Later this morning, I'm leading a meetup group along a section of the AT in North Georgia, but in the meantime, I decided to get in a few extra miles and checkout a pair of waterfalls nearby the AT trailhead. I did lead a sunset hike yesterday evening and with a stop at a local brewery afterwards, I didn't get a lot of sleep, which may make this strenuous day even more interesting in after a few more hours and a few more miles, but we'll see.
The High Shoals Trail requires a creek crossing and short drive along a gravel road as it winds around several small mountains on it's way to the small trailhead, but nothing my jeep couldn't handle. There's only one other car at the trailhead on this chilly April morning, which is good. I was hoping for a little solitude prior to joining up with the Meetup group. The trail descends almost immediately into a large valley. It's well maintained, but recent rains have made a few small sections a bit muddy. Hopefully, they will also have the waterfalls raging.
After reaching the bottom of the valley and crossing a sturdy bridge over High Shoals Creek, the trail continues to follow the creek until finally reaching a short turn-off for the first of the two waterfalls, Blue Hole Falls. This one is sort of tucked away in the vegetation and drops approximately twenty straight into a blue pool, probably the namesake of the waterfall. A small observation deck has been built. It's a nice waterfall and would have been worth the trip by itself. but the second one is even better.
Returning to the trail for a short distance, the trail once again forks with a short side-trail, which drops down to the level of the creek over some rocks and slick sections before reaching a second, larger observation deck. From here, I have a magnificent view of the larger High Shoals Falls. This one is a wide cascade-type fall and plummets approximately fifty feet to the creek below. The flooring of the deck is quite slick between the spray and the algae which enjoys growing on it. Further down along the creek, I can see someone's campsite, but I don't bother them. I imagine they want their solitude just as I wanted mine this morning.
I hang out at the waterfall taking a few pictures for a few minutes, but then notice the time and realize I need to hurry back to my jeep to meet the group at Unicoi Gap. The return trip is slightly steep, but uneventful and I return to the trailhead having logged just shy of 2.5 miles. I should have a pretty good 24-hour total after today is said and done.
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