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.
The Lower Whitewater Falls Trail starts just short of the North Carolina - South Carolina border on Hwy. 130 from a parking lot of Duke Power's Bad Creek Hydroelectric Station. This 2-mile hike in to an overlook for the falls is moderately strenuous, and provides a series of great views through extremely varied terrain.
The Sourwood Trail is part of the Lake Russell Recreation Area in Habersham County, Georgia, near Mt. Airy. This trail is in my old stomping grounds, as I spent my teenage years in Habersham County. It's a lovely trail, with a nice little waterfall around the midway point.
About 20 miles north of Walhalla, SC is the Yellow Branch Recreation Area, which contains the trailhead for the Yellow Branch Falls trail. This trail winds its way across streams may times before reaching the Yellow Branch waterfall. This trail is about 1.5 miles to the falls, and it is an easy-to-moderate hike.
The Raven Rock trail is part of a small network of hiking trails in the Keowee Toxaway State Park in upstate South Carolina. This trail is a loop trail that branches off from the Natural Bridge loop trail, in the same area. Together, the Natural Bridge and Raven Rock trails form a 4.1-mile loop. The trailhead for these two trails is just off the visitor's center for the park, just off of Hwy. 11, between Hwy. 130 and U.S. 178.
The East Fork Trail is part of the South Carolina Foothills Trail, an 80-mile trail stretching from Oconee State Park to Table Rock State Park. This section of the trail begins about 20 miles north of Walhalla and follows the East Fork of the Chattooga River. The trail itself is gorgeous, offering views of lush fields of ferns, rushing rapids, and amazing rock faces.
