Charleston Park (Forsyth County, Georgia)

 

One of the meetup groups I often venture out with, enjoys doing hikes on Sunday afternoons. This week, the chosen trail was around Charleston Park on the northern shores of Lake Lanier just a few miles from my house. I arrived at the trail a few minutes early and began chatting with several members of the group that I'm starting to consider friends.

Once the majority of folks arrived, we did a quick round of introductions and then we were off. This group tends to favor hikes that double as mountain bike trails, and that's a good description of this one. As we make several interconnected loops around the park, we have a few views of the lake and the creeks that feed it. Interestingly, Lake Lanier like all lakes in Georgia are man-made. By damning up the Chattahoochee River and several other waterways, the shallow valley was flooded to create the lake.

Al along the way, I enjoy conversing with different members of the group and after about 6.6 miles we return to the trail head. I can't say this was one of my favorite hikes, but its always good to get out and get a few miles in with friends. 

Silver Comet via Heritage Trail (Cobb County, Georgia)

The Silver Comet Trail is a former railway that was converted into a multi-use trail with construction beginning in 1998. It runs approximately 61 miles from western Atlanta-metro to the Alabama border, and their continues another 33 miles as the Chief Ladiga Trail. Construction is in progress to further connect the trail to the Atlanta Beltline. 

Every since learning about the trail a few months ago, I've had aspirations to bikepack it's distance sometime in the near future. While those plans are still underway, I got the opportunity to hike a short section of the trail with one of the local hiking groups. Though we started the hike at Heritage Park and put in a couple of miles on those trails before connecting with the Silver Comet, I was still able to get a taste of the trail.

The section through the park parallels Nickajack Creek and passes by the ruins of an old mill that once sat alongside the creek and utilized its flowing waters as a power source. There are actually quite a few connecting trails here, but after a short break, we head up the connecting trail towards the Silver Comet. This was posted as an easy hike and thus far it has been, with flat, well-maintained trails.

From this point forward, we will actually be sharing a paved trail with runners and bikers as we make our way to our turn around point at Floyd Road. The bikes tend to fly by us, but everyone is courteous and we make great time on this surface. The more I walk along this trail, the more it makes me want to find a new bike and do the bikepacking trip, I've been sort of planning. 

After reaching our turn point, we rest for a quick water stop before heading back the way we came. The group leader does take us on a slightly different path once we reach the park again, which takes us to the graffitti'd support structure of an old bridge and a small set of rapids in the creek.

All in all, it was a good morning hike and a great way to cap off a couple of days of PTO. We managed to put in 8.8 miles total. Most importantly, I was able to see what this trail is all about and I do plan on coming back in the near future to explore it further on two wheels.

Mount Mitchell (Yancey County, North Carolina)

 

My final hike while staying in Asheville, NC will be to the top of Mount Mitchell, which is the highest summit in North Carolina, and the highest point in the eastern mainland United States. To reach the summit parking lot, requires a drive along the famous and majestic Blue Ridge Highway, which I will be touring extensively later this year.

For today though, I'll make due with the short drive to the parking lot and a leisurely walk up the paved trail to the observation deck at the summit. Much like Clingmans Dome, which I visited a couple of days ago, this site is far too touristy for my taste, but it's still a bucket list item, after having set reaching the highest point in each state as a bucket list item for myself.

The park has only just opened and so, I have the summit pretty much to myself. Unfortunately, it's so early, the morning fog is obstructing any chance of seeing the rolling hills of Appalachia and so, I will have to settle for what I can get. 

Hickory Nut Falls (Rutherford County, North Carolina)

 

While spending a couple of days in Asheville, NC partaking of the local craft breweries, I had to get a few hikes. Besides, most of the tap rooms don't open until at least noon. This morning, I decided to drive the twenty or so miles to Chimney Rock State Park and hike to Hickory Nut Falls, which was made famous for appearing in the Hollywood blockbuster, "The Last of the Mohicans". I visited this park with my wife a few years ago, but this trail was closed at the time.

