Spring and Summer hiking thread

[Prediction? Pain.]

Haven't seen any threads on here about hiking, and after doing an 8-miler in northern Georgia, I figured I may as well get the ball rolling.

Hiked a loop trail in Fort Mountain State Park today. It's about an hour or so from Chattanooga. The mountain tops out at 2,850 feet, which really helped keep the temperatures down. (I hiked the same trail a couple of weeks ago, and it never got above 72 degrees even though it was in the mid-80s off the mountain). Not nearly has high as other mountains farther east into the Blue Ridges, but for the area, it's a pretty solid peak with well-manicured trails.

The loop trail had some great overlooks and varied terrain. Rhododendron thickets, stands of large pine and hemlock, oak-hickory forests, groves of ferns, etc. Ate lunch at a waterfall and munched on wild blueberries as we went.

Here are some pics:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wfOujddeYSSdHjVOFnLMzlATZ4KyylWjotkabL7qHb8=w684-h911-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8_6Pkco9H5mlo1rf6X-8IoyRTGwfCE6DQqd1OgvhjTs=w684-h911-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yitLZuF45-EWi5asGGnZKmym51PsBu_KFJxUo1Sb54I=w1215-h911-no

Lunch spot looking down:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NmDoPVLP8wSos1rYURocOliqcxYuB-6LP8cSmDkSJdk=w684-h911-no

Lunch spot looking up:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AGcmvs5pgWXbv0EQV9ZuBKE2TRW7oW9eXmLMJtEyrRw=w684-h911-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cqDk37I_Eez5W0mCx_ssFTzMv635fx4au8McBzeAEK4=w684-h911-no

And the piece de resistance:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_kiLPzG4Qtgpg0ErX-Ef2BqV9eq7DIP_ZNriar-VIvo=w1620-h911-no

I have a few more pics of other recent hikes, but I think that'll do for now.

Any of y'all hiked any solid trails this year? Or, if you're not near the mountains, any interesting kayak or canoe trips?

[Just This Once]

The Amicalola Falls trail near Blue Ridge, GA, is a great loop trail. The Falls are 729 feet in three cascades, and there is a long winding staircase that you can take from the top to the bottom. You can actually park at the top of the falls and walk like 20 feet to it, but if you start at the beginning of the trail, it's a 2.7 mile loop that is a great hike. Strenuous but not difficult. My family did that in late May.

My favorite hikes, though, are the Horsepasture Creek trails to Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls. Incredible views, moderate trail.

Check out ncwaterfalls.com and wncwaterfalls.info for more info on some great trails in the area.

If you can't get the family to North Carolina for a trip, I'd recommend the Little River Canyon area in Fort Payne, AL. It's about 4.5 hours from Jackson, 3.5 from Starkville. Great hikes and swimming holes.

[Prediction? Pain.]

I've heard great things about Little River Canyon as well, though mostly from my rock-climbing friends. Knew about the climbing routes and swimming holes, but not about the hiking. Good to know.

Other spots in Alabama to keep in mind -- also around 4.5 hours from Jackson -- are Talladega National Forest and Cheaha State Park, east of Birmingham. The mountains there are the southernmost portions of the Appalachians and top out at around 2,400 feet, I think. Never been, but the things I've read make the area sound great. Waterfalls, scenic views, diverse flora and fauna, etc. If this is any indication of the scenery, it'd be worth a trip:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/47/10/3e4710db96f4cb8fab99fa0335f5c0b3.jpg

Haven't been hiking in NC in years. Last time was near Joyce Kilmer, near Robbinsville. Gorgeous area. (Well, I have done the small portions of the AT around Roan Mountain numerous times since then, and I guess that's equal parts NC and Tennessee. That place is indescribable. Favorite hiking spot anywhere, by far.)

[Just This Once]

The Amicalola Falls trail is also known as the "Appalachian Trail Approach Trail." It leads directly to the start of the AT in North Georgia.

My favorite hike in Little River Canyon is pretty strenuous, but it is a great hike.

If you have any Jackson Academy friends, ask them about it. It's the first stop on the annual rafting trip.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Name of the trail at Little River? I'm only about an hour away from there.

Here's an off-trail waterfall I discovered early this spring while hiking the Cumberland Trail near Chattanooga:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Dp3q0ZhQI&feature=youtu.be

It's a great trail segment anyway, but this spot -- which is pretty far off the beaten path -- is now one of my favorites in the area. (Sorry for the motion-sickness-inducing camera work. But hey, it's in ultra-HD. Pixels, people, pixels!)

[Just This Once]

I couldn't even begin to tell you the name of the trail. It many not even have a name, and I don't remember the blaze (been 6 years since I've been).

EDIT:

I spent a good bit of time just now looking for the trail, but all I have determined so far is that we park at Canyon View (shown on the map that is available here (http://www.nps.gov/liri/index.htm)) and we walk north along the road for maybe 200 yards before hitting the trail head. It doesn't appear to be marked on the map, but I think I found the trailhead: (Google Map street view (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.365857,-85.660738,3a,75y,240.04h,71.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVy4jxxf2BjxlpkaUwasYZA!2e0!7i1 3312!8i6656))

Like I said, it is a tough trail, I'd say it's about 1.5 miles, but it's been 6 years like I said. We actually would swim across the river at the beach that it takes you to and head upstream a bit on the other side. It leads to a few good swimming holes and jump rocks. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that is a novice since I don't think it is a maintained trail and there is a part where a rope might need to be used (we take ropes since it is a middle school trip).

