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:



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



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



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:



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



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





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.



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:



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:



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



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:



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.