So, my wife and I, still on our hiking vacation, decided to take some time in the Great Smoky Mountains along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. After looking through some hiking choices, we opted to go for the Andrews Bald Trail. This trail is about 3.5 miles round trip to a peak that tops out at around 6300 feet. It is a moderate trail, with an elevation gain of about 900 feet, but it's a nice day hike.
This past week, my wife and I joined two very good friends for a walk up to Anna Ruby Falls, a two-cascade waterfall in Unicoi State Park, which is in the Chattahoochee National Forest. I've been to Anna Ruby Falls a few times in my life, as Unicoi State Park is just outside of Helen, which is only a half-hour or so from where I grew up. But, it's a good walk, and the scenery is fantastic, so I don't mind going again and again. It also happens to be the trail to the Smith Creek Trail trailhead, and I hope to take that trail again, as I haven't been on it in over ten years or so.
So, this past weekend, I went back to Oconee State Park, in South Carolina. This time, I went for the Old Waterwheel Trail, named for the spot where there used to be an old waterwheel that pumped water. The wheel is no longer there, having been moved elsewhere, but the remnants of the stone structure still remain.
After last week's enjoyable jaunt in Paris Mountain State Park, I decided to try out one of the other hikes there. The Brissy Ridge trail is part of the network of trails throughout the park, listed as 2.3 miles round trip and on their ranking of 1-10 in terms of difficulty (10 being most strenuous), it rates as 7 and 9. It's a fairly well-traveled and well-kept trail, and there were hikers and runners along the trail.
Been a pretty busy June, but I found an afternoon that I was able to get out to hike. I felt compelled to back to the Blood Mountain area of North Georgia. I've hiked up Blood Mountain before, and it's one of my favorite areas to go. There was no time to go up the mountain, but I figured I had time to take a quick excursion up the Byron Herbert Reece Trail, which is only about .7 miles, but it's one of the entry trails to the Appalachian Trail.
