Foxfire Night Hike - Anna Ruby Falls (White County, Georgia)

 

Every late May and into June, the forests of a few select places in the southern US are home to strange and feint blue specs of light. This is orfelia fultoni (commonly known as dismalites). These carnivorous fly larvae are bioluminescent and attract prey with their eerie blue glow. One of their homes is the valley leading up to Anna Ruby Falls near Helen, GA. The group Find Outdoors leads a night hike up the corridor this time of year to allow guests the opportunity to see them. I was able to do this hike a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much, I thought I would do it again.

**Note - photograph courtesy of Google

It's been raining all week and I'm not sure this is going to work out, but after watching the forecast very closely all day, I think there is going to be a window at just the right time and I so, I decide to drive up to the falls. After listening in on a conference call for work, I arrive at the park and wait outside the gate to be let in. I'm pretty early. Soon, one of the employees walks by my car and checks me in. With that, they open the gate and I drive up to the parking area. This NPS-managed site is generally closed to the public after dark, but we have special permission for this event. 

I remain in my car for a while to listen to an audio book and to avoid the drizzle, but as the start time approaches, I walk up to the visitors center and meet up with the guides and other participants. We're given a quick history of the area and description of the night's events, and with that we're off. We've got a bit before dark and it should provide a great opportunity to photograph the twin waterfalls, which are one of the most beautiful in the state.

The trail is paved and fairly steep, but I'm feeling pretty good these days and arrive at the top well ahead of anyone else. This gives me a great opportunity to get some great shots of the waterfall in the fading light. Many of them are out of focus due to the low light conditions, but a couple manage to be passable.

After viewing the falls, I find a seat on the observation deck and wait for darkness to engulf the area. It doesn't take long, maybe twenty minutes, before I need to use my red-filtered headlamp to ensure I don't trip on a step or rock. Because of the very wet conditions, the guides ask us to move down to the area by the lower deck before starting our search for the blue specs of light. As I scan the wet rocks and foliage of the funnel-shaped valley, they begin to come into view. First one, and then a pair, and then dozens as I continue to move back down towards the parking area. 

In addition to the dissimilates, we are also able to see a few specimen of the "blue ghost" firefly, which also generates a blue hue'd bioluminescence. I can only image what a first-time visitor to this area before the modern age might have been thinking when seeing these strange blue lights in the woods. While they are very feint, the color is so unique in nature that one can't help but be awed. 

As I head back down towards the car, we see patch after patch of the blue specs on the ground and floors of the small valley. It really is a spectacular thing. I'm forced to use my head-lamp (with the red filter) in some places, while the three-quarters moon lights the path in other sections. Eventually, I'm back at the visitors center and start my journey back home, but this little adventure is always well worth the drive.

Sawnee Mountain and Indian Seats (Forsyth County, Georgia)

A couple of weeks ago, the owner of the Meetup I hike with most often called and asked if I would be willing to lead the group's standard Sunday hike on this day. He was going to be out of town and didn't want to cancel the hike. He offered a couple of suggestions, but left it to me to set the location. I agreed and decided to take the group to Sawnee Mountain Preserve, which might be just slightly more challenging than the normal Sunday hike, but nothing terrible. The trail includes two loops forming a figure eight around the two small mountains, Sawnee Mountain and Indian Seats. 

Knowing that some folks in the group might struggle with the inclines, I set the hike up in such a way that we passed nearby the parking area after doing the longer southern loop around Sawnee Mountain. The plan was then to continue along the second loop and visit the summit of the second mountain on the northern loop and visit Indian Seats, which is the name given to a large rock outcropping that offers some wonderful views.

Meeting up with the group under an awning near the parking lot, I give a brief overview of today's plan and after a quick round of introductions, we're off. I purposely try to slow my pace a little bit today. I'm generally a very fast hiker, but this group is often more leisurely and as I'm simply leading the hike in the normal organizer's place, I try to keep things as standard as possible, which includes a slightly slower pace for me.

The trail is well maintained and we enjoy some great conversations as we make our way around the southern mountain. I stop the group at trail junctions and to give the slower hikers a chance to catch up. We finish this loop without incident and once we reach the cross-point, I point out the parking area and offer those that have already exhausted themselves a chance to bail. A few take advantage of the opportunity. The rest of us take a couple of minutes to enjoy whatever snacks we may have brought with us.

After a ten minute break, we cross the road and head up the northern trail towards Indian Seats. This side is only a short distance and we're there before we know it. As there are some really great views from atop this mountain, I tell the group to take ten minutes and then point out a place to reconvene. Everyone wanders off and starts taking pictures. This is a really popular spot and there are already a number of other hikers up there that are not part of my group.

With the appropriate time having passed, I yell for the group to head out and we start down the longer descent on the western side of the mountain. Along the way we pass an old gated-off gold mine, which sparks some conversation.

Before long we're back at the parking area. I check my GPS track and see that it lost signal at some point and is unusable. From past hikes though, I know this trail is about 9.1 miles long and so, we'll go with that for today's distance. I wish everyone safe travels and we each set off in our own directions for wherever home might be.

