Amicalola Falls

"Come on Chan, a hike in the woods will be fun" Jan said. And ya know it was! 

This month Jan and I took a trip with our friends Mark and Jenny to Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, GA.

This trip almost didn't take place because of the Russian hacking group Darkside. But we were able to find enough gas to get to Georgia.

On the way up Jan and I met Mark and Jenny in Tifton Georgia at the Hampton Inn and Suites. If you are looking for a place to stay I would recommend this place. They have a great happy hour each afternoon and a nice hot breakfast. Jan recommends the "Kilted Sausages" offered during the happy hour. This Hampton Inn also allows pets to stay there so we did see a few furry friends outside on their constitutional walk in the grass.

The next day we continued our drive north toward Amicalola Falls stopping for gas and snacks at the Buc-ee's in Warner Robins Georgia. I am still amazed with this gas station. I counted and there are over 250 gas pumps. That's a lot of gas! 

Mark got a Kolache and said it was quite good. 

If you haven't stopped at Buc-ee's I recommend it at least once in your trip through Georgia. It kinda reminds me of South of the Border in South Carolina. only Buc-ee's is all under one roof and better planned, for a roadside attraction that is.

I had never heard of a Kolache and was intrigued with both the pastry and the name. With further investigation I found  that it is a Czech festival dessert that came to Texas via Czech immigrants that selected there. 

After we got gassed up and fed we drove on to Amicalola Falls and our weekend of hiking and enjoying nature. 

But before we got there Jan had a place she wanted to try. Chastain Southern Catering & Cafe in Dahlonega Georgia. This is a nice outdoor cafe outside of Amicaloa. Missy served us up a great lunch, I had the Bakes California Croissant which was quite tasty. 

We finally arrived at Amicalola Falls. Mark and Jenny headed up to the lodge and Jan and I set up camp in our cabin. 

It was a nice place with all the modern conveniences we are use to. There was even a nice fire pit and grill out back that we made use of.  

In looking around the outside I even made friends with a cute 17 year old!  I collected a few of the discarded skins cause you never know when you might need one. (After reading this Jan said it was  creepy in a "It puts the lotion on" kinda way. But rest assured I'm just talking about bugs. 

There was also a little stream out behind the cabin and lots of plants growing. I found several Southern Arrowwoods blooming.  

The stream was nice to listen to and to watch the water flowing over the rocks. 

The second day we were there, the 4 of us went on a hike. This was advertised to us by the visitors center to be a fun and easy 2.5 mile hike. I knew otherwise having been there several years before with my son Austin and the Boy Scouts. But I thought that it was best for the others to experience the trail without the influence of others experiences. 

So off we went on our first big adventure in the woods. The Creek trail started conveniently right near our cabin. We all had the necessities for a day hike. Hiking boots, walking sticks, water bottles and snacks. It was a cool morning and we felt ready for a walk. 

The hike was made a little longer because part of the trail to the top of the falls had been washed out and we had to take the long way there.  

In this part of the country when you are hiking in the mountains most of what you see is trees and green. We did see something different towards the top of the waterfalls.  As I was hiking along looking at all the different colors of  green in the trees I noticed something out of place. An old truck, weathered and rusted wedged uphill of me in the trees. It must have at sometime in the past run off the road leading to the top of the falls. I imagine that at the time it was just not possible to retrieve the truck so far off the road and down the mountain. So it was just left there to become one with the mountain.

To get to the top of the falls there is a stairway of over 600 steps. It takes you through some very lush growth of trees. The stairway was made by convicts from the Georgia State Prison. I can just imagine a scene from "Cool Hand Luke" "I'm shaken it boss, shaken it!" 

Fortunately there were benches installed on the platforms every few flights of stairs to stop and catch your breath. 

After making it to the top of the falls we were treated to quite a view of the valley below us and the mountains in the distance. 

Amicalola Falls is the third largest fall east of the Mississippi. Falling 729 feet to a pool below. Amicalola comes from the Cherokee word for "tumbling water" and there was a lot of water tumbling.

On the hike back down to the base of the falls and our cabin we were treated to a few more views out from the trees into the distance. 

That evening we had cowboy steaks cooked over a campfire back at our cabin. It was a great way to end our day out on the trail.

 

The next day we took a little shorter walk in the woods along the Mountain Laurel Loop. This route took us by the Reflection Pool at the base of the falls.

This little pond is stocked with trout and the fishermen were doing a good job of cleaning out the fish.

After this hike we had time for a nap and then met Mark and Jenny for dinner at the lodge. It was buffet style which was okay. Reminds me of the story of the time I was up there with the Boy Scouts and after they had hiked up in the mountains for a few days we had dinner at the lodge  buffet. They came in for lunch and stayed for dinner. Just about cleaned both services out. The management took pity on us and only charged us the lunch price for a lot of food. 

That evening we sat outside by the fire-pit and watched the sun set.

Our third full day in the area of Amicalola Falls we were finally able to get gas and venture out from the park. By then we had downloaded Gas Buddy onto our phones and were checking whether nearby stations had gas. We found one that was on the way to Dahlonega Georgia where we had heard about an "Arts and Wine Festival " So once we got gassed up we were off to the festival.

Once we got there we realized that everyone in the surrounding area was there and parking was at a premium. We drove around for a while and I was about to give up when we spotted a big EMPTY parking near the event at the University of North Georgia. So we took a chance. 

We drove in and parked near the only other car in the lot. I figured that there was safety in numbers. Mark found a sign that had a QR code for a parking app. I walked over toward a building that had several campus police cars parked there. As I approached I saw an officer leaving one of the cars and called out asking if it was okay to park there. He gave me a thumbs up so I figured that was good enough. By that time Mark had finished filling out the info for the app so I figured we were doubly covered.

After parking we went to the festival which was just a few blocks from our parking space. There were lots of arts and craft booths and we wandered around for a while taking everything in. For lunch we had a nice sit-down meal at Capers on the Square. As they advertise "A purveyor of fine Mediterranean dining" and it was very good and we ate out fill. 

After lunch we wandered over to the park to listen to some music and to taste some of the wine they had to sample. On the first go Jan managed to get a full glass of wine for free by talking the guy about her birthday and such till he forgot to ask for her ticket. I watched the whole thing as she took out the ticket, talked to the guy about her birthday, our trip, how much she enjoyed wine, did he enjoy wine? the weather, Ooh look a squirrel and other such small talk. All the while still playing with her tickets but not handing it over. When they were done she thanked him for the FULL glass of wine, he thanked her for the wonderful conversation and Jan walked away with both the ticket and the wine. Damn she still got it! We took our wine to the park and listened to some jazz.

After an enjoyable day in Dahlonega we headed back to the park for a nap and dinner at the lodge. After dinner we again sat out by the fire pit to enjoy another beautiful sunset. Overall a great way to end our trip at the start of the Appalachian Trail. (Doing that will have to be another trip)