23Okay.

06:24Maybe I'm wrong.

06:25We're riding now on a thing called the Beltline.

06:33It's got trees all the way along it, and it runs for 22 miles.

06:39This huge cycling lane was built out of the old railway system that once linked Industrial Atlanta.

06:45Ryan Gravel came up with the notion as a student project.

06:48It's a brilliant idea, and it looks as if every single cool dude in the entirety of Atlanta is on it at the moment.

07:02As bike routes go, this feels just about the safest I've ever been on.

07:08When I say safe, of course, I mean for me on the bike, not necessarily for the pedestrians who might meet me.

07:15Oh, I'm sorry.

07:22I'm in a city of boom and bust, leveled during the Civil War, reborn in the early 20th century.

07:30It nearly went broke during the 60s and 70s, while the South struggled with its identity.

07:35But then, in 1996, a miracle.

07:39The Olympics came to town.

07:41So, in the last few years, has it become a world city?

07:46There's no question about that.

07:47That happened in 96.

07:48You've got to understand, the Olympics coming to America is one thing.

07:51But Atlanta?

07:52That was unheard of.

07:54But by the time it comes here in 96, the world is starting to see what we have.

07:58And that's what made Atlanta special, because other parts of the South do not have that.

08:0296 on, people moved here and decided, well, you know what?

08:05I like it and I'll stay.

08:06That never happened in the South.

08:08People moved away.

08:09The whole great migration was people moving away from the South and moving to Detroit,

08:12Philadelphia, New York.

08:14My parents are two of them.

08:15Approximately 6 million black people left the American South between 1910 and the 1970s,

08:23escaping segregation, violence, and economic hardship.

08:26That was your mentality.

08:27When you graduate from high school in North Carolina, you've got to go North.

08:30You want to be something.

08:31Now everyone's coming South to be something.

08:35Everyone I meet is from Chicago and Detroit, Pittsburgh, whatever.

08:37You can be something here in Atlanta.

08:40I'm living good for that.

08:41And can you, I mean, I've been told to cut a shine.

08:44Is it possible to cut a shine?

08:46What does that mean, cut a shine?

08:47To come from New York like me and have a little bit of experience, a little bit of talent,

08:52well, maybe a lot of talent, and start your career here and make a way.

08:57And now I'm the editor-in-chief of the only black newspaper in Atlanta.

08:59So you've cut a shine.

09:00I've cut a shine here.

09:01And I'm not the only one, I'm sure.

09:03Music, fashion, et cetera.

09:05There's so many ways to do that in Atlanta, and that was not the case before the Olympics.

09:09The world came here and they stayed.

09:12And people have been cutting a shine here big time.

09:16More than 10 billionaires now call Georgia home.

09:20But I wonder if they use this means to get around the place.

09:25Well, I'm looking for my hotel now, which is in Peachtree Street, although I must get confused

09:32because there are 55 separate Peachtree Streets in Atlanta.

09:39And it's reckoned that none of them are actually named after a Peachtree.

09:47They're probably named after the Native American village, which was called Standing Peachtree.

09:53Now, am I the first to check in here on the two minuscule wheels?

10:00Well, I'm just saying here must be one of the grooviest places in the whole of the United States of America

10:15because this is the Hyatt, and it was designed by an Atlanta architect, John Portman, in 1967.

10:24And it was used as a template on a lot of other hotels which have a similar layout.

10:35At the moment, the hotel is filling up because there's a convention of missionaries.

10:42But in 1970, there was a very different crowd because Atlanta was the scene of Muhammad Ali's comeback fight.

10:55He had an exhibition match against Jerry Quarry.

11:01This place filled up with the aristocracy of black culture.

11:07Diana Ross, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sidney Poitier,

11:11They all came here.

11:14And, of course, hordes and hordes of sports enthusiasts.

11:20And there was a moment after having won the fight,

11:24Muhammad Ali got into one of these see-through lifts and ascended that night,

11:30going up, taking his place at the top of the hierarchy.

11:36Plenty of Atlanta still to explore,

11:42but I'm using my southern downtime productively as, later,

11:46I'm going to be in mountain country,

11:48hopefully jamming with bluegrass finger pickers.

11:52Could this be my chance to shine?

11:55It doesn't sound anything like Mountain Dew or Foggy Bottom.

11:59I'm going to cut a shine like this, aren't I?

12:20Of course I am.