Lula Lake Land Trust - Hike Bike Brew (Walker County, Georgia)

Today, I'll be attending one of my favorite charity events, which combines two of my favorite things - hiking and craft beer. The Lula Lake Land Trust hosts their Hike Bike Brew fundraising event twice a year generally (spring and fall). I've attended a couple of times in the past and always found it a great experience for a good cause. 

The event takes place at Lula Lake in northwestern Georgia and unfortunately, it took me almost three hours to get there this morning due to road construction around Atlanta. I had originally planned on doing a couple of other hikes up in that area, but with an extra hour of travel time each way, I wasn't able to squeeze them in. No matter - enjoy what you can. After getting directed to a spot to park my car, I walked over to the check-in and received my glass and a map of the route. 

Starting from the event area, the trail follows a gravel road through the woods following Rock Creek as it rushes over rock outcroppings and long chutes. The first beer stop is hosted by Chattanooga Brewing Company, who are offering their Luchador Mexican Amber Ale. The brewers at this event are always friendly and knowledgeable. They tell me a bit about the beer as they pour me eight or so ounces of their delicious beverage. It's a great one to start with.

I pass two more beer stops and enjoy their wares before coming to the bridge just above Lula Lake and the waterfall that pours the creek into it. Everyone always stops to take pictures from the bridge, though the views ahead are even better. Instead of continuing on this path though, I opt to climb the rocky trail up to the Bluff Trail, where I'm told there are three more beer stops. Participants are welcome to choose their own path and so, I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary.

There is one stop along the way and then two at the top of Eagle Cliff overlooking the Chattanooga Valley. The views are great, the beer is pretty damn good, and I can think of few ways to better spend a Saturday afternoon.

After relaxing with my cold one for a few minutes and breathing in the greenery stretching to the horizon, I move on. I come across a couple that I had spoken with earlier on the trail and warn them not to take the High Adventure Trail, which will be coming up on our left very soon. They had told me they were struggling a little bit with the terrain and I know from past experience that the High Adventure Trail includes some rope-aided descents down some steep cliffs. They thank me for my advice. 

Since I'm a little more adventurous, I decided to take the trail I warned them against. Just as I remember, there are a couple of very steep sections to traverse. The more difficult of the two has a knotted rope tied off and I'm forced to lower myself down a step set of rocks sliding from one knot in the rope to the next. It's a little precarious, but the rope makes it manageable. At the bottom, I rejoin the gravel road and hit the next beer stop. 

This stop is just above Lula Lake Falls, which is a gorgeous waterfall that flows over a tall cliff. I take some time to savor it. The beer here is not that great though. It's a PB&J porter from Back Forty Beer Company and I'm not tasting any peanut butter or jelly. Ah well, they can't all be amazing.

From there, I start the walk back towards the event area passing one last beer stop along the way and Lula Lake itself. When I reach the parking area, I see that I've hiked 2.8 miles. While the event includes a celebration here in this area, complete with live music and food options, I decided to head on home. I know I'm going to get stuck in that traffic again and I'd rather get going early. As always though, the event was a lot of fun.

Tribble Mill (Gwinnett County, Georgia)

 

It's been raining the last couple of days and my ankle is still not back to full strength after rolling it on the Uwharrie Trail last weekend, but I decided to join the Meetup group for a quick hike around Tribble Mill Park. It's only about twenty minutes from my house and I know the trails are mostly easy. A few miles here shouldn't be bad for my ankle and it might even help to get it moving again.

I met with the group near the playground area on the southside of the park and after a quick round of introductions we headed into the woods. It seems we have about a four-hour break between stormfronts, which should be more than enough to get a few miles in here. Our normal hike leader is out of town and another friend is leading today. I'll actually be leading the Sunday hike next weekend, as the main organizer will still be out of town.

We follow the trail right next to the lake and encounter a few people fishing along the way. As our group, our pace is pretty slow today and we end up needing to stop and allow people to catch up a few times. After following the Ozora Lake shore for a ways, we cross the road and do a lap around Chandler Lake. This is a new section of trail that was incomplete the last time I was at the park.

Between the storms, it's actually turning out to be a pretty nice day, though it is getting to be humid. With less than five miles covered so far, and having nearly returned to our starting point, I offer to lead the group to Tribble Mill "Waterfall", which most of them are unaware even existed. I figure it will add a mile or so to our hike and it might even be a nice way to cool off.

As we approach the waterfall, which is really much more of a natural waterslide over a solid sheet of granite, we hear music blaring and the laughter of small children. It seems this is a popular hang out after the rains and there are nearly eighty people here, including many small children sliding down the mossy green waterslide. A couple of our hikers take their shoes off and enjoy the cool waters. One even slips and falls on her butt, but is luckily uninjured. 

Soon, I announced that I'm heading back to the cars and folks can decide to stay or follow me back. As good timing would have it, we start to hear thunderclaps just as we approach the parking area where we started. I was able to get in about 5.8 miles today and my ankle, while still tender, didn't seem to complain too much.