Departing the main parking lot on the Four Seasons Trail, I make my way through the woods. The park offers a shuttle service to cover this part of the hike, which has a pretty steep and steady climb to it, but I always want the exercise. As the state charges a $17 entrance fee for the park, I don't feel bad in mentioning that this trail could definitely use some maintenance. Still, I arrive at the junction with the Hickory Nut Falls Trail without incident, after ascending a set of eighty or so wooden steps. As short distance further and I arrive at the observation platform at the base of the mighty waterfall.

Creating a curtain of water over the 350' foot granite cliff face, Hickory Nut Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in the eastern United States. It actually is a quite a beautiful waterfall, and has a number of cascades going down the mountain. Additionally, it's interesting to watch small surges of water depart the precipice and then cascade down to the tiny imperfections and cliffs below, again bouncing around like as if on a plinko board.

After a short time, I head back to my jeep, humming the tune of "The Gael" by Dougie Maclean, which was later adapted and orchestrated to become the primary theme of the movie. The total hike was only about 2.8 miles, but seeing a beautiful waterfall such as this makes it all worthwhile.

Alum Bluffs Trail to Mount Le Conte (Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee)

My big hike of this first real trip to Great Smokey Mountains National Park takes me past the Alum Bluffs on my way to the summit of Mount Le Conte. Having camped in Smokemont last night, I wake just before sunrise and after quick trip to the bathroom, start to assess the inconveniences of the rain that fell all night long. Obviously, everything is wet, but other than a little extra time to shake the moisture off, it really doesn't cause any other issues. As I want to get an early start on the trial though, I start to break down camp almost immediately, and by 7:30 AM, I'm driving towards the trailhead.

I passed the trailhead parking area yesterday and it was the most packed place I saw anywhere in the park. It was in the early afternoon though and I'm hopeful that by getting such an early start, I can beat much of the crowd. When I pull in, there are already a lot of cars here, but still plenty of parking is available. I quickly gather my gear and head for the start of the trail.

While it's not currently raining, I'm debating on whether or not I will go all the way to the summit or just stop at the Alum Bluff. I guess we'll see how I feel and how the weather is when I get that far. The trail starts easy enough with a number of creek crossings over constructed bridges, which in most cases are really nothing more than a fallen log with a single rail attached. It's safe enough though and they pose no real issues. Much like my previous hike though, this is pretty much straight up the mountain.

The first truly interesting feature is something referred to by the Park Service as Arch Rock. Here, the trail first crosses one of those single-railed fallen logs and then immediately enters a large naturally-eroded hole into a giant boulder via a winding stone staircase carved through the hole. With the steps extremely wet from last night's rains, I take my time and hold onto the provided steel cable that winds it's way through the rock much like a Bannister would. The passage climbs approximately twenty feet as it winds through the rock and then emerges on the other side. This is actually a really cool feature and definitely makes the trip worth doing all by itself.

A mile or so later, I arrive at the Alum Bluff (or Alum Cave as it also known). It's an interesting feature, but really nothing more than a large overhang. I'm going to choose to call it a bluff instead of a cave. Here, the loose soils have washed out beneath the cliff to form a large covered area. Wooden steps lead up the rather steep approach and several groups have chosen to rest here before returning to their cars or continuing on toward the summit. I'm faced with a similar dilemma. The constant uphill has been pretty taxing, but after a short rest I feel pretty good and besides, if I don't summit today, I'll need to come back here sometime. I choose to push on.

From there the trail gets much more treacherous. Several sections have been carved (whether naturally, by the hand of man, or some combination of the two, I'm unsure in some cases) stone and with the rains, it can be quite slippery. While only a couple of feet wide in some sections and with tall drop offs, steel cables have been wisely installed as hand holds. What I find amazing (or more accurately, unwise) is a number of trail runners who have decided it would be a good morning and a good place for a run. No thanks, I'll play it safe and take my time over this terrain.

The views all along the way through this section are breathtaking. Much like other high places in the park, I'm afforded wonderful views of the rolling green mountains in all directions. In some sections, clouds have taken residence on top of me and almost completely obscure the view, but its actually nice to be able to cool off a bit in the moisture-rich fog.

As I approach the Le Conte Lodge, which is the highest maintained lodge in the eastern US, the trail seems to be something out of Tolkien's work. Mosses and ferns cover the wet ground, while the trail surface itself makes its way through lightly forested areas in a truly magical visual display.