12:23Who doesn't like to walk a city, smell it, feel the pavement under your feet,

12:27and follow the crowd?

12:29Especially when they're all going in the same direction.

12:32The Dallas Cowboys are in town

12:35to take on Atlanta's mighty Falcons.

12:38I'm getting excited.

12:42I've got no skin in this game at all.

12:46But it gets to you, doesn't it?

12:48The pre-game tailgate party is the place for me.

12:52Cars and American football grew up together.

12:55As the game got more popular,

12:56stadiums just weren't big enough.

12:59But the car parks were.

13:02You're a falcon.

13:03You're a falcon.

13:04I see you are too.

13:05I am for today.

13:06We're taking it slow to get there.

13:10We're in the south.

13:11It's no hurry.

13:12We just sort of stroll along to get into the tailgate party.

13:22I don't have tickets to the big game,

13:24but then I don't really want them.

13:26My sort of action is taking place well outside the stadium.

13:29And this is the way to enjoy sport.

13:32I'm going to keep my distance from the bucking bronco.

13:36Just there.

13:39You have to try the ribs.

13:41I have to try the ribs.

13:43Oh, my goodness.

13:45This rib is serious.

13:46Smoke it most.

13:47How you doing, brother?

13:47This is my first tailgate party.

13:50Oh, yeah.

13:50You're going to make it slim.

13:51You're going to make it happen.

13:52What is a tailgate party?

13:56Everybody pick their favorite team.

13:58Right.

13:59Just eat, be merry, and feel so good.

14:02Okay.

14:03Just like when you bite in town at rib.

14:06Oh.

14:07What time does the game start?

14:10At 1 o'clock.

14:11Some people go see the game.

14:12Yeah.

14:13And some people go to the game and come back.

14:16Right.

14:16The tailgate, have after parties and drink and everything.

14:20From here, I've got to get it in the hole.

14:31Good.

14:32I missed the ball entirely.

14:36Come on, huh?

14:42You're nearly as old as I am.

14:46Yeah, I'm scared of him.

14:47But I love football.

14:49I'm noticing you're here in the middle of Atlanta, and you're wearing a cowboy shirt.

15:06Are you an Atlanta guy or a Dallas guy?

15:09I'm an Atlanta guy, but I'm a cowboy's thing.

15:12What I did was I quickly went off and got what I thought would show my loyalty here.

15:18Yeah, yeah.

15:19And now I find you've got the cowboy shirt on.

15:22You know, I like the color, but this is always the American scene.

15:26Y'all are.

15:26We are.

15:27And what way is this game going to go today?

15:31Honestly?

15:32Yeah.

15:342713 Cowboys.

15:362713, okay, I'll take that.

15:39You'll take that.

15:40How much?

15:41Oh!

15:42Oh!

15:42Let's get it at that point.

15:46Football, music, and barbecue.

15:50A well-tried Atlanta recipe.

15:55I'll taste it.

15:56Well, it's too good for words.

16:04It's too good for words.

16:06And what is your secret?

16:09Me.

16:14You're an Atlanta person.

16:16Now I am.

16:17Now you are.

16:17Where did you come from from before?

16:18New Jersey.

16:19New Jersey!

16:20Yes.

16:21And how do you find it down here in the South?

16:23I love it.

16:24The hospitality is great.

16:27By meeting people, shaking hands, saying hello.

16:31They don't do too much there up north.

16:33I had thought a tailgate party was going to be all about the football.

16:39I was wrong.

16:40This is the new South, where you can scream and dance with total strangers.

16:44And frankly, Scarlett, they don't give a damn.

16:48But a tailgate party, you just go with the flow.

16:51I thought, when I came here, I might be able to cut a shine here.

16:57And I came, I dragged, I'm sitting on a ball.

17:00I've got to get off this thing before it starts.

17:04I know what you're thinking.

17:06Come on, Griff, go for it.

17:07Are you mad?

17:09For the record, Atlanta finally defeated the Cowboys 27-21, after about three hours.

17:19So the car park party went on all night long.

17:25Partying together might not have been such a simple option 80 years ago.

17:30Atlanta has not always been an easy-going place for African-American people.

17:35In 1939, the Seminole Southern movie Gone With The Wind had its premiere here in this city.

17:43The great stars turned up, Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable and Olivia de Havilland and the producer David O. Selznick.

17:49But one star wasn't allowed to come.

17:56And that was Hattie McDaniel.

