Hike to High Shoals Falls

Last Saturday, we drove up to High Shoals Falls and the trip was beautiful and uneventful until we started driving back to Toccoa. That is when I suggested taking a road that I had driven before. I wanted everyone to see where the Appalachian Trail crosses this section of road. The trouble was: I wasn’t driving this time and the road was super muddy in spots, which made all of us nervous especially Anne who was driving her fairly new Land Rover.

Ha! She knows I’m taking her photo, but she is driving through mud and her car had never, never been anywhere near mud like this. My poor little 4 Runner has been up and down Forestry Service Roads for the last few years.

And there have been plenty of times when “Yikes” was the last word I thought of using as I looked down some of the FS roads in northeast Georgia.

Here’s the view of High Shoals Falls. It was an adventure getting there and no one wanted to leave. A really neat observation deck is located about a mile and a half from the trail head. But I did not have my camera on this tripâ€”the first time in years!Â I got out of the car in the parking area and turned my Nikon on and there was no power. What is going on? I thought. Then I remembered placing my battery in the charger before heading out to church that morning. I had left it at the Toccoa cottageâ€”charging. So I borrowed Anne’s Canon to take these few photos.

Shadows across these roots reminded me of how dangerous they can be! From what I have learned through reading AT Journals, these are so dangerous when wet. Slippery and toe catching. I have hiked a good bit in northeast Georgia and North Carolina, and I can testify to that on a very low level. Rocks and Roots are the two R’s of the trail and they can really trip you up.

Here’s what is left of a camp fire from the previous night. The pathway to High Shoals is just off the Appalachian Trail and lots of through hikers camp here and other spots like this one. There is nearby water, a flat surface for tents, and accessibility to the AT!

Chip and Cocoa need to be groomed so badly! But they dodged the bullet again this week because their groomer is sick. Next week is another story. Chip is ready to go in this river. He did it two years ago and tracked dirt, sand, and mud back into the car. If it had been warmer, he would have done it again. There are two things he loves: cows and water!