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.

Rabun Bald

Thursday, we headed back into Georgia and parked again at the Sky Valley Overlook.  It was another beautiful view with clouds over the valley.

Today, we were going for a hike here.  Mud Creek Trail picked up just past the overlook and followed the creek upstream.  There were some scenic cascades along the trail.

It was about a mile to the end at Mud Creek Falls.

It's possible to park right by the waterfall, but it was a nice hike up along the creek.

The waterfall was very scenic in the early morning light.

There was a hemlock tree growing around a rock here that was very interesting.

We enjoyed the view and then made the hike back.

The clouds had cleared from the overlook by the time we made it back.

Next, we continued into Sky Valley and parked at the trailhead for Rabun Bald at Beegum Gap.  The Bartram Trail led south from here towards the summit of Georgia's second highest peak.  In about a mile, FR-413 rejoined with Bartram Trail.  It got a little steep at this point as it switchbacked up through some rhododendron tunnels.

It then leveled off before reaching the lookout tower at the top.  We climbed up here to enjoy the views.

As the highest point around, there were great 360° views.

We had lunch up here, but soon more people started showing up, so we started hiking back.  At FR-413, we turned to make a loop on the hike back.

We started making our way back to North Carolina, pulling over on NC-106 at the Blue Valley Overlook.

Then we drove through Highlands and stopped at Cliffside Lake Recreation Area.  It's closed for the winter so we parked before the gate and hiked up to the Clifftop Vista Trailhead and got on the Ranger Falls Trail.  It ascended gradually then we took a split to the left to descend down towards Skitty Creek.

In just over a mile, the trail crossed the creek just below Ranger Falls.

On our last visit, the waterfall was barely a trickle, so nice to visit in much better water flow.

In high water, it's a nice waterfall and the rock that it flows over is very colorful.

We got some pictures and then made the hike back.

Continuing back towards Franklin on US-64, we made one more stop.  We took a turn on Ellijay Road and stopped at the roadside Katie's Falls.

A plaque by the waterfall said it was named by a local for his daughter in the early 20th century.

Then we headed to Franklin and had dinner at Lazy Hiker with Alex.  Then we headed back to Colin's place for New Years Eve.

Holcomb Creek Falls and Warwoman Dell

Tuesday morning, we headed into Georgia for some waterfalls.  Heading south into Georgia, we got on GA-246 and made a stop of at the Sky Valley Overlook.  There were beautiful views here with clouds lingering over the valley.

Estatoah Falls, a very high waterfall on Mud Creek, is right here, but the view is poor and its on private property so no exploring for a better view.

Continuing on, we drove back to North Carolina and then took Hale Ridge Road back into Georgia and Chattahoochee National Forest near Rabun Bald.  Parking where FR-86 comes, we hiked down the Holcomb Creek Trail (#52).  Soon, we came to the footbridge over Holcomb Creek.

The spectacular Holcomb Creek Falls was just upstream.

Crossing the bridge, there was a scramble path on the other side to get a close up view.

Continuing on, we came to a split and went out to the overlook for Ammons Creek Falls.

This was another really nice waterfall, probably 60 feet high.

Continuing on, the trail switchbacked back towards Holcomb Creek and climbed steeply up.  There was more falling water, but it would have been very difficult to get down.  In under a mile from the start, we took a scramble path down to the creek at the base of Upper Holcomb Creek Falls.

The upper falls is only about 20 feet but very scenic.

From here, it was just a short ways to the end of the trail back at Hale Ridge Road.  Turning right, we hiked the road back to the car.

From here, we followed FR-7 south to Warwoman Road and drove to Warwoman Dell Recreation Area.  First, we hiked Warwoman Dell Nature Trail (#64) into the little gorge.

Warwoman Dell Falls is a small waterfall at the head of the canyon.

It's a small waterfall but very scenic in high water.

I climbed down into the little gorge for some pictures.

Then we finished up the little loop trail and got on Bartram Trail heading north.  The trail passed by Becky Branch Falls, but the lighting was poor so we stopped on the way back.  In just under two miles, we passed by Lower Martin Creek Falls.

I climbed down to the base, but it was very cluttered.

Just below the main cascades, the creek narrowed through a pretty sculpted gorge.

There were more nice cascades in here.

Then we continued to Martin Creek Falls, the big one.

We ran into Waterfall Rich, Cindy and Bernie here.  They recognized Alex!  The lighting wasn't great, so we got a few pictures then headed back.

The lighting was fortunately better when we got back to Becky Branch Falls.

Approaching the falls on the trail, there was an upper portion not visible from the base.

With better lighting, we stopped to enjoy the falls for a little bit.

It's a nice one and very easy to visit.

Just a short downhill hike back to the parking at Warwoman Dell.

From here, we made one more stop near Clayton on the way back to Franklin.  We parked along Darnell Creek Road just east of Dillard.  An old road here led down to the creek below the waterfall.

It was just a short ways (and we probably could have driven) to Darnell Creek Falls.

Ice had formed along the rocks next to the falls and it was really scenic for such an easy waterfall.

A few more people showed up so we headed back.

We got dinner in Franklin and took it to Currahee Brewing to eat with Alex.  There was a beautiful sunset over Little Tennessee River.