spring break (in my late 40s).

my spring break at forsyth tech was a measly four days long and also did not coincide with the girls spring break from public school, so it seemed like another good time to make a dash into the wilderness, for a little solo, camping, hiking, rest, and recharge trip. since it was the first week in march though, as i was planning where to go, it seemed it would be a good idea to head in the south direction, for weather related purposes. a friend recommended cloudland canyon state park in georgia, which seemed as good a place as any, and i (derek) booked it.

so, after i finished up my microbiology class and completed pre-midterm assignments in chemistry, i packed and prepped for the big adventure. then, after dropping off the girls on a blustery tuesday morning, i made my escape.

i planned several stops along the 6.5 hour trip. derek found a semi-hole-in-the-wall, greek deli/restaurant in knoxville, and i’m always a fan of greek food, so that was my first pit stop. it absolutely did not disappoint. i meant to get a side of cilantro hummus but ended up with an appetizer portion with pita bread. oh well. and a giant gyro topped salad was *almost* more than i could eat. (i powered through, never fear).

i did a terrible job of documenting the rest of my stops. they were mostly shopping. some quilt shops. and outdoor stores. i did not stop at the trump superstore. it’s hard to see in the pic, but the irony is that the giant sign points to a very average size house. oh, trumpsters, how you make yourselves so laughable.

originally, i had planned to camp from tuesday night until saturday morning. but, the weather was particularly ominous for tuesday night, and since i didn’t want to start my trip out soaking wet, it was determined that i would stay in a hotel in nearby chattanooga, and then head out for adventures in the morning. the forecast was spot on, and some vicious storms rolled through, while i was tucked comfortably in my bed, getting a fantastic night of sleep. of course i partook in excessive hotel coffees and continental breakfast items.

in the interest of full disclosure, i ended up shopping a bit more, because the rain was still lingering around and setting up in the rain sounded dumb. eventually though, i made my way south to the campground. it was still on and off drizzly, and pretty chilly, so setting up required some tactical movements to keep things dry. once i was up and running, i went over to the scenic overlook area, to scope out the canyon i would be exploring for the next couple of days. then, i made myself a little fire and settled in to read. and then it rained again and the fire went out and i was really cold so i got in my tent and bundled all the way up and called it a night.

i had a pretty slow morning. there were only a handful of other folks in the campground and it was a weekday, and it’s not even close to peak season, so i assumed the trails would be lightly trafficked. had a BUNCH of coffee and then loaded up on carbs for my big adventure. and then maybe some more coffee.

the trail started from the spot i visited the night before and drops straight into the canyon, via 600 or so stairs. i bet it’s quite amazing to view in non winter months.

pretty quickly, i arrived at the main attractions, cherokee and hemlock falls, and had them both to myself for a private viewing. which also meant i had to enlist the help of my new tripod for pics.

from the waterfalls, the sittons gulch trail follows along a creek for about two miles making its way out of the canyon. i had a bit of excitement when i encountered a man on the side of the trail, carving his name into a tree with a box cutter. up until then, i hadn’t seen any hikers at all, so i probably surprised him as much as he surprised me. i didn’t mention leave no trace principles. didn’t seem wise. and i sure did hustle along for the rest of the hike. on my return trek, i saw him again, this time with a significant other, so i felt relatively sure i was not going to be murdered. anyways. for this reason mostly, i did not take many pics of the hike. and it was brown and sort of boring.

i got back to the falls area and found myself a smooth comfy rock and had a delicious lunch. (it was a turkey and swiss and avocado wrap and an apple). everything tastes gourmet next to a waterfall, after a hike, and an imaginined near death experience.

after my lunch break, i decided to hit up the west rim loop of the trail, which was about the same length as what i had already done. there was a cave. and solitude. and views into the canyon and out to the west and north of the park. it was ok. but the first part was definitely better.

heres a screenshot of the final stats and hike details.

back at camp, i had myself a scorching hot shower, put on some cozy clothes, prepared the most delicious camp salad, and snuggled up by the fire.

after a restful night of sleep, it was time to run it back again. coffee. camp breakfast. more coffee.

i wasn’t sure what hike i was going to do. the park is pretty small, so there was really only one other option in the park, and the ranger had warned me about the potential of raging rivers after all of the rain. so, i briefly considered going to somewhere else to hike. but in the end i chose possible raging rivers and the bear creek backcountry trail.

it did not disappoint. like the trail from the day before, it starts by dropping into the canyon. much more steeply this time. with every step i clomped down, i couldn’t help but think about the return trip i would be making in six or so miles. anyways. at the bottom, this awaited me:

not to bad. but then, a little further along, the trail sort of ends. and it’s time to cross the raging river. more like a quickly moving creek. i took off my socks and shoes, busted out the trekking poles, and i was able to figure out a path where the icy waters never got too far above my ankles.

after the main big crossing, i ended up crossing a different stream six or seven (maybe more?) times, but they all could be accomplished with strategic rock hopping. then the backcountry part of the loop took me along the east rim of the canyon and then out to some views to the north and east parts of the park.

eventually, i looped back around to the creek crossing, where i had to do the socks and shoes off and trekking poles for balance thing. i even set up the tripod to get a little (staged) action photo of my attempt. i sat under the limestone ledge/cave sort of area, had a bit of a refuel, before making my final ascent out of the canyon.

and. heres the final stats and details for that hike.

back at my site, i cleaned up a bit, did some reading, and awaited a call from a beloved cousin, giving me the go to get on the road to meet her halfway for dinner. we had a great time catching up (and stuffing our faces with mexican). it’s been entirely too long. i got back in late. slept pretty good (it wasn’t quite as cold and i ended up being uncomfortably warm). did the coffeebreakfastcoffee thing. and then packed it all up to hit the road.

now taking recommendations for my next solo adventure…..