Talking to several other hikers in and around the lodge, no one seems to be sure exactly where the mountains summit is from here. I decide to continue on past the sign for the clifftop viewpoint and the shelter in search of it. Finally, I encounter a couple that informs me the summit is a unimpressive pile of rocks just a short distance further. On the way, I encounter a beautiful doe out searching for some breakfast on this dewy morning. I do quickly come to the pile of rocks they mentioned though, and looking in all directions, I'm pretty sure they were correct and that this is the actual summit. Surrounded by trees and offering no view of the surrounding terrain, it is pretty anticlimactic after such a challenging hike, but still, I reached the summit of the third highest peak in the park.

Before returning to trailhead, I stop at the lodge for a short break and quick snack. The lodge consists of a number of wooden cabins and a kitchen, which unfortunately doesn't start serving food for another hour or so. That said though, I think I will want to return here by a different trail sometime and perhaps stay the night. This seems like it would be a fun adventure.

Making my way down the mountain is about what one would expect, but I do need to take it slowly over the slippery rocks I mentioned earlier and through the Arch Rock. Arriving back at the trail head, I see I've hiked about 11.8 miles and gained and then lost over 3,000' of elevation on this trek. This really was a great hike, both in terms of interesting scenery and a challenging workout. Now onto my next adventure - spending a couple of days in Asheville, NC touring some of the finest craft breweries in the country.

Chimney Tops (Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee)

For my first real "hike" in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, I chose to make my way up to the Chimney Tops geologic feature. From the description, the trail seemed fairly challenging and the idea of climbing out onto the high stone pyramid for the magnificent view seemed amazing. As I parked my jeep along the roadside near the trailhead and made my way to the beginning of the hike, a sign caught my attention and indicated that the final section of the trail, which actually allows one to climb out onto the pyramid, is closed due to wildfire damage from some point in the recent past. Well, that's unfortunate, but I'm here, might as well make my way to the overlook.

The trail starts easy enough with a couple of quick creek crossings. Within the park, it seems that most creek crossings have had sturdy wooden bridges constructed across them to allow for easier access. Even from the beginning though, I can see that this trail is going to be straight uphill the entire way. That wouldn't bother me too much normally, but in this place and since moving to Georgia, I've noticed how much the heat and humidity takes out of me. I find myself having to drink far more water than I ever did while hiking out west. 

The trail is busy, but not overly crowded. Along the route, I encounter a number of families heading to the overlook. Everyone is friendly and most are wearing masks (or at least putting them on as we approach each other) in line with the current recommendations for dealing with the pandemic. 

As I continue to up the mountain, I come across several sections laden with wooden and stone steps. In some cases, these are pretty striking visually, as they twist and turn up the green hillside. I'm really sweating terribly and going through water much as I expected I would. The constant climb is a bit taxing, but it's good to get my heart pumping a little bit.

Finally reaching an area with several large platform steps built into the hill, I stop for a rest and ask a few people that are taking in the view from here how much further we are able to go. Apparently, none of them has actually checked yet and have stopped here before continuing on. I can see Chimney Tops from here, but decide to make my way around the corner to see how much further I can get. Quickly though, I run into a locked gate obstructing the cliffside trail and indicating that it is not safe to continue further due to the fire damage. Presumably, the fire took out root systems, or more specifically the trees those root systems belong to, that support the trail. 

As I turn to head back, an older couple that was resting at the steps comes up behind me and we briefly discuss the closure. We note that a couple people have ignore the warning and are making their way up the pyramid. I tell the folks that I'm not willing to risk injury or damaging the trail even further. They agree and we all head back towards the trailhead.

The return is pretty easy, as expected since it is all downhill. Finally returning to my jeep, I see that I got in about 3.9 miles on this hike. With the 1,200' feet or so of elevation gain, it has made for a pretty good first hike.

Clingmans Dome (Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee)

For my first hike of the weekend, I chose to walk to the top of the observation deck of Clingmans Dome. This summit is the highest in the park, the highest point in Tennessee, the highest along the famous Appalachian Trail, and the third highest in the eastern United States. As I've recently started tracking my visits to the highest summits in all fifty states, it seemed only logical to visit this one while camping in the park.

