Northern Ga. dayhike with kids

“I will be visiting Marietta, Ga over the New Year's holiday and I hope to do a dayhike with my daughters (9 and 7 yo) and my brother-in-law. I am looking for either a ridgeline or overlook or waterfalls, or both if possible. Also, although my daughters are good flatland hikers, they have done very little mountain hiking so I don't want to overtax them by walking more than 4 or 5 miles.

Usually when we visit, we hike up to the top of Kennesaw mountain (starting at the bottom, not the parking lot at the top), but are looking for something with a little more wilderness.

I have read that Panther Creek falls is a great hike, closer to 7 miles, but doable for kids. Cloud Canyon (?) was another interesting area. The area around Helen looks fabulous, but I am having a hard time coming up with a decent loop trail that isn't too long or too short.

Any ideas?”

“Blood Mountain on the AT would be nice, but crowded. It would be around 5 miles total (there and back, it is not a loop), but it is not very taxing. Just park at the Byron Reece Memorial trailhead and take Byron Reece to the AT and go to the top from there. The views are really nice from the top. Byron Reece trailhead is right off of Hwy 129 just north of the Walysi-Yi center (great outdoor store here).”

“Hwy...the Helen area is wonderful. It has been awhile since I have hiked there but Anna Ruby Falls is nice and Brass Town Bald would be fun as well. I know Unicoi State Park is near there as well but haven't hiked any of the trails.

Have fun!!!”

“There are two main trails at Cloudland Canyon. The one on the South rim has good views but can be overpopulated. You'd probably have the trail on the North side all to yourself -- but there aren't any views!

Are you talking about the Panther Creek Falls in Cohutta?”

“Try the Beech Bottom Trail in the Cohutta Wildeness between Blue Ridge and Chatsworth Ga about 1 1/2 hour or so north of Marietta. The trail leads down to Jacks River Falls. It follows an old logging road and is fairly easy. Great view and access to the falls. It is not a loop but well worth the hike.”

“Great White Sherpa - Blood Mountain sounds cool. My kids would probably run to the top if they thought they could find an indian battle going on.

Crazy gurl - I looked at Anna ruby falls, but it is less than a mile to the falls and to add smith creek trail (?) to make it a little longer we would need a second car.

Tilt - Do you think cloudland canyon would be crowded on a weekday. I think we would want to do the trail with the views. my girls might hike a little further if they got a little payback for their exertions. The Panther Creek Falls I am thinking about is in or near Tallulah Gorge.

handlebar - I will look into the Beech Bottom Trail. Is Jacks Rivers Falls the place where college kids (and the like minded) have trashed the place?”

“Blood is pretty cool. I bet on a clear day you could see 50 miles. Even on a cloudy day, if you're above the clouds, it's awfully cool.”

“Yes, Cloudland may be a lot less populated during the week, and at this time of year. It's really pretty short, though. The trail goes right around the South rim, but there are handrails.

There are also a couplke of short trails that go down to the bottom of the falls. They're short... but really steep, <G>. You know how those trails next to waterfalls can be.


I went to Athens Y Camp, just a stone's throw from Tahlulah Gorge --- but that was a couple of centuries ago. If you're up that way, a meal at the Dillard House is not to be missed. Be sure to work up an appetite first.”

“Hwy..Yes Jacks River Falls is where it's has been abused, but since it is a wilderness I read last week in the paper that they have banned alchol from the area, so I'm sure that will cut out a lot of party frat brothers.”

“alcohol”

“If we make it to Tuhlulah Gorge we will be sure to stop in at Dillard House. I am sure we will be ravenous, because I have a sneaky suspicion that I may be carry a small child on my shoulders from time to time :-)”

“Somewhere near the camp, near where that huge old store is (was?) on the rim of the gorge there was a start of a trail that went STRAIGHT down... It ended at a large pool with a 'sliding rock'.
I'd really like to find that again one of these days.

