Sun, Mar 19 2017 - Dawson Forest - Wildcat Campground Tract with Four Waterfalls (View Original Event Details)
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What a beautiful hike with awe- inspiring scenery to boot and two new members to the AOC: Tyson and Nandita. Our hike started out with a brisk pace on a cool and sunny morning across Fall Creek on the Orange Blazed Turner Trail and then a quick trek up the Red Blazed Rocky Ford Trail to the first of four waterfalls, which required a little scurrying down a bluff to get a quick view. We backtracked a bit and then continued onward to the Green Wildcat Creek Trail to the first of a few wet-foot/dry-foot creek crossings where the trail continued as the Grey Blazed Fall Creek Trail. We had lunch on our 2nd Waterfall (on a short, unnamed out-and-back trail). From there we continued up the Fall Creek Trail to see two more waterfalls -- and we found a few "half-baked" waterfalls too ... knowing we were always half-way there from somewhere ;-)
We then backtracked our way back (mostly downhill, as was promised, with a few unpromised uphills) and visited the old mill on Fall Creek. Since the trip leader knew nothing about the mill and it is always the trip leader's responsibility to act like he/she is on top of things, a fun story was, well, invented about the purpose of the mill being built in 1832 as a strawberry manufacturing facility by a 3-year-old prodigy. Unfortunately, no-one in the group believed the story, but I'm sure it prompted some to go back home and look up the real story of the mill on the internet (which, we know, is the ultimate source of truth).
We finished the hike on the Wildcat trail and hiked by a cool looking rope swing that, if it weren't still Winter, looked quite an enticing way to splash into the creek. Being winter, however, even a double dog dare couldn't entice even the most daring of our hikers to try it out in the frigid waters.
In the end, we saw four waterfalls, one old abandoned mill, and had loads of great camaraderie and genuine laughs. What a great hike!
Take a look at the photos using the link below:
https://goo.gl/photos/qJUMvukVzRvn9HD X6
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