Big Creek Waterfall Hike

Sunday, we woke up and took Highway 28 into Georgia, parking right after the road crosses Big Creek just before the North Carolina state line.  From here, we hiked along FR-650 into the Three Forks area of Chattahoochee National Forest.  Almost immediately, we had to ford Talley Mill Creek.  The road ended in about 0.7 miles at a big jeep mound and we took a break here.  I descended the very steep path towards the Fourth Waterfall on Big Creek while Sandy waited with Alex.  It was steep but not too bad at first.  As I got towards the creek, it got progressively steeper and more difficult.  Ropes were tied to trees to assist in places.  The final descent was pretty much a full on rappel down a sheer rock face.  All that and the view wasn't very good anyway.

Maybe in lower water, it would have been possible to get a better view, but there was almost nowhere to get a picture from.  Then I had to get back up.  The first part was a full on rope climb until I get high enough for some footholds.  When I finally got back up, I recommended Sandy not bother going down.  Past the jeep mound, the road continued as Three Forks Trail.  There were some nice mountain laurels blooming along this section.

In another half-mile or so, there was a split and we went left to get on the rugged Big Creek Trail.  Initially, it was pretty easy to follow but there were a lot of downed trees and it got harder to follow.  The trail followed the creek more closely and it was pretty calm in this stretch.  As we approached the Third Waterfall on Big Creek, there were some nice cascades in the creek.

Just past here, the creek really got wild.  From the trail, the view was partially obscured but we could tell it was a big waterfall.

Most of the this upper section is not visible from the base.  We scrambled down to the creek and had lunch here.

This is probably the most spectacular waterfall on the hike even though most of it isn't visible from the base.

After lunch, we headed back up and continued on the trail.  It got really hard to follow in places and Alex was having trouble with crossing the trees.  Next up was the Second Waterfall on Big Creek and it was another steep path down to the base.

This one is smaller but the view from the creek was really good.  After this point, the trail became really hard to follow and was little better than a bushwhack.  There were down trees over almost the entire trail.  Finally, it became more of a trail and ended at Three Forks Trail.  Following the trail down to Three Forks, the First Waterfall on Big Creek was just upstream of the confluence.

I scrambled up Big Creek for a closer view but the sun wasn't really cooperating.

Some guys were camping across Big Creek and forded across Overflow Creek.

We chatted with them for a few minutes and had a break on the rocks at Three Forks, enjoying the view.

After a break down here, we followed Three Forks Trail to head back.  This was an actual trail and much easier to follow, especially for Alex.  There was a big snapping turtle right in the middle of the trail.

It rained a little on the hike back, but we were relieved to be on a real trail.  By the time we got back, it had stopped raining.

After leaving the area, we made a quick stop at the Lake Jocassee overlook from a scenic evening view.

 and then headed back to Oconee State Park for our last night of camping.  We got some dry firewood and made a big campfire before bed.