Stoneplace Trail - Tallulah Gorge (Rabun County, Georgia)

 

For the extended Fourth-of-July weekend, I decided to take my eleven year old nephew camping at Tallulah Gorge State Park in northern Georgia. Over the past couple of years he has expressed an interest in my hiking and backpacking adventures and so, it seemed time to get him out there a bit and see if he really does enjoy it. He is spending the week with us and came down on Saturday evening. Early Sunday afternoon after I ran the Peachtree Road Race in downtown Atlanta, he and I packed the jeep and headed north.

We did a little hiking around the rim trail on Sunday evening, but for the most part stuck to our campsite, as I showed him how to put his tent up, arrange his bedding, and start a fire (though, that is a whole other story to itself). We spend the evening playing some lateral thinking puzzles before finally drifting off to sleep under the stars in our respective tents. 

Once we awoke Monday morning, we started breaking our camp down and then drove over to the trailhead, which is near the interpretive center. The Stoneplace Trail initially follows part of the path we took on the north rim of the gorge yesterday evening, but quickly heads into the woods. There are still a couple of great overlooks though and the view from up here is spectacular. Additionally, we came across a fallen and rusty tower that according to a sign was used to string a high-wire across the gorge back in 1970. A daredevil high-wire artist crossed the gorge on it, performing a couple of handstands along the way. I imagine that would have been pretty spectacular to see.

Diverging from the gorge itself, the well-maintained trail heads deeper into the woods. My nephew seems to be pretty excited to be out here, but already I can tell that he's feeling it in his calves. He asks several times how far we've gone and how much further we have to go. I explain that we can go as far as he feels ready to do, but that he needs to consider that however far we go, we have to walk that far back to the jeep. 

As we pass a couple of backcountry camping sites, which include wooden shelters (not much backcountry in my opinion), we are continually fighting off some very pesky gnats. Also and true to Georgia summers, the humidity is outrageous. Luckily, the trail is mostly shaded. Eventually, we get to a point where he feels he's gone far enough and asks if we can turn back. While we still have another mile or two before we would get to the Stoneplace Boat Ramp on Lake Tugalo, which marks the end of the trail, I agree to make our turn and head back the way we came. I know that pushing him too hard, or any young person, can be the difference between an enjoyable experience and turning them off from hiking for all time. 

We make our way back towards the jeep. The trail, especially towards the gorge, is a bit busier now, but we make good time. Once we arrive at the interpretive center, we make a quick bathroom break before heading home. Checking our GPS track, I see that we hiked about 5.2 miles this morning (along with approximately 2 miles yesterday evening). It's not a bad start into the hiking lifestyle for a young man. I really hope he enjoyed it and I look forward to taking him on future adventures if he is so inclined.