Continuing my quest to hike all sections of the Appalachian Trail's (AT) route through Georgia, I organized a Meetup Event to do the short section between Hightower Gap and Long Creek Falls. Several of the friends that I regularly hike with have expressed interest and five people signed up to join me for the hike. I ended up carpooling with two of them to get tot he trailhead, which is a nice change as I normally drive to all of my hikes. The route is a little rough as we have to traverse several miles of Forest Service roads, but with expert skill my friend easily navigated the way in her Audi SUV. We had actually attempted this section a few weeks ago, but when we got to the trailhead, it started pouring down rain and I wasn't confident of my car making out of the area on those rough, muddy roads. Luckily, the weather today seems to be ideal.
After our traditional round of introductions, the five of us hit the trail heading west, which is actually southbound on the AT. The first short section climbs pretty steadily until we reach a point along the side of Hawk Mountain where it levels out and from there, we pretty much follow the contour of the mountain. I'm feeling great and push the pace pretty hard, but when I see others falling behind, I stop and wait for them to catch up.
Soon, we reach an area near Hickory Flats Cemetery that has been cleared out. I'm not sure of the purpose this was done for, but it now just sits as a large grassy field in the middle of the forest. A short distance beyond this oddity, we hit the junction with the Benton MacKaye Trail and the spur to Long Creek Falls, which is our planned rest stop.
When we walk into the area near the falls, I'm a little surprised to see such a crowd here. There are probably twenty people here enjoying the scenery. They are all very nice and respectful, and a group of backpackers even offers to move their gear from the rock when I begin pointing out petroglyphs below. I've mentioned this in previous write-ups, but I'm fairly certain that this are more conventional petroglyphs, given their style and subject matter. Though the discoloration of the rock and presence of moss in the scratched lines indicates they are likely a few decades old, at least.
After having a quick snack at the waterfall, we head back to the junction and I ask if anyone wants to continue west to Three Forks, which is only another half-mile or so away. For my purposes, I don't need to do this section, but if anyone else is trying to follow my lead and do all sections, they may need it. One gentleman suggests that he would like to do it and so, we continue the short distance west to the confluence of Stover, Chester, and Long Creeks.
Heading back the way we came, I pick up the pace a little bit, but still do my best to keep track of my fellow hikers. The return trip is uneventful, but filled with good conversation as always. As we skirt around Hawk Mountain once again, I'm struck by how long and steep the hillside is. While it probably wouldn't be noticeable in the spring or summer with all of the greenery, here in the late fall, it's an impressive incline and I suspect anyone rolling down from the top would find difficulty in stopping themselves for a few hundred yards.
With the hike complete and all of us back at our cars, we make plans to meet at a nearby meadery/brewery for a couple of drinks before heading to our respective homes. Our mileage was just over 8.6 miles today, but they were very easy miles, as this is probably one of the easiest sections of the AT. Still a great way to spend a Saturday though.
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