17:59She gave an incredible performance and she won an Oscar.

18:03But this was a segregated town in 1939.

18:07One person who did see it was Martin Luther King, Jr.

18:12He was very little at the time, but he was dressed up as an enslaved person and sang in a choir.

18:22It's hardly surprising that 20 years later, Atlanta was at the forefront of the civil rights movement in America.

18:30And so, of course, was Dr. Martin Luther King.

18:34He was a pastor at the church and I honestly feel I can't come here without paying a sort of pilgrimage to visit the site of his work.

18:49His great non-violent protest, which ended so tragically.

18:55He was born here and his legacy remains visible across the city.

18:59I believe there are over 20 sites across Atlanta named in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s honour.

19:09I've read an awful lot about segregation and you can only, as a white person, find yourself wholly ashamed about things that happened in the first half of the 20th century.

19:21And it needed people like Martin Luther King to present an argument that resulted in change.

19:37It's been nearly 60 years since King was assassinated.

19:42What he dreamt of is still alive and taking shape here in Atlanta and throughout the South.

19:48Though many feel there's more to be done.

19:51Atlanta has seen a lot of change this century.

20:04You can see it in the people, the cityscape and the food.

20:08Even the famed Michelin restaurant critics agree.

20:11I found my way over to the West Midtown area now and I'm feeling, well, I'm feeling a little bit hungry.

20:19I've come to a place called Twisted Soul, which means I intend to eat well.

20:25I've come to explore another essential part of Black Southern culture here, soul food, but at its delicious, world-renowned best.

20:39Deborah, hello.

20:40All right, so we're going to do the Southern thing.

20:42We're going to do hugs, all righty.

20:45Welcome.

20:46Welcome.

20:47So I'm going to ask you, first of all, what are we going to make here?

20:51Okay, so we are going to make our infamous collard green roll.

20:56And I got my inspiration from the Greek grape leaf that is stuffed.

21:03Yeah, of course.

21:03And I thought, why can't I do this with a collard green?

21:06So I've cooked these collards.

21:08They've got vegetables in them, peppers, onions, garlic, a little salt, little peppers, paprika.

21:15So they've got a little bit of flavor.

21:17These are cold.

21:18Shall I try?

21:18You ready?

21:19You ready?

21:20Let me try.

21:20Have a go.

21:20Okay, so let me get you a good leaf that won't present too many problems for you.

21:28All right, so that's a good leaf.

21:29Okay, that's a very pretty leaf.

21:31That's a pretty leaf.

21:32Tell me about soul food as opposed to, say, Southern food.

21:36You know, I think Southern food is food that's indigenous to the South.

21:43Soul food is food that's indigenous to the South,

21:47but it also is a food that was presented by slaves.

21:51It's from slavery, you know, and it was how slaves took, you know, the scraps and made them delicious

22:00because it wasn't easy to make these things good, make them nutritious,

22:05and then you're feeding your family.

22:07You want your family to enjoy it.

22:08You want them to love it.

22:10Like the very best Italian cooking or the very best French cooking.

22:13Yes.

22:13It's mama's cooking to begin with.

22:15It comes from the soul.

22:17It comes from the heart.

22:18Okay.

22:19Yeah.

22:20Right.

22:20So I should start.

22:21Yeah, but I gave you a little bit here.

22:23Yeah.

22:23Okay.

22:24Right.

22:24Just look at me, watch me go.

22:26I'm going to watch you do it.

22:27Okay, so we're going to fold over first.

22:29Okay.

22:29So fold over.

22:30Fold over.

22:31Okay.

22:31Now let's take our sides and bring them in nice and tight.

22:34Ah.

22:35Okay.

22:36All right.

22:36Yeah.

22:36All right, now you got a little tight bundle.

22:38Yeah.

22:38Now we're going to roll it, and we're going to roll it tightly.

22:41Uh-huh.

22:44I'm a bit slower than you are.

22:46That's okay.

22:47That's okay.

22:47I know.

22:48I've done millions of these over the years.

22:50Okay.

22:50I bet you have.

22:51But you're looking good.

22:52You're looking good.

22:53Look at that.

22:54That's a good looking one.

22:55Yes.

22:56I think you did pretty good.

23:01Oh, delicious.

23:02Okay.

23:03So this is our fried chicken plate.

23:05This is what we sell tons of, more than anything.

23:08It's been on the restaurant menu since 1998, and it has not changed.

