Lake Rabun Waterfalls

Wednesday, we made another trip south into Georgia.  Driving through Clayon, we took Stonewall Creek Road into Chattahoochee National Forest and parked at the trailhead for Stonewall Falls and White Twister Mountain Bike Trails.  Hiking down Stonewall Falls Trail (#59) towards the creek to the scenic Stonewall Falls.

It's only about 20 feet, but pretty and very easy to visit.

On the hike back, we turned on White Twister Trail (#48) to follow the creek further downstream.  There were some nice cascades all along Stonewall Creek.

Soon, we could here a waterfall down below and found a steep scramble path to get down to Upper Stonewall Creek Falls.

I climbed down to the creek to get some pictures of this small but scenic waterfall.

Just a little ways further was the Lower Waterfall on Stonewall Creek.  I climbed down a couple different places but was unable to find a good view from the creek.

So I settled for a picture from the trail and then we headed back.

Our next stop was at Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area.  The campground was closed so we parked at a trailhead along Lake Rabun Road and started hiking Angel Falls Trail (#55).  In under a half-mile, we reached the campground and the main trailhead.  Right at the start was Joe Creek First Falls, a small but scenic stairstep waterfall.

The trail follows the creek upstream along the waterfall and past the ruins of an old springbox from the CCC days.

In about a half-mile, we reached Panther Falls.

I think this is the most scenic one along the trail and we stopped for a snack here.

Continuing on the trail, it climbed up along the waterfall, passing the upper section.

Middle Falls on Joe Creek was just past here, but was hard to see with the foliage blocking a view of the creek.

There were some pearl oyster mushrooms on a dead tree.

As we approached the end, the trail split to make a small loop.  Angel Falls was visible but the view was not good at all.

The trail ends at a wooden boardwalk where the two sides of the split come together at the base of Angel Falls.  There's so much rhododendron growing, it's hard to see the waterfall at all.

So we headed back down.  From here, we drove to the other side of the lake for the short hike to Minnehaha Falls.  The short Minnehaha Falls Trail (#147) followed Falls Branch up past some nice cascades.

The trail ends in under a quarter mile at the base of the beautiful Minnehaha Falls.

This one is really beautiful, but popular since its so easy.

Since a lot people were here, we didn't stay long.

From here, we drove up along Seed Lake on Crow Creek Road.  Where the road crossed Bad Branch, we parked and hiked back on the road a short ways to an old road that entered the forest and led to Bad Branch Falls.

It's the site of an old quarry, so it's not completely natural, but still rather pretty despite all the downfall at the base.

After some pictures, we headed back to the car and continued to where the road crossed Crow Creek and parked.  An old road led up along the creek and there was a nice little cascade right off the bat.

It was just a short ways further to Crow Creek Falls.

It's only about 25 feet, but quite pretty and very easy to visit.

After some pictures we headed back.

Driving back into North Carolina, we made one quick stop in Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory for one more waterfall.  We parked at gated FR-7277 and followed a short path upstream to Camprock Branch Falls.

I had to scramble up the rocks for a good view.

Then we headed back down.

Heading back to Franklin, we got pizza to-go from Papa's Pizza and took it to Currahee Brewing to have dinner and beers with Alex.  Then we headed back to Gooder Grove.

Brasstown Bald

Monday, we headed south into Georgia.  Driving west to Hayesville, we drove south to Hiawassee and took GA-17/75 towards Unicoi Gap.  We turned on Indian Grave Gap Road (FR-238) and forded Hiwassee River and drove about another mile to the High Shoals Falls Trailhead in Chattahoochee National Forest.  High Shoals Falls Trail (#23) descended down towards High Shoals Creek.

In about a half-mile, we crossed on a footbridge and continued downstream.  In just under a mile, a side path led down to the top of Blue Hole Falls.  There was an upper drop here.

Just past this, a side path led to a viewing platform at the base of the main drop.

About 20 feet high, it's very pretty and the pool below the falls would be inviting in warmer weather.

The main trail then began to descend via switchbacks and ended at the base of High Shoals Falls.

This one is probably over 100 feet high, but the entire thing is not visible from the base.

After some pictures, we headed back.

From here, our next stop was Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia.  Although skies were blue down below, as we drove up towards the summit, it got progressively cloudier.  After parking, we could see the summit was encased in clouds but it was a short hike and we were already up here.  I ran out to the picnic area, that probably had the best views at this point.

We then hiked the paved Brasstown Bald Trail (#23) up to the top.  It was moderately steep, but not too bad.  At the top, there wasn't much to see except dense clouds.

So we didn't stay long and headed back down.

Driving down the mountain, the views cleared as we got to lower elevation.  Just past Unicoi Gap, we turned on FR-44 and drove into Chattahoochee Wildlife Management Area to Upper Chattahoochee River Campground.  It's closed so we parked outside the gate and hiked through the campground to the trailhead and got on Horse Trough Falls Trail (#173).  It was just a short ways to the beautiful Horsetrough Falls.

It's a really nice waterfall that fans out and almost appears crooked.

Returning towards the bridge, we followed an old road upstream along Chattooga River a quarter-mile to Chute Falls was visible from the trail.

To get a better view, I made the very steep climb down to the creek.  It was butt-sliding most of the way.  At the creek, I then had to wade to get across for a decent picture.

I think it would have been easier to come up the other side of the river.

After some pictures, I made the super steep climb back up to the old road.  It ended near the top of the waterfall.

Then we hiked back.  On the drive out, we made a stop to see the Wilks Creek Waterfalls.  The upper falls was visible from the road, but it was a very steep scramble down to the creek.  And once down, there was a massive amount of downfall in front of the falls.  So I climbed up a bit for a side view.

Then I scrambled a short ways downstream to the lower falls.

There was more downfall, but easier to get a view from the front.

Then we scrambled back up to the road.  We made one more stop on the way out at the roadside Spoilcane Tributary Upper Falls.

Then we drove back to the paved roads and headed back to Franklin.

For dinner, we stopped at Lazy Hiker and got tacos from the food truck.  Their outdoor seating was artificial grass that's comfortable for Alex to lay on while we enjoyed our dinner and drinks.  Then we went back to the hostel for the night.