As expected this high point is more of a tourist destination than I would like. After a six or seven mile drive along Clingmans Dome Road, I reach a large and nearly full parking lot. It seems everyone wants to touch the sky today.

I quickly find a parking spot and make my way up the paved trail. After about three-quarters of a mile, I reach the observation deck, which snakes around like a rattlesnake to a large platter on top, which provides views in all directions over the treeline. For my personal tastes, this is far to much development. I would prefer to leave the summit in its natural state, but the masses have over-ruled me on this one.

From the top, the expansive views sprawl out in every direction. Rolling green hills and mountains extend as far as the eye can see, and a thick layer of clouds just above adds some majesty to the image. It is quite spectacular.

After spending a few minutes up there with the crowds, I return to my jeep and head out in search of more solitude. I'm sure there are some opportunities for that in this magnificent place.

Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina)

Of all of the parks in the national park system, Great Smokey Mountains National Park is the most visited. Likely due to it's location in the eastern United States, many millions of visitors find adventure in the park every year. 

I've visited the park twice in the past. The first time, I merely drove through on my way from St. Louis to Charleston. That was a crazy spur of the moment decision when I was only about twenty two years old. I had been visiting my grandmother in Kentucky, and upon hitting a crossroad on my way home, realized that I didn't have to work for another couple of days and that I had never seen the ocean. Fourteen hours later, I found myself on the South Carolina coast. The second time was while visiting my wife's family in North Carolina for the holidays. Unfortunately, many services in the park were closed due to it being the middle of winter and I didn't get to explore much.

Now that we're living in Atlanta, a drive to the park is only a couple of hours. Several months ago, I made a camping reservation for this weekend to spend some time exploring our closest large national park. 

My plan is to car camp at Smokemont Campground just inside the park coming from the North Carolina side and do several hikes while visiting. I'll write those hikes up individually, but I wanted to take a little space to share some pictures of my visit to the park. 

The views are gorgeous and vast. While the mountains are not as tall as the Sierra Nevada that I lived among for so long, they make up for it in greenery. From the summits and overlooks, one can see dozens of miles of green undulating mountains in every direction. The occasional cloud parks itself in the valleys and gives the appearance of smoke, for which this place is named.

After getting in a couple of hikes, I headed to my campsite and got my tent and sleeping arrangements set up for the night. It's humid here and the taste of a nice cold beer is music to my lips. Before turning in for the night though, I decide to wander a little trail heading out of the end of the campground. This trail follows the Bradley Fork of the Oconaluftee River for some distance. I only walk two or three miles on the trail, paying more attention to the flowing waters than to the mile markers. It's a pleasant way to end the evening and before too long, I return to my tent for a good night's rest. Tomorrow - the biggest hike of the trip!

Lost Sea inside Craighead Caverns (Monroe County, Tennessee)

My second stop for the day takes me to another cave, this one near Sweetwater, Tennessee. However, this one contains not a waterfall, but the second largest known underground lake ever discovered. Okay, actually, it does have a small waterfall as well, but it's nothing in comparison to the lake. The drive from Chattanooga is only about an hour and after arriving nearly an hour-and-a-half before my scheduled tour, I inquire about switching to an earlier slot. They graciously offer to switch my reservation and I'm almost immediately entering the cave.

This cave, known as Craighead Caverns is much different than the one I just left. To begin with, it has some absolutely massive rooms, some of which could host an NHL game. Our tour guide is Blake, and while extremely nice and moderately knowledgeable, this geology-based dad jokes seem to fall pretty flat with the group. To his credit though, he tries really, really hard. Here again, the patrons make little effort to wear masks, which is really disappointing. I'm careful to keep mine on, even with the substantial inconvenience of it constantly causing my glasses to fog up.

Wide maintained paths circle around and through the large rooms. Blake warns us of the occasional low-hanging rock and no one seems to earn themselves a cave headache as we hike the half-mile or so to the lake entrance. Along the way, we pass a number of interesting areas, including an area used by the Cherokee Nation as a council fire in centuries past and the only remaining moonshine still of the three that were once in operation within the cave during less-enlightened times. Blake also points out the rampant graffiti that has been collecting on the wall for many decades, which is very disappointing. At least, the cave is protected now.