23:16I love to be in it.

23:16Fried chicken is a real important part of soul food.

23:20It's a staple of soul food.

23:21Yeah.

23:21And then this is a play on something I grew up with.

23:27You'll find different regions have different twists of their own.

23:31So here, catfish or fish and grits.

23:35I grew up in the Midwest in Kansas City.

23:37And I think for this dish, you see some of the Italian influence because there was like

23:43big mafia back in the day.

23:44And there's big arguments between us and the soul food world about is that proper or is it not?

23:50But it's proper because that's what we had.

23:52So help yourself.

23:54Grab your fork.

23:55Dig in.

23:59You're part of an incredible Atlanta food scene.

24:03You've won a Michelin award.

24:05With Michelin recognition.

24:07Yes.

24:07But it's sort of indicative, isn't it?

24:09That Michelin here, that everything in Atlanta is pretty hot.

24:15Yeah.

24:16I'm glad Michelin came.

24:17The food scene here is broad.

24:20It's not just Southern food.

24:23The Asian food here is absolutely amazing.

24:27You know, the Latin cuisine is absolutely amazing.

24:30That's because of the mix of people who are coming.

24:34Yes.

24:35This city is still growing.

24:36Yes, it is rapidly.

24:38I'm getting the feeling you're excited about Atlanta.

24:41Yeah.

24:42Yeah.

24:42I love this place.

24:44Yes, I do.

24:45Yes, I do.

24:46I love the food, the people.

24:48To me, it's the window into different cultures.

24:52It's just that window.

24:54It's been fantastic.

24:55I've discovered so many things I love in one serving.

25:01Like me, after that meal, the Atlantic population is growing.

25:09Currently, 48% of residents are African American, but in this New South, there are a lot of other

25:14communities who have been settled here for many years.

25:18We are in Oakland Semishaw for a Day of the Dead.

25:24That's a Mexican festival to celebrate the souls of the departed.

25:29And you come to commune with them for one or two days in the year, simply in order to say,

25:35Hello, let's get together and have a good time.

25:41There's a lot of money being spent on being dead here.

25:49There's miles of this.

25:52It's like a different world.

25:56There are worlds within worlds in the South.

25:59I'm definitely outshone in this place.

26:02You look terrifying.

26:03It's half a million Mexicans in Georgia.

26:09Half a million?

26:10Half a million.

26:11And this event, in different shapes and forms, has been going on in Atlanta for over 15 years.

26:16Right.

26:17Our estimations is that at least half of the people who come to the festival are not Mexican,

26:21who just love this tradition.

26:24They are embracing it.

26:25What do you think of Atlanta?

26:27I think it's a great city.

26:28I think it's a city that not a lot of people outside the United States appreciate,

26:31how important it is in terms of a global city, where everything's here.

26:35Mexico's here, but all countries in the world are here.

26:37On this day of the dead, the city feels wholly alive and still inventive.

26:44Do you fancy an ice cream?

26:45Perhaps one made of your favourite breakfast cereal?

26:48Hi, welcome in.

26:52Hello, hello.

26:53What can I get started for you today?

26:55Right, well, I'd like a cone.

26:57Okay.

26:57I got you for a cone.

26:58And what base labour of ice cream would you like?

27:00I'd like some vanilla and chocolate.

27:02Can that both fit in the cone?

27:03Absolutely, it can.

27:05And then blend it inside.

27:07You want something chocolatey.

27:08Okay, give me one thing that you like and I'll build around it.

27:13Sort of Cocoa Pops type thing.

27:15Got you.

27:16I got you, baby.

27:16So I got you for a vanilla and chocolate cone with some Cocoa Puffs, a little cream on top,

27:21and some chocolate sauce.

27:22Is that all for you today?

27:23That's lovely.

27:25All right.

27:25You have a seat anywhere.

27:26I'm going to bring it right out to you, okay?

27:27Thank you very much.

27:29This is what's known as Southern Comfort.

27:32I'm looking around here at least four members of the crew who all probably like an ice cream

27:41as well, but they can have theirs late.

27:44There we are.

27:46That's delightful.

27:47There you are, my love.

27:50Now, I just got to ask you this, because am I allowed to take it out and eat it in the

27:55street?

27:55Absolutely, you can.

27:57Did you know that there was a Georgian bylaw?

28:01No ice cream.

28:02On the street, but only on a Sunday.

