So Many Dishes

Yesterday was another hike to a waterfall, one we have seen several times. No matter how often Ken and I walk this trail, however, I never fall to be overwhelmed by the beauty of the water cascading down the mountain.

This is actually a twin falls, with two streams flowing down the mountain to form Smith Creek. The falls are again located in the Chattahoochee National Forest, but to access it, you need to drive through Unicoi State Park, one of Georgia’s wonderful state parks. The first time we came to this area, in 1989, we actually rented one of the cabins within the park.

This walk is a relatively short one, less than a half mile to the falls, and paved all the way. It’s quite a steep grade in sections, though, so again, I was glad to have a hiking pole. You can hear the water as soon as you start up the trail, and the creek is just visible through the trees. About a third of the way there’s a bridge across the creek, and from then on, you’re walking right along the water. It’s incredibly picturesque. I took dozens of photos.

The area is heavily wooded, and the forest service usually leaves downed trees where they fall. Because of this, and because water levels vary depending on how much rain there’s been, the scenery changes with each visit. We saw a tree that clearly had come down recently, and there wasn’t as much water coming over the falls as we’ve sometimes seen, but that’s part of fun of revisiting.

This is a very accessible falls, and very popular. While it felt like we had the trail to Duke’s Creek Falls to ourselves at times, that was definitely not the case here. The two viewing platforms were pretty crowded, but we still had good views of the base of the falls.

We sat for some time, listening to the sound of the rushing water. Honestly, I probably could have sat there all day. Walking back down the trail provided a different perspective, and more photo ops.

It has been an absolutely wonderful trip, and it’s going to be hard to leave here tomorrow. Tonight was one last glass of wine from the bottle we bought at Yonah Mountain Vineyards and one more dinner in the treetops, listening to the birds. Maybe we’ll see the doe that visited our driveway before we leave in the morning.