[BrunswickDawg]

It's a little further drive for you and a short hike / but Tallulah Gorge is a must hike. When I was a kid, our summer camp used to do a hike down the length of the gorge. It's a state park now and has much better trails and access. Beautiful hikes

[Prediction? Pain.]

I spent a good bit of time just now looking for the trail, but all I have determined so far is that we park at Canyon View (shown on the map that is available here (http://www.nps.gov/liri/index.htm)) and we walk north along the road for maybe 200 yards before hitting the trail head. It doesn't appear to be marked on the map, but I think I found the trailhead: (Google Map street view (https://www.google.com/maps/@34.365857,-85.660738,3a,75y,240.04h,71.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVy4jxxf2BjxlpkaUwasYZA!2e0!7i1 3312!8i6656))

Thanks for finding the link. I'll have to make it down there sometime.

[Prediction? Pain.]

It's a little further drive for you and a short hike / but Tallulah Gorge is a must hike. When I was a kid, our summer camp used to do a hike down the length of the gorge. It's a state park now and has much better trails and access. Beautiful hikes

I've seen videos of Tallulah Gorge. Looks amazing.

Just starting to branch out into North Georgia recently. Did a little hiking on both the Benton MacKaye Trail and Appalachian Trial in the Blue Ridge area last fall. And the Cohutta Wilderness Area, which is sandwiched in between Fort Mountain in Georgia and Big Frog Mountain in Tennessee, looks like its full of great trails too.

[BrunswickDawg]

I hiked a lot of North Georgia growing up in Marietta until I moved to the coast and became a flatlander. Kennesaw Mtn. battlefield was literally my backyard, and I started day hiking those trails by myself in 2nd grade (I was a free range kid in the late 70s). The Amicalola trials are some of my favorites. If you take the AT approach trail over to Springer Mtn, you can look down the valley and see my favorite trout fishing spot. Beautiful country.

Here on the coast Cumberland Island has some great trails, and the bonus of one of the most isolated beaches on the east coast - but you can't hike it this time of year because it's just too hot and humid, and no matter how much you drink dehydration kicks your ass fast.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Took my 15-month-old to Foster Falls recently. It's a waterfall and swimming hole at the southern end of the Fiery Gizzard Trail (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery_Gizzard_Trail), a pretty well-known overnight hike about 40 minutes outside of Chattanooga. The parking area for the falls is only 15-20 minutes off of I-24 when you're around Sewanee, TN. (It's accessible via a few of the exits in that area.) It's only a 10-15 minute hike from the parking lot to the falls, though part of it is a fairly steep descent down the side of a small gorge. Best swimming hole I've ever been to. Well worth a stop if you're in the area and have a little time to kill.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MbvGLR18l2UC1CYZ-FEwYgbSL9lsMXNFdqYJoZCK6Nk=w1920-h902-no

[Prediction? Pain.]

Here on the coast Cumberland Island has some great trails, and the bonus of one of the most isolated beaches on the east coast - but you can't hike it this time of year because it's just too hot and humid, and no matter how much you drink dehydration kicks your ass fast.

Been taking a look at Cumberland Island online. Seems like an awesome place. How's the camping there? And are there facilities on the island that rent kayaks or canoes?

Do you do much paddling now that you're on the coast? Ran across this in my Cumberland Island research: http://www.secoastpaddlingtrail.com/ That kind of thing has always been appealing to me, but I've never really done it.

[BrunswickDawg]

Cumberland is a really cool place and great for hiking - but is pretty challenging from a camping standpoint. It is a Wilderness Area (although they have had to allow vehicle access to certain spots) - and camping is structured that way. There are restrooms, showers, and primitive camp sites - but ZERO amenities. It is pack in/pack out. You can not resupply when you get there. Forget something, and you are screwed. The reward though, if you hike to the Sea Camp, is your own private beach and the most incredible stargazing on the east coast. The downside is bugs. We've got them like you wouldn't believe here - gnats, mosquitoes, deer flies, chiggers, ticks, banana spiders, sand fleas - you name it. They are almost year round and they are relentless in the woods. There are no kayak/canoe rentals unless you have the jack and want to 'rough it' at the Greyfield Inn - a Carnegie mansion turned into a b&b.

I've done a little bit of kayaking here and some SUP. This is an area for hard cores only in my opinion. The creek systems are complex, they meander, and the distances you have to paddle to get anywhere make it tough. Layer in the tides swing 8-9 feet - and seasonally as much as 16 feet - and you can get in the shit real fast if you catch the tide wrong. I stay in boats.

If you come, I tell people that early November is the best time if you can swing it. Tourists are gone, warm days, cool nights, and bugs aren't bad. Some years it is still warm enough to get in the ocean and swim. Stay away from Late July and August - which can be brutal.