28:05Are you serious?

28:06You're joking.

28:07No, I'm not.

28:07I'm not joking.

28:09Well, wish me luck with this.

28:11Absolutely.

28:11I do wish you the best of luck.

28:13Thank you for stopping in.

28:17Is modern Atlanta finally outgrowing its somewhat restrictive past?

28:22Well, there's a shortage of trees in Atlanta.

28:40Atlanta, it's calculated that the city has about 50% of it covered by tree shade, which is what

28:48they're there for.

28:53This is the canopy walk in the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and it takes me up into these gorgeous

29:02monsters.

29:04Atlanta is actually called the city in the forest.

29:11Now, I have to say, if I really want to see trees, I have to experience the fall in all

29:20its glory, I think I have to head out to the rest of Georgia.

29:32We have this one opened up, so I want to show you a little bit of the outside and how we open

29:36it, and we'll take a look in.

29:37It's clearly about three times the size of any hotel that I've managed to stay in so far.

29:43The Appalachian mountains are calling to me.

29:46Blue grass and white lightning await.

29:48Fortunately, I get to take my mountain home comforts along.

29:53Is there anything more essentially southern than a massive, oversized RV?

29:58Except perhaps a slightly more tiddly one.

30:06I've failed completely to cut a shine in Atlanta.

30:12How could you possibly do that?

30:14It's a city of billionaires.

30:16Everybody is showing off, and some people very successfully indeed.

30:23We're sort of on the outskirts of Atlanta, moving out.

30:28And you get a sort of taste of modern America.

30:31In the old days, the billboards used to advertise all sorts of things.

30:34It's a lot of cigarettes, Burma shave, you name it.

30:38And now, Jesus, fast food, and lawyers are after your business, especially if you're driving

30:46an RV, of course.

30:47There's a lot more to Georgia than just Atlanta.

31:00There's many millions of miles of tree-covered beauty.

31:06And to the north and to the west, the mountains.

31:13North-east of Atlanta, the Lonecker is called the Gateway to the Appalachians.

31:43Slow mountain talk and fast banjo plucking.

31:47Think moonshine hill folk and horror movies, but today, the beauty is the major draw for

31:52a tourist.

31:53The area has a history.

31:56And this whole town owes its existence to a gold rush.

32:03When Americans say there's gold in them, they're hills, they're actually referring to these hills.

32:10In 1829, gold fever broke out here.

32:14Well before the California strike, at its peak, 15,000 miners came to get rich quick.

32:20Today, it is a rather quieter place.

32:23You can definitely feel the beginning of winter coming on here now.

32:28And about 200 years ago, the winter was the setting for a terrible tragedy.

32:35Prospectors came out further and further into the hills, which were officially designated

32:42the Cherokee Nation.

32:46And ultimately, Andrew Jackson, the president, said, get rid of the Indians.

32:54So they did.

32:56They sent 7,000 troops and they herded the entire Cherokee Nation off their country in one

33:03of the bitterest winters that they had ever known.

33:08The Indian Removal Act of 1830 ultimately meant that around 50,000 Native Americans were

33:14driven off their lands in the south and relocated west of the Mississippi.

33:20As the Europeans arrived, so they wanted the Native Americans moved further and further west.

33:29The initial forced march resulted in 6,000 deaths.

33:33It was called the Trail of Tears.

33:37Today, it's hard to comprehend such brutality and indifference to the First Nations people

33:41and their connection to the land, especially when it's such a beautiful place.

33:47Where others come in search of a very different, or perhaps even redemptive, trail.

33:56It's incredibly pleasant to just take a stroll in the Appalachian woods in the fall,

34:03but for some people, that stroll becomes the most incredible undertaking.

34:10Because here, in northwestern Georgia, is the bottom of the Appalachian mountain range.

34:20And that stretches 2,000 miles, and there's a trail that hikers take that goes the entire length.

34:31And at the end of this footbath is a hostel, which is a safe haven for hardcore strollers.

34:40Hey, welcome to Above the Cloud's Hostile.

34:44We're at the beginning of the trail, aren't we?

34:47Yeah, the beginning of the Appalachian Trail.

34:49Well, give or take, it changes.

34:51But it doesn't stay in Georgia.

34:54It starts in Georgia, goes through Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania,

35:00New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

35:07This is a long, long walk.

35:09It's a long walk.

35:10It's a sort of like a bucket list walk.

35:12It is.