Entering the flooded chamber, we pass through tunnel area, obviously constructed to keep the water out, before arriving at the dock, where three small tour boats await our boarding. The "lost sea" chamber itself is absolutely huge. The surface area of the lake is approximately 800 feet by 220 feet, covering an area of nearly 4.5 acres. Though lights have been placed around the far walls just below the surface of the mostly clear water, it's still extremely dark in this chamber and my pictures don't turn out very well. 

Blake points out the large rainbow trout swimming around near the surface - hundreds of them. Apparently, they were once set free in the lake in an attempt to find it's source, but either they couldn't get through or had no interest in trying. Either way, they live here now and even get restocked occasionally, as their eggs have difficulty adhering to the bottom of the cave and making their reproduction extremely difficult. The tour guides feed them as each tour pass through and they gently swarm the boat as we make our way around the outer boundary of the lake. 

Returning to the dock, we disembark and make our way up a mildly steep hill to return to the path we entered on. Blake had warned everyone that the trail was steep and while I completely understand the need to warn people off, it was a really easy path with only a small incline. We quickly arrive back a the yellow tunnel and Blake sees us off. This was a really unique experience and makes me think it might have been slightly similar to a trip my dad took along the Echo River within Mammoth Cave when he was a teenager. I've always wanted to experience that trip, and perhaps now I have done something similar.

Ruby Falls inside Lookout Mountain Caverns (Hamilton County, Tennessee)

I'm generally not a fan of the commercialization of natural wonders. I understand that people want to be able to visit them, but the more people that access the site, the more likely it is to be destroyed. That said, a couple of very commercial sites in eastern Tennessee have caught my attention and I diced today it would be a good time to explore them. The first is Ruby Falls, which is inside the Lookout Mountain Cave just southwest of Chattanooga. In my recent rips north to Illinois and Kentucky for this tourist trap bombard passersby. Lets see what it's all about.

I arrived at the visitor facility well in advance of my scheduled tour time, but as I knew tickets were sold out today, I didn't bother trying to switch to an earlier tour. After about thirty minutes of wandering around the gift shop, I headed to tour's starting point and was quickly joined by the rest of the group. While the facility is making efforts to ensure social distancing, many of the tourists here simply ignore the protocols.

In several groups, we descend into the depths via an elevator and then reconvene in the man-made tunnels through the mountain. To be fair, these tunnels were the original points that the cave's original explorers used, but they have been blasted and cut to be much wider to allow for easy accessibility.

Our tour guide, Desiree, is a young chatty college student and while extremely friendly, she is also far too talkative. As we make our way through the narrow passages, we see a number of interesting cave features, such as the usual flow-stones, stalagmites, stalactites, etc. Some of the features have been granted names for their resemblance to animals and name-tags marking them as such. The turtle, elephant's foot, the fish, the hen, and many others. It's all very "touristy", but the formations are beautiful and while some damage has been sustained from visitors, it's far from the worst I've seen. Additionally, several areas have had colored lights placed behind them to provide an eerie aura.

After about a quarter of a mile, we come to an area from which we can hear the waterfall echoing through the cave. We have to wait for an earlier tour group to vacate the chamber, before we can enter, but it only takes a couple of minutes before we walk through the final passage and are greeted by the gorgeous Ruby Falls.

From a small passage near the natural ceiling of the room, a small by steady stream of water drops 145 feet before landing in a small pool, which then feeds the small trickle of an underground creek we have occasionally seen glimpses of on our way here. The waterfall is quite stunning and from what our tour guide says, it actually carved the room we are currently in. It's obvious that some blasting has taken place to enlarge the room, and I can also see mineral deposits high up on the cave walls where I hypothesize the water level reached and stood for long periods of time in the distant past. 

After about ten minutes taking in this beautiful natural wonder, Desiree gathers the group and we head back towards the elevator along a similar path to the one we entered on. With a quick ride back to the surface, the experience is complete. While the waterfall was quite beautiful, I maintain my earlier statement about over-commercialization of such places. 

