The first weekend of January I enjoyed hiking in a winter wonderland. North Georgia had been experiencing very cold temperatures so I set out on Saturday the 6th with my regular hiking buddy, Kurtis, to check out some frozen waterfalls. Our first stop was Duke Creek Falls. I have hiked to Dukes Creek Falls a few times before; I believe this was my fourth time there. The hike is about two miles round trip a mile down to the falls and a mile back out. Below you can see a few photos from the trip and photos from my previous trips there for a little seasonal comparison of the same place. I also found another painted rock by the waterfall! This one was had a painted yellow sunflower on it and someone from Brevard, NC painted it. I plan on leaving this rock for someone else on one of my future adventures.
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After our hike to Duke Creek Falls we drove to the top of Richard B. Russell Parkway to check out the frozen icicles as well as the ice climbers before continuing along a forest service road just outside Helen, GA to our next destination Horse Trough Falls. On the way to Horse Trough Falls, there is another waterfall, along the forest service road, that that we stopped to check out, Kurtis, dubbed it the Court of the Mountain King and we scrambled up the frozen landscape to check it out. My photographs didn’t turn out as I would of liked so you will just have to imagine a waterfall on top of a hill frozen over with a frozen creek meandering down to the forest service road. I did get an interesting shot of the ice.
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Horse Trough Falls is just as beautiful in the winter as it is at other times of the year; this was my third trip there. It is just a quarter of a mile walk from the camping area to the falls. I have not camped here before but it would be a very nice place to camp in the future. I don’t think the campground gets as much use as some other areas, as you have to drive miles back into the woods, along forest service roads, to reach it. It was fun walking over the frozen creek to get a closer look at the falls. We had time to stop again before it got dark at the Court of The Mountain King on our way back home. On the journey home from our winter adventures, an owl swooped over us, we both saw its large black silhouette fly across the road and over the car.
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The next day 1-7-18 I set out by myself to hike at Jones Bridge Park which is part of the Chattahoochee River Park system. I had not hiked this section before and I got in about five miles of hiking. The trail meanders along the river most of the time, the trail is mostly flat but there was one section that travels up and down a steep hillside. The Trail includes passing by two small ponds, which were both frozen over due to the cold temperatures. I saw some deer along the way too. I missed the Bridge to Nowhere on the first part of my hike so I stopped to check it out at the end just before the sun set. I took a trip down memory lane too on this hike, across the river from the Bridge to Nowhere, is another Jones Bridge Park. I use to take Kola, a beagle, I use to pet sit for on walks there on a regular basis.
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