35:13Yes.

35:13But one where it helps to have made that list at a fairly young age.

35:17So can I ask, what does taking this trek mean to you, then?

35:20In my personal experience, I had done hiking in the past,

35:23but as soon as I started hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I needed to relearn how to hike because this is not a graded path.

35:32I always tell people, you have to actually love it enough to see the fun through heat waves, getting hailed on.

35:42Would you recommend what you do to people?

35:44Absolutely.

35:46There's no better way to spend your time.

35:48No, hiking has its own culture and true believers take it very seriously.

35:52So much so that they even change their identities to reflect their experience.

35:58So you have names, individual names, which your, shall we say, your parents gave you some time ago.

36:07And then you've got trail names as well.

36:09How do they come about?

36:10While you're hiking, you're not there to be the person you were.

36:14You're there for a new experience and to figure out a new way to navigate life.

36:19So what comes with that in the culture is we're going to give you a new name, a new way for you to identify yourself.

36:24Oh, man.

36:25You say, Rudolph is your trail name.

36:28Yes.

36:28When did you get that name?

36:29So this was a really foggy day and we were going up a mountain and there was a lot of switchbacks.

36:33So the trail is just zigzagging up the mountain.

36:36And I went ahead of my friends.

36:38All they could see is the bright red bag through the fog.

36:42And they said they followed it like Rudolph's nose.

36:45So then from then on, I was named Rudolph.

36:48And that's it.

36:48And you're happy to be Rudolph?

36:50I'm very happy to be Rudolph, yeah.

36:55While Rudolph, Twinkletoes and Moose Juice set off.

36:58All right.

37:00Load them up.

37:01Y'all have a great hike.

37:03The hostel owner, Lucky, takes me to get a flavor of the Great Path to the North.

37:07I was expecting like a wider and bigger and sort of more open trail.

37:14Well, that's interesting because the trail, what makes it special in my mind is that it's

37:20a walking only trail.

37:22No horses, no motorized vehicles.

37:24Only people are allowed on the trail.

37:27We call them the Appalachians.

37:28You call them the Appalachians.

37:30There's a joke that we have about that.

37:31In the South, we call it the Appalachian Trail, as in T-C-H, Appalachian.

37:35Okay.

37:36In the North, they call it the Appalachian Trail.

37:38Right.

37:38And I always joke, if you're going to hike the Appalachian Trail or the Appalachian Trail,

37:42either one, they're both hard.

37:44Whatever your motivation for pulling on your boots and shouldering your pack, only 25%

37:51who attempt the full distance are ever successful.

37:58So, I've been told to cut a shine.

38:00Do you know what cut a shine means?

38:01I don't.

38:06Were you supposed to...

38:06We got up to the mountains.

38:08Cut a shine?

38:09I've been out to asking people.

38:11No, I mean, it's to do with moonshine.

38:13Cut a shine.

38:14Cut a shine.

38:15Is that like a break a leg thing?

38:16Could be.

38:17I don't think it is.

38:18Well, don't break a leg.

38:19Well, maybe...

38:20He was being complimentary and he was being helpful.

38:21Cut a shine.

38:22Have a fun time.

38:23Have a fun time.

38:24If they were...

38:25I might have to Google that.

38:26Okay.

38:27Griff, look, I've got to get back to the hostel and watch after my guest.

38:29Right.

38:30You enjoy the rest of your hike.

38:32I shall certainly venture.

38:33I'll see you when you get back.

38:36Okay.

38:49Quite a lot of scary films were set in these woods.

38:54Deliverance.

38:55Cocaine Bear.

38:58The Descent.

39:04Well, there we are.

39:05I mean, the trail stretches over 2,000 miles ahead of me here.

39:09And people do walk it and do walk it entirely on...

39:14On their own.

39:23I...

39:24I...

39:25I don't know.

39:26I'd rather get the feeling that maybe I should be seeking shelter.

39:43I get the feeling we're filming a horror movie here.

39:59Yeah.

40:00Nasty.

40:01But this is my last night to practice before I have to try to cut a shine with a proper bluegrass band.

40:09The Banjo Killer.

40:13I'm feeling hopelessly nervous now because this is the Chicken House.

40:38Home of bluegrass in Dalonaga in the Appalachians.

40:47I don't really want to get my Banjo out here.

40:50Hi.

40:51Hello.

40:52How are you?

40:53I'm very...