Allatoona Creek (Cobb County, Georgia)

 

It's amazing to me how many trail systems are in and around greater Atlanta. While in many places, trails have been built simply to provide an outlet for the masses to get a little fresh air, others visit some truly remarkable natural and historic places. Being relatively new to the area still, I tend to do some research on my own or often, just hike with one of the groups I have joined to get exposure to these new hikes.

Today's Meetup takes me to Allatoona Creek Park, a few miles northwest of the 285 perimeter. Pulling into the parking lot just a couple of minutes before the scheduled start time, I see the group leader and a dozen or so other hikers gathered around this SUV. I quickly get out of my jeep and head over to join them. After a quick round of introductions and the traditional "ice breaker" question, we hit the trails on this hot and muggy summer day.

The trail immediately enters the woods. This trail system is primarily used by mountain bikers who have set up a number of ramps and undulating hill sections to make the ride more interesting. These obstacles offer little difficulty for our group, but hearing an unexpected scream from one of the female hikers towards the back of the group catches everyone off-guard and forces a pause. It turns out she saw a large snake that the majority of us had just walked past. Thankfully, no animals or hikers were injured in the making of these scene.

The trail meanders back and forth through the woods for a while before entering an open field and then traveling along the creek, though unobstructed views are difficult to find here. It seems most of these trails have been cut with bikers in mind, paying more attention to the challenge of riding the trail than the interesting views along the way.

Eventually, we do end up at a track that provides access to the greenish waters of Allatoona Creek, which lends it's name to the purposely flooded shallow valleys to the north forming Lake Allatoona. We stop here for a quick break and a few of my fellow-hikers wade out into the semi-clear waters. I suspect the water is very warm given the recent weather and after their plunge, they confirm these suspicions.

Heading back towards the parking lot, I build up a pretty good lead on the rest of the pack and have time to change shirts and switch into some flip flops before they catch up. Several of the members that I have hiked with before plan to grab some dinner and drinks and invite me along, but I had already planned to grill at home this evening and respectfully decline, though I will probably join them next time. All in all, it was a 10.1 mile hike with some good company. The trail ,unfortunately, was not all that interesting. It was a reasonably good workout on hot August day, but the scenery left a bit to be desired.

West Palisades Trail (Cobb County, Georgia)

I truly appreciate that my job offers me the flexibility to get out and do a short hike during the week now and then. I try not to take advantage of it, but when I saw one of the local groups post an 8:00 AM hike along the West Palisades Trail in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, it seemed like a good time to stretch my legs. Leaving the house around 7:10 AM, my phone indicates I should arrive at the trail head at about 7:45 AM. Perfect!

Unfortunately, traffic in greater Atlanta is unpredictable and often the stuff of nightmares. As I approached the major interchange I was to take, Google Maps decided to reroute me due to an accident. New expected arrival time . . . 8:04 AM. Gah . . . I'm going to be late now and I hate being that guy. I called the group leader to let her know and apologized. I always try to be very diligent about arriving early and not forcing others to wait on me, but traffic took that ability away from me. 

Finally arriving at the trailhead, the small group is gathered around the bulletin board waiting for me. I quickly grab my water and walk over, apologizing as I approach. I'm sure they were annoyed with me, but they didn't show it and offered understanding of the local traffic woes.

The hike itself is an extremely easy one with only a couple of slight uphill sections. Along the way, we are offered some excellent views of the river, which is quite brown and muddy today due to some heavy rains that came through the area yesterday. I have a few conversations with the others in the group and overall, a very enjoyable time. While nothing spectacular, this was a nice quick 4.2 miles and a great way to spend a Wednesday morning before starting work.

Red Top Mountain - Iron Hill and Sweet Gum Trails (Bartow County, Georgia)

Twelve and a half miles yesterday wasn't nearly enough and so, I decided to join one of the Meetup groups for a few more miles today and to explore a state park that has been on my radar for a while now. Red Top Mountain sits on a series of peninsulas jutting out into the man-made Lake Altoona. A number of trails wind around the fingers of the park and along the shoreline of the lake. 

