Georgia

Recently, I was looking through some of my photos, and I found some images from a trip I took in the late fall of 2014 along the Sourwood Trail in north Georgia, around Lake Russell. I had almost forgotten that I had taken this hike, not because it wasn't enjoyable, but just because things had been very busy on my weekends, and it just got lost.I went along the trail the opposite direction from last time, but overall, the trip went very much like the last one.

As I've done a lot of hiking in and around north Georgia and upstate South Carolina, it has become increasingly difficult to find new day hikes that fit within my schedule and conditioning. So, I picked up a new book, Hiking Georgia, by Donald Pfitzer, to see if I could find some new hikes to try. After a quick sifting through the book, I found the Angel Falls Trail, just over the South Carolina border in northeast Georgia, not far from Clayton, in Rabun County.

The day before Easter, I wanted to go for another hike, but I also had plans to hang out with my nephew in the early afternoon, so I needed to make it a short one, and one near to my brother's house. This led me to Dukes Creek Falls, in North Georgia, just north of Helen.

I had seen the entrance to this trailhead many times before, on my way to other hikes off of the Richard B. Russell scenic highway, such as Raven Cliff Falls. However, I had never seen fit to try it out. In the end, I'm very glad I took the chance, on a chilly morning.

Today's hike is Raven Cliff Falls, this time in Georgia. This is the third time I've been on this hike, and it is another favorite of mine. It is about 2.5 miles one-way and moderate, with a couple of major elevation changes, the highest right at the end. The trail follows Dodd Creek all the way to twin cliffs with a waterfall that flows between them. The trail itself is in the North Georgia mountains, near Helen, off of the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway.

Later in January, my brother and I decided to hike a loop of trails in Amicalola State Park. We got to the park, and he rather ingeniously took a picture of the map at the visitor's center, since I wasn't able to get enough signal to download one. Looking at the map, we decided to start off on the Spring trail, which leads down to the Mountain Laurel Trail (called the Green Mountain trail in my hiking guides). The trail ends at the Creek trail, which continues the loop over to the Appalachian Approach Trail, which goes up to the falls.

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.