Ivan's dirty work makes a pretty picture

Go! See! Do!

September 18, 2004

since Hurricane Ivan dumped so much rain on GA over the last few days, i decided it was a good time to ride up into the hills. i wanted to visit some of the waterfalls up there to take some pictures and learn to use my camera. with all the rain, i figured the falls would be flowing heavily and would make good subjects.

i started by trying to go to Horse Trough Falls. one the way, i stopped at Alice's to grab a sandwich to go. there, i learned that Oktoberfest was beginning in Scenic Alpine Helen, which i hoped meant the tourist crowd would stay there. so the plan was perfect: i'd carry my lunch up to the waterfall, have a nice lazy meal, relax, take a few pictures and move out to the next waterfall.

Horse Trough Falls is accessed via a dirt road from Unicoi Gap. i made the
turn and was happy to see that the road was in good condition, not at all muddy. but not a mile down the road i came to Roadblock One.

the tree was too big to move and i was about five miles from the Horse Trough. so i turned, took a few pics of the little cascade near the road and moved on to Plan B, Minnehaha Falls. Minnehaha is possibly the prettiest waterfall in the state. i've been there a few times and it's not a bad spot for lunch either. so i turned around and headed northeast. Minnehaha is also accessed via a dirt and gravel road. it, too, was was in good condition, until i got to Roadblock Two.

foiled again! the Ragamuffin is pretty rugged, but she's not gonna ford that stream. so again, i turned around and headed for another waterfall. left turn, up the hill to the stop sign, right, bypass the "Road Closed" sign, squeeze under the police tape across the road, steer clear of the crater that was once pavement before the landslide, stop, move the barricade aside, duck under some more tape, continue. beyond the pavement's end, i arrived at a barrier that i couldn't bypass, Roadblock Three.

zero for three, so far. i'd forgotten to bring my chainsaw, but some locals promised that it would be a short walk from the fallen tree. so i parked, grabbed my stuff and started hoofing. around the bend, i came across a house for sale. rural, lakeshore, wooded property... fixer upper. betcha get a good deal on this one.

i ended up bushwacking towards the sound of running water on what looked like it might have been a trail before Ivan redecorated. it wasn't, but eventually i found the right trail and the Bad Branch Falls.

the wind and spray coming off of the Falls was tremendous. i was quite chilled and could have used more clothes to layer on. given that, i knew Minnehaha would be magnificent as well. the last time i was there, we were in a dry spell and the flow was low (yet still purty). so i couldn't ride all the way home without taking a couple of pictures of it. i returned to roadblock two and walked, hopped, jumped across the washout; cold water flowing over the tops of my boots. ya gotta like that. there was a second washout, further down the road, but there i kept my feet on the rocks. it was so very worth the hike.

two for three. that ain't too shabby.