Rumor has it that North Carolina is open! But I am so glad that I have had this time to hike some pretty amazing trails right here in northeast Georgia! The trail to Martin Creek Falls is one of then. It begins at Warwoman Dell just off of Warwoman Road in nearby Rabun County.

It’s not a difficult trail but it is about 2.3 miles one way. Some of the families, who follow me like to know the trail length, especially since they have small children. At this time of the year, it is one of the most beautiful trails I have been on. Simple wild flowers are blooming, and they line the pathway. I’ll post my photos of those in another blog.

If you’re not up for this kind of hike or if you are short on time, you can take Finney Creek Road (just past the Warwoman WMA check-in station) to a trailhead that’s tucked to the inside of the sharp left (eastward) turn past the WMA headquarters.

But I would say that if you can walk this awesome pathway, do it. There are only a couple of places that have some solid “ups.” Once you climb to Becky Branch, the hike goes up at a gradual, but easy to-do, pace before going back to down as you get near the falls.

We ran into several “downed” trees and some were cut so you can easily walk through—others presented more of a challenge. But we climbed on!

The hike begins with a passing look at Becky Branch Falls. I was here in the late ’70’s and remember it well but never saw a turn to the Bartram Trail.

I just noticed when I posted this that there are all of these wonderful new ferns lining this fallen log, but there’s also one little three-leaf poison ivy plant! When I was young, I was super allergic to this stuff but I don’t know if it was the six months of Chemo or what but I just don’t have as much of a reaction now. I do still avoid it, and that’s a task since our forests are full of it!

Here’s Pat along the trail. Most of the time, we could hear the river rushing alongside the pathway but the mountain laurel was too dense to see it.

And here she is again—at a distance. I thought this was a wonderful photo. It shows the trail and how it meanders through the forest.

One of the things I’ve rediscovered since the “stay at home” thing was put into place, is that the trails in my “northeast Georgia backyard” are truly nice. This one is beautiful! So, I would definitely recommend hiking it.

Before we reached Martin Creek Falls, we did come to this scramble. It is worse than it looks in this photo, but it is very do-able. I wonder why this fallen tree has not been removed. Moving over it to the continuing pathway takes a little bit of determination, but the end result is worth it.

Funny thing  about this lost and found photo: we saw it and immediately knew that it was a folded up pad used to sit on the ground, but we left it—thinking the owner would return for it. They didn’t and the next day a friend hiked this same path with a friend. The encased pad was still there, and she retrieved it as a gift for her friend. (smile)

I imagine this is the perfect place to camp, which so far has not been my “thing” to do. Though I am beginning to think about what it would be like on the top of Black Balsam at night under the stars in a tent with an open screen canopy . . . with the night creatures and the bears and the fox and many other people!

Water shoes or waterproof shoes really work here.

Our destination: Martin Creek Falls. This is a really nice two-tier set of falls. There’s a small wooden platform there so you can take a break, drink more water, and take in the view.

Pat and Anne rest a minute before we head back to the trail head. The Bartram Trail goes on from here to Rabun Bald, Pinnacle Knob and other wonderful places like Holcomb Creek Falls.

 

Pin It