MLK Day Eve hike

[Prediction? Pain.]

My wife's office was closed on MLK day so instead of splitting kid duty with me on Monday like we'd normally do, she and a friend took the kids down to an indoor water park about an hour south of Atlanta last Sunday and Monday. They apparently had a great time, so that's cool. And while I was stuck in my office Monday, I got in a bonus hike Sunday. Wins all round.

Hike was a 4.5-mile round-trip. I think it was in the low-to-mid 30s outside at the trialhead and I was layered to the gills -- wool long johns, two shirts, and a down coat with a waterproof shell. Started near a solid waterfall, which is basically 90 seconds from where I parked:

https://i.postimg.cc/85MJ66tL/IMG-20200119-110155.jpg

Soon after the waterfall, you cross a bridge downstream from the waterfall as the creek gradually descends into the gorge:

https://i.postimg.cc/YCdy54NN/MVIMG-20200119-110825-2.jpg

Just before the creek's descent gets steep, you'll go through a stand of hemlocks where a feeder stream flows into the creek:

https://i.postimg.cc/mgpHfRP1/PANO-20200119-144322.jpg

As the creek goes farther and farther down, the trail mostly stays level and skirts east along the south face of a ridge. (Though the mountainsides get pretty steep in places here, the creek's elevation loss creates an awesome opportunity for off-trail waterfall exploration.) The trail eventually veers sharply north, takes you to the top of the ridge, and then descends the north side down toward a larger stream. This stretch is amazing in late spring when you get to hike through a thicket of 15-ft rhododendron all in bloom, but in winter the main attraction on this section is a huge rock wall in another stand of hemlocks near the bottom of the gorge:

https://i.postimg.cc/ZYgNMJy9/IMG-20200119-114508.jpg

Soon after the rock wall, you descend a little farther and hit the bridge crossing one of the two main creeks on the trail.

https://i.postimg.cc/NF0W91x0/PANO-20200119-140606.jpg

The creek is strewn with big boulders and surrounded by cool rock formations.

https://i.postimg.cc/SKvZTwLm/PANO-20200119-115546.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/FHPGz2B0/PANO-20200119-140032.jpg

Once you're over the bridge, the next mile ascends 400' or so along the south-facing mountainside. Lots of sandstone bluffs here that both heated up the trail considerably -- at one point here I'd taken off my coat and its shell, rolled up my shirt sleeves, and taken off my hat -- and offered some nice seasonal water features.

https://i.postimg.cc/VkTG4xWm/IMG-20200119-134127.jpg

I made my stopping point a rock outcropping at the northeastern tip of the ridge I was climbing. Solid view for my PB&J banquet:

https://i.postimg.cc/tJS8h2qc/IMG-20200119-124401.jpg

If I still had good knees, I'd have gone another couple of miles to arrive at a badass waterfall that kayakers named "Immdoium Falls" because, well, one paddling it in high water would need to fasten their gullets. Alas, my joints aren't fond of 8- or 9-mile hikes these days so I turned back. But, hey, no harm in remembering what I missed:

https://i.postimg.cc/ryD6T2fX/Mack-Pan.jpg

On the way back, a group of mushrooms caught my eye because I'm a massive dork.

https://i.postimg.cc/rFRfn8Qs/IMG-20200119-134557.jpg

When I recrossed the big bridge at the bottom of the gorge, the sun was starting to go down over the ridge. Made for a nice sendoff before my last mile:

https://i.postimg.cc/VkjDwKyc/PANO-20200119-140352.jpg

Afterward, I went to a short work function where I got to have some Jefferson's Ocean bourbon, which was a solid fancypants cap to my festivities. All in all, I'd say I did pretty damn well for flying solo all day.

[parabrave]

I'll break the rule about nonsports/weather crap today because of the site malfunctions but since you are in the ATL and want a great place to hike with springs and waterfalls go to Layfayette north of ATL. I did a Chickamauga battle walk years ago and found their water park. It's really neat.

[DownwardDawg]

Man that’s awesome. Beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing. I would love to make that hike. I love north Georgia and Tennessee. We may end up east of Nashville someday.
Are there trout in that creek? Looks awesome.

[Prediction? Pain.]

I'll break the rule about nonsports/weather crap today because of the site malfunctions but since you are in the ATL and want a great place to hike with springs and waterfalls go to Layfayette north of ATL. I did a Chickamauga battle walk years ago and found their water park. It's really neat.

Yeah, the northwestern corner of Georgia where Lafayette (locally pronounced, no joke, "La - fay - it") and Chickamauga are probably doesn't get its due. There are several great hiking spots along Lookout Mountain and other nearby foothills and hollows. Cloudland Canyon is among the more well known spots and is well worth a trip. And of course the Chickamauga battlefield area is cool. But one of the hidden gems is a short little wildflower and waterfall trail in the Crockett-Pidgeon Mountain Wilderness Management Area about 45 minutes south of Chattanooga. The main trail is a really easy hike (much of it is on a boardwalk) and in spring, its surrounded by the most wildflowers I've ever seen in any one place. And then once you've hiked that, you can scramble up to a cool waterfall in front of rock openings and shallow caves that you can walk through. I've only been once and my wildflower pics from that hike sucked (seven years ago, so my phone's camera wasn't so hot). But here's a decent picture I took of the waterfall on that trail:

https://i.postimg.cc/LXM7YsvC/20130413-111851.jpg

You can see how big it is by checking out the two people standing at the back between the water streams.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Man that?s awesome. Beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing. I would love to make that hike. I love north Georgia and Tennessee. We may end up east of Nashville someday.
Are there trout in that creek? Looks awesome.

You know, I'm not sure about the trout populations in creeks on the southern Cumberland Plateau. I know that there are some rare and endemic sliders, darters, mussels, and so on in the steams I hike around (or thereabouts, anyway), and I think that the state stocks trout (rainbows, I assume) a couple of places around Chattanooga once the streams come out of the mountains and get a little bigger. My guess is that the closest trout fishing to Chattanooga, both for brook trout and the stocked stuff, is a county or two to the east. The Hiwassee River, which flows out of the mountains of Cherokee National Forest, is a super popular spot. An then the feeder streams from that area north all along the TN/NC border are where you'll find the hidden brook trout enclaves in TN.

Though the sliders and darters around here may not be all that worthwhile for fishing purposes, their diversity is pretty damn impressive.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprd3843624.jpg

Alabama's freshwater species are similarly (and probably even more) diverse. I bet Mississippi's are, too.

And, hey, while we're talking about it, why not drop in some nice, pro-southeastern wildlife propaganda.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3WPquhB7RE

[DownwardDawg]

Great info. Thanks so much for such a thorough post. That video was great!!!