40:54I'm very pleased to be here.

40:55This is the Chicken House?

40:56This is the Chicken House.

40:57This is the Chicken House.

40:58This is the Chicken House.

40:59You have concerts here?

41:00Yes.

41:01About once every week.

41:02Yeah.

41:03Every...

41:04Most every Saturday.

41:05These Bluegrass players, it's just...

41:06Oh, it's amazing what they can do with their instruments.

41:07What is bluegrass?

41:08Bluegrass.

41:09Bluegrass.

41:10Bluegrass.

41:11It actually came from some of the settlers that came in here back in the 16th, 17th century.

41:12Scottish.

41:13The Irish.

41:14The Irish.

41:15The Irish.

41:16The Irish.

41:17The Irish.

41:18The Irish.

41:19The Irish.

41:20The Irish.

41:21The Irish.

41:22The Irish.

41:23You have concerts here?

41:24Yes.

41:25About once every week.

41:26Yeah.

41:27Every...

41:28Most every Saturday.

41:29These bluegrass players, it's just...

41:31It's amazing what they can do with their instruments.

41:33It was, it actually, it came from some of the settlers that came in here back in the 16th, 17th century.

41:40Scottish, the Irish, they brought music here with them.

41:44A man by the name of Bill Monroe, he took this type of music and kind of energized it.

41:51And he put the pizzazz there too, I guess you'd say.

41:55And they were from a state to where it was a type of plant, was bluegrass.

42:00And so he said he was going to call it Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys.

42:06And so from about 1940 on, he was the father of bluegrass music.

42:12Everybody recognizes this when they hear it.

42:14It's an animated sort of country music.

42:16Yes, and it just, so it just went all over the world.

42:20But we love it, so we're proud to be part of it.

42:25So, listen, when I first arrived, right, the first man I met in Atlanta said,

42:30Griff, he said, you've got to go out and you've got to cut a shine.

42:35I said, all right, I didn't know what he meant.

42:38Well, I asked a lot of people in Atlanta, they didn't know.

42:40What on earth I was talking about?

42:43That cutting a shine, yeah.

42:44So what does cutting a shine mean?

42:47Everybody gets to have their time to do the lead part.

42:52And when they're cutting a shine, they're sitting around and they look over at the other person

42:56and it's his time to do the banjo or his time to do the fiddle.

43:01And so they get their turn.

43:03I think it's a bit presumptuous of me to think that I could cut a shine.

43:07Oh, you're going to cut a shine. You'll be fine. You're going to do great.

43:10Do you mean the band might stop and suddenly all look at me and it's my turn to go ba-dang-dang-dang-dang-dang?

43:15They'll never know the difference. Everything will be great.

43:19I'm not sure everyone believes that.

43:22They've assigned me a mentor.

43:24I'm a reminder.

43:26Mike.

43:26Mike is our banjo player.

43:27Pleased to meet you.

43:28Pleased to meet you.

43:31It's even in tune.

43:32Is it?

43:33Yeah, it sounds pretty good.

43:34Okay.

43:35I know a song that's a good one.

43:36Okay, good.

43:37You may know it and you may not.

43:39A little brown jug.

43:50That's all there is to it.

43:51Okay, let me just try that.

43:53A-ha-ha, you and me.

43:56A little brown jug, oh, I love me.

44:03A little brown jug, oh, I love me.

44:08I can't play and sing at the same time.

44:13Good.

44:13Little Brown Jugs never sounded that way before.

44:17We'll incorporate that into a new verse.

44:20I think we'll need a new version once I start playing.

44:25This is it.

44:28Time to play with the Gospel Chicken House Band.

44:32You be near me.

44:33Sit down near me and then the two of us can watch the case.

44:37All right.

45:08If you want to cut a shine, you need to make sure that there are

45:261, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 other musicians

45:34banging it out all around you.

45:37Who knows what I sounded like during that?

45:40You never will.

45:41I'm happy to say that I'm happy to say that I'm not here to cut a shine.

45:45I'm just here to join in.

45:47Welcome to Sweet Home, Alabama, where I'll learn to just have a little faith.

45:55Sign him up.

45:56Just got to go over there and throw up.

46:00Just got to go over there and throw up.

46:00I'm happy to go over there and throw up there and throw up.

46:17I don't know.

46:18I don't know.

46:18I can't take that kind of thing.

46:19I don't know.

46:19I can't take that kind of thing.

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