Cloudland Canyon - Sitton's Gulch (Dade County, Georgia)

Only having put in about five miles on the overnight trek here in Cloudland Canyon, I really want more miles for the weekend. I had considered heading up to Lookup Mountain near the Tennessee border for another trail, but instead decided to hike another trail in the park, Sitton's Gulch. On my previous visit to the park last year, I hiked the Waterfalls Trail, which is the first section of Sitton's Gulch, but with rain moving in that day, I didn't explore beyond the waterfalls. I'll fix that today. 

Leaving the crowded parking area, the trails here on top of the plateau are quite muddy due to the traffic they see. They offer outstanding views of the canyon and waterfalls below, but all that traffic just makes the trail surface worse. All good though, as I won't be on this part for long. Peering down into the canyon, I get a view of Hemlock Falls from far above. And then it's time to descend several sections of wood and metal steps as I traverse my way down the canyon wall. It's easy enough . . . . until I get to the icy section. Drip from the plateau above has formed a wall of icicles along the stone surface. Now as the sun warms these rocks, water drips from the wall and onto the trail below, only to refreeze in the shade. It's a bit slippery, but by making use of the railing, I make my way across it. I sure wish I had left those Yaktrax in my pack. The would have made this much easier.

Steps, steps, and more steps before finally cross a bridge over Daniel Creek. The scenery here is outstanding. It reminds a little of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne in Yosemite National Park. Tall canyon walls on either side of me and a raging river (or creek in this case) tumbling over one fall after another as the water races downhill.

A little further and I have to rock-hop across the stream coming from that tall seasonal waterfall I mentioned in yesterday's post. It's fairly trivial though, but adds some excitement to the adventure. There are a few folks hiking this trail, but it's not overly crowded. I'm not sure if it's the moderate-to-difficult rating listed or the colder temperatures, but either way I'm happy to have it mostly to myself.

As with the trail this one reminds me of, the route has a lot of ups and downs, some of which are pretty steep, as it follows the creek to the canyon mouth. It's nothing terrible though and definitely adds a fitness level to the checks before hiking this trail. Luckily, I'm in pretty good trail shape right now and the hills seem trivial to me.

A couple of side trails catch my interest, but I decide to stay on the main trail in hopes there is a pit toilet at the northern trailhead. However when I arrive at the parking lot, I find that I am out of luck. Luckily, I don't need to go that badly and can just wait until I return to my original departure point. I make the quick turn around and head back the way I came. This time though, I decide to explore one of the short side trails, called the Wildflower Trail. Unfortunately, I'm a bit too early and there are no wildflowers to be seen this time of year. The trail returns to the main trail after only a few dozen meters.

Making my way back up the canyon is a little more challenging, but still nothing terribly difficult. Those steps though. Climbing back up all of those steps, I do find myself winded a couple of times and I'm actually thankful to take a break while others descend on the same steps I will ascend on. 

Finally reaching the top, it's time to call it a day. This has been a great weekend with lots of good hikes. I put in about 5.7 miles along this trail and in conjunction with my other adventures this weekend, I've gotten a light workout from it. As for Sitton's Gulch, this might just be my new favorite trail in Georgia. It's very scenic and enough of a challenge to make it worth doing. I would strongly recommend this one to anyone that can handle all of the steps.You also might try approaching it from the northern trailhead and just avoiding the climb up the canyon wall altogether. Either way, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you take the time to hike this one.