Raven Cliffs Falls Trail

Summer has been calling us outside and to the trails.

Saturday we made plans to go tubing in Helen then hiking nearby at Raven Cliffs Falls Trail.  Tubing was relaxing and the rapids were more exciting then they had been last year.  Amelia flipped out of her tube, but Alex's catlike reflexes caught her before she even hit the water.  

After tubing and lunch, we planned to go find our hiking spot.  Unfortunately I failed to plan ahead, and didn't print out directions before leaving home.  The drive should've taken about 15 minutes,  but without cell signals we couldn't pin-point the site location, and instead we drove around for about two hours...  I was not pleased with myself at all, but on the upside, Gunner got a nap and the kids all had bounds of energy by the time we actually got to our trail.

Ravens Cliffs Trail is one of the most popular in Georgia.  It's fairly easy hiking with only a few tricky spots.  The pay-off are three waterfalls, the largest of which is the trails namesake and about 2.5 miles in.  It was five o'clock when we got to the trailhead, so we knew going in that we wouldn't be making it to the end on this trip.  But that didn't stop us from salvaging a hike, even if it was less than we'd hoped for.

a little bridge we crossed - the late hour proved great for lighting

his binoculars to help him see far away

 tossing rocks in the water

another little bridge to cross

 amazing mushrooms growing up this tree

The kids made up a story as we made our way to the falls...  "Daddy is a frog and the waterfall holds a magical seashell, which we must get before sun fall, to turn daddy back to daddy.  Otherwise, he will remain a frog forever.  Let's hurry to the waterfall."  

the first major falls
1.5 miles in Dodd Creek Falls

the rocks we are standing on were so incredibly slippery, but we just had to get close to the falls

the water was freezing

the riverbed

cairns marked the falls

the largest mushroom i've ever seen - seriously, as big as a watermelon

We saw a dozen or more primative campsites set up along the creek and a few were occupied.  We may just have to return here this summer to try our hand at primitive camping and to get to the end of the trail and see the Raven Cliffs Falls.  

All-in-all, it was a great day and an wonderful family hike.