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Sun, Oct 7 2018 - Chestatee WMA: Crow Mountain Creek and Dicks Creek Gap Trails with Two Waterfalls (View Original Event Details)

Trip Leader(s): Russ
Participants:Russ, Tyson Kankolenski, LIM Verona (Laura M), Paresh, Brent, Marina, Youri Smeshko, Umit, Lisa, Agnes Hee

Write Up:

A day outside in the woods is always a good day. And the Chestatee WMA in the Blood Mountain Wilderness is a splended wooded area to explore. All of us were ready to explore along with our trusty best friend and canine hiking companion, Reset. We started the trek with a 5.5 mile uphill trek from the creeks and branches below up to the Appalachian Trail at Jarrard Gap. Our adventure started on the Crow Mountain trail.

Along the way we went a few feet off trail to visit Crow Mountain Falls. On the hike back up to the trail we saw 4 piles of bear? droppings. Was this from one big bear? Or was this from four different bears and is this where they hang out to chat while reading the paper? Where is a scatologist when you need one? Anyway, I digress.

Continuing our journey, we followed an old and closed road and ventured to an area called Chestnut Flats to visit an old rock chimney -- the remnants of a 100+ year old homestead in the middle of no-where. After a good break, we started the steep up-hill journey on Dicks Creek Gap Trail up to Jarrard Gap.

After a lunch break on the AT, we started the hike down and decided to take a side trail to see the upper Falls on Dicks Creek -- which we did see, but had to work for. For little did we know that after a steep climb down, the trail became impassible and well hidden with blow-down likely from hurricane Irma. But we were a group of adventurous troopers and went off trail, around the 1/4 mile of fallen trees (which looked more like piles of giant pick-up sticks)! It was quite an effort, but we found the trail again and were ready to get back home to the cars ... so with the new mantra of "no more waterfalls", we set off again on the trail, leading to the forest road and back to the cars to take us home to our comfy beds and air conditioning.

Thanks all of you (humans and canine) for a memorable adventure.

Here is a link to the recorded route we took:
https://www.plotaroute.com/route/699963