But I don't think you're planning on doing any swimming this trip, LOL”

“Dillard House for sure!!! OMG..what a feast!!!”

“Tilt - We might do some swimming in my In-Laws hot tub when we get back, but I don't think we will do any in the backcountry :-)

Handlebar - Has the area around Jack's River had time to recover any?

Bitpusher - Blood Mountain has the stone shelter at the summit, correct?

Crazygurl - Now don't hold back, tell us what you really think about Dillards. :-)”

“What part of Georgia are you in?”

“Yes hyway, that is correct. Next to the shelter is a huge, easy-to-climb rock, which will give you even better views, nearly 360 degrees.”

“Does anyone ever sleep in that dungeon? Every thruhiker i've read has passed on it. Either too cold due to the winds or just too creepy in general.”

“Well, I passed it up because it didn't fit in my hike plan. Some still stay there, I suppose, but it is pretty dank and dreary. The sleeping area smells funny as well as being windy due to the huge windows. It might be better if you could build a fire, but they've bricked up the fireplace. Probably only a matter of time before they just close it down. I doubt if they'll demolish it though, they'll probably just brick up the door and windows.”

“I'm in Augusta... I can almost see South Carolina from here, LOL”

“Excuse me... Soccer Liner, <G>”

“Soccer Liner? Is that actual place? Did I miss something or did you forget where you lived?”

“Soccer Liner.... as opposed to Knocker Liner, LOLOL”

“OMG....I am SOOOOO slow!!!!”

“That area is worn out from this past summer, heavy use. But since it is Wilderness, it should recover quickly. It gets alot of rain so the vegetation should come back soon. In fact thats why they bricked up the fireplace at Blood Mtn Shelter. All the wood had been used up and some crazys were cutting live wood. Tough place to sleep, I tried it a few years back and between the mice and bats we didn't get to much sleep. But it does have a great view from the top. There are also many trails in Vogtel State Park near Blood Mtn. that you might want to check out.”

“all these areas are getting worn out, due to heavy use.”

“You guys quit bunching up. Spread out!”

“I am starting to spread out. I need to go on a long hike and thin out some of this Holiday cooking we've been doing.”

“I need to go back to English 101 or whatever it is called now.”

“I haven't seen the Blood Mtn. Shelter... Have you seen the tower near Wyah Bald? That's pretty cool... no windows, tho'!”

“"I need to go back to English 101 or whatever it is called now."
handlebar
08:24:34 PM
12/17/02

Your name wouldn't happen to be Mahir would it ;-)

In case you have forgotten:
http://www.istanbul.tc/mahir/mahir/”

“Tilt - Here's my pic of the Blood Mountain Shelter.”

“That pic makes it look downright homie. There are other photos that makes it look like the headquarters for the Spanish Inquisition.”

“Is that what those Spanish guys were doing hanging around there?

It was still pretty dank on the inside.”

“dank... or stank?”

“lol, both...”

“Hyway, I'm not Mahir.”

“Of course you're not, you're handlebar. I was going along with your joke about going back to English 101. Do you remember the Turkish guy's "I KISS YOU !!!!!" webpage that got passed around the internet last year.”

“Does anyone ever get day hikes together for N GA..as a group I mean? My mom lives there and I would be interested if anyone organzes one.”

“crazygurl...go to this website and click on the "Contacts" link. There's an email address there for the person who handles hike schedules for the GATC. Unfortunately, they haven't seen fit to publish the schedule on their webpage...”

“Ok, We are going to do the Cloudland Canyon rim trail, while the wives go shopping in Chattanooga. So, Dillard House is out. Are there any recommendations for "don't miss" restuarants in that neck of the woods?”

“thanks for the link..i will read it later when i'm not at work. would hate to use work time to read that kinda of stuff! (hehehehe)”

“Has anyone ever hiked Signal Point National Park?”

“So Signal Point National Park must be a barren Wasteland populated only by snakes and scorpions?”