Several people that had expressed interest in the hike struggled with the directions, but a dozen or so of us ended up at the right place and first decided to hike the Iron Hill Trail, so named because of the mining operations that once existed here. The trail is wide and it's surface is mostly gravel with some sections of dirt, but either way, it's an incredibly easy and almost entirely flat trail. The occasional views of the lake through the thick woods is nice and the breeze blowing in helps mitigate this incredibly humid air. After only a couple of miles, sweat is dripping from my brow.

After we make the first couple of loops, we meet another dozen or so members of the group that had gone to the wrong trailhead, but decided to hike together anyway. The groups merge and we head along the Campground Trail, which then connects to the Sweet Gum Trail and heads to towards the northern end of the park. We put in another few miles here before looping back and returning to the parking lot. 

It's always nice to hike with good company, but the trails here were not overly scenic or overly challenging. After a strenuous day yesterday, perhaps an easy outing was for the best. I was able to add about 8.4 miles to my weekend total, and now I'm heading home.

Lula Lake Land Trust and Waterfalls (Walker County, Georgia)

Since moving to Georgia, I have heard about a gorgeous place in Northern Georgia called the Lula Lake Land Trust. The area is protected and visitors are only allowed by permit, which are available only two Saturdays per month, meaning this place is largely untouched. It's only a short drive from Chickamauga Battlefield, the site of my earlier hike today and arrive just a few minutes after noon, which is perfect since my permit wasn't active until noon.

Entering the trust, I am greeted by a ranger who validates my permit and instructs me on where to park. After grabbing my gear, I head over to the table set up by the rangers who provide me a trail map and some basic instruction. With a quick 'thank you', I'm on my way. 

The first section of the hike is along a gravel road, which curves around the mountain and runs parallel to Rock Creek. There are a few points where I have the option to depart the road and I opt to enter the woods in an area called the Ford Trail, which requires me to do a little rock hopping across the creek. Nothing serious, but it's a little comical to see a young lady trying to join her friends, but exhibiting some level of fear at the crossing. After she sees me hop across with almost no effort, she seems to get her courage and join her friends. 

I almost immediately reach a trail junction and begin to follow the stream on the North Creek Trail. This route takes me to the top of the smaller of the two waterfalls here and the one that feeds the emerald pond known as Lula Lake. A couple of guys are snapping some photos here at the top and as I see other people below on the edge of the lake, I decide to head down below for my pictures. 

A ramble of stone steps and boulders have been fashioned to allow visitors to make their way down the steep hill to the edge of the water. From here, the large pool of water now separates me from the waterfall itself. It seems the water has carved out a stone overhang on either side of the pool. In eons past, this waterfall must have been raging. It's still pretty active today, but nothing like it must have been to carve out this canyon.

Departing the area containing Lula Lake, I now return to the gravel road for a short distance before making my way down the extremely steep Old Lula Falls Trail, which is made easier by the placement of stone and wood steps, but it's still hard on the knees. Reaching the bottom, I'm greeted with a magnificent site. Lula Falls drops approximately 120 feet from the creek above to an area scattered with stone. Thirty or forty people have gathered here to take in the magnificence of the waterfall and enjoy the cool mist coming off of it. It's a hot day and the spray feels amazing. This is among the top five waterfalls I've seen since moving to Georgia several months ago.

Heading out, I take the slightly less steep Lula Falls Trail before connecting with the High Adventure Trail. This later trail heads up the mountain to connect with the Bluff Trail, but before doing so, I'm forced to climb on all fours and in one place utilize a knotted rope to pull myself up the steep sections. It was a bit of a workout, but well worth it.

Reaching the top, I'm greeted by a sprawling view of the Chattanooga Valley. Here on the bluff side of Lookout Mountain, I can see probably forty miles to the east. It's a great view, but I can't help but compare it to the beauty of the Sierra Nevada. The most obvious difference is the fingerprints of civilization. Out west, I could look for a hundred miles and see no sign of human habitation, but here, in the east, civilization is impossible to escape entirely.

The final section of my route, has me connecting with the Middle Trail and following this back to a small wooden bridge and eventually to the gravel road, which I walked in on. I was able to get in another 5.6 miles here, bringing my total for the day to about 12.4. Not bad. Now it's time to drive home, shower off the sweat, and enjoy a cold beer.