Chattooga River Trail

This event is for the judges in our Backpacking Gourmet Contest, Round #2

Are you a connoisseur of cuisine? Do you have an adventurous palate?  Judge the culinary skills of your fellow hikers!

The Chattooga River Trail is considered to be great for beginners. The trail to Lick Log Creek is an in and out that begins at Russell Bridge along Route 28 and follows the banks of the Chattooga River for roughly 4.5 miles. The trail is practically flat with a few mild hills. We will leave the carpool at 8am and get up there about 10:30-11:00. We will get on the trail and hike in about 3.5 miles to the various campsites, which are right next to the water. We can then, as a group, decide to camp there or move on and camp near the falls or set up camp and slack pack to the falls and back.

We have decided to make this a regular backpacking trip, so there will not be a cook-off and judging.  Feel free to bring your own gourmet dinner though - half the fun of backpacking is sharing food and trying new things!

The Backpacking Gourmet Chefs will create a backpacking meal to be shared with the 5 judges.  Get your tastebuds ready! There will be 5 or 6 qualifying rounds throughout the year (depending on interest and time), and the winners of each round will be invited to participate in a final contest in December to see who will be awarded the Backpacking Gourmet crown.  Based on the competition in Round #1, the competition will be tough!

Sunday morning we will break camp and go back out the same way we came in and head into Clayton. There we can get something to eat and/or head straight back to Atlanta. 

All judges must be omnivores (no vegetarians please!) and not allergic to any foods.  The judges in the cook-off are not permitted to be a chef contestant on any of the qualifying rounds.  All chefs must carry in their own food and gear (ie. tent, sleeping bag, water filter, spare clothing, toiletries, stove, etc.).  No sharing gear among friends or significant others.

If you are bringing your dog, please make sure your dog is well behaved and friendly with people and other dogs.  If you are not bringing a dog, please be aware that we will have furry four legged friends on this trip.

From Carpool
Take 85 North to 985 (11.9 mi)
Stay left and follow 985/23/365 to Rickman Rd in Clayton, Ga (75.6 mi)
Turn Right on Rickman and follow to Warwoman Rd (0.5 mi)
Turn right onto Warwoman Rd which will merge on 28 (12.5 mi)
Stay on 28 to destination (3.1 mi)
Gravel parking lot will be on your left right after you cross the bridge over the Chattooga