Hiking, camping and adventuring with martin_j001....

Discussion in 'Adventure, Hiking, Backpacking and Travel' started by martin_j001, Jul 12, 2018.

  1. shaneadams90

    shaneadams90 ESEE Knives Marketing Director Staff Member

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    You are all around my neck of the woods! Awesome trip report....I need to get on the GA Traverse at some point soon!
     
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  2. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Thanks! Yeah, I get a chance to smoke maybe 1 a week now, so I figure it may as well be a good one! :)

    We've stayed there before too, and enjoyed it. Got flooded out there once before too, lol.

    Thanks! We aren't that far away, hadn't noticed that before. The Traverse does seem pretty cool for sure. It doesn't seem like there are many places I wouldn't be able to get on it with this car, so I definitely hope to be able to check out more of it someday.
     
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  3. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Busy but fun long weekend, full of "benchers" (this is currently how my daughter says "adventures", and I'm good with it :) ).

    Multiple mini-trips in this weekend. First, went up to Blood Mountain, stopped at the hiking store (Mountain Crossings) on the AT to get a snack.

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    Then moved on to Helton Creek Falls a short drive away. Very short hike to get the actual falls, so we let the munchkin walk much of it herself. Really liking my Umlindi so far.
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    My wife has laid claim to my Tarahumara, and likes it quite a bit.
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    After stopping to visit the falls, we continued on the (driving) trail across the creek (this was the one that was past knee deep back in August when my wife and I visited), and headed up to Brasstown Bald, GA's highest mountain and a spot neither of us had been to visit before.



    The walk from the parking area to the observation deck is listed as about a 500 foot elevation gain in about a half mile. Might not seem like much, until you put a wild almost 40lb munchkin on your shoulders. My Garmin watch logged it as about 50 flights of stairs ascended that day.
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    The view was worth it though, even though it was overcast, and there was rain in the distance...
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    The parking lot we walked up from down below.
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    Optical zoom on the iPhone 8 Plus works good. Yep, I'm that guy that'll park away from everyone else, where only one other car can park next to me (zero others is even better!).
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    From there, we headed home, with a quick stop at The Varsity for some food, where the munchkin got the strawberry ice cream that she wanted so much all day!


    Sunday, we started the day with pancakes, participated in an impromptu Subaru Outback meetup, then went on to check out another state park we hadn't been to before, Sweetwater Creek State Park. This one is over on the west side of GA, off I20. Hiked about 3 miles or so, unfortunately we had some bad luck in picking a trail and weren't too happy with that choice, but a hike is a hike. Better scenery would have been nice, but the munchkin enjoyed it and we got some good exercise.

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    Last edited: Oct 9, 2018
  4. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    On Monday, we changed things up a bit. As we rarely do anything without our munchkin, my wife and I decided to take her to school and we struck out on our own for a bit. Decided to head north again and check out another hike and waterfall, Dukes Creek Falls. It was listed as a relatively short and moderate hike, which was nice, as by this time the cold that started last week had flared up into full on coughing, snotting, sneezing fits, but I wanted to spend the day doing something fun not just sitting around... the mild, humid air seemed to help, so we extended the hike a bit by exploring the area some, and logged just under 4 miles in the end. There was a good bit of elevation gain/loss, so it wasn't without it's workout, that's for sure (listed as 337 feet in it's original ~2 mile form, the sections we explored added some more up and down too).

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    Stopped at a diner in Cleveland, GA for a burger before heading back home just in time to snag our munchkin from school.
     
  5. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Your baby is a doll. Thanks for taking us along sir.
     
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  6. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    She is quite the cutie, and she knows it already at just 2.5. She's also at the 97th percentile in growth all around (height, weight and head circumference), so she's as big as many twice her age, and knows how to throw that weight around too, lol. She's about to max out the carrying capabilities of that Osprey Poco pack.
     
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  7. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    Cool trip ! And your lil one is a trooper!
     
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  8. Klynesquatch

    Klynesquatch Member

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    Great to see a whole family getting out!
     
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  9. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Planned to go into the mountains today and drive about 30 miles of forest service roads and dirt roads. Sadly, we encountered gates closing off the roads a few miles in...unsure if that’s the gov shutdown or possible weather related (they were expecting freezing rain up that way later today), but it is what it is. After coming off the trails we spent a few minutes checking out Amicalola Falls. Then of course had to get my munchkin the requisite ice cream. Stil better than spending a drizzly, cold day cooped up indoors.

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  10. C99c

    C99c Member

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    This time of year they close some of the FS roads due to weather concerns, but all of the rain the last few months has resulted in some unscheduled closures due to road damage and attempts to prevent it.

    The shutdown may be affecting things too.

    We were up around Tellico and the Cherohala Skyway (Tn/NC state line area) a few weeks ago and the only closed gate we found was at the Indian Boundary Rec area. The weekend before we rode around in the national forest between Ellijay, Hwy. 60 and Dahlonega for a day and met some of the FS staff inspecting roads. That may (?) have been just before the shutdown crap started, I'm not sure.

    Out of curiosity, do you remember what road nunber you encountered the gate on? I'm headed up there this weekend with some friends to camp.
     
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  11. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Yeah, plenty of things could be at play. It was a gamble, but we still had a good time, even if it was cut short. The gate was where Nimblewill met FS28-1, just north of Amicalola Falls State Park. The road split, with a gate on the left, and signage of “Authorized vehicles only, road closed” to the right (but no gate)
     
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  12. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Did some more exploring in North GA this past weekend with a fellow lifted Subaru driver that I met at my local dealership....and it was cold. And in some spots, it was a winter wonderland...with a little more ice than snow. This is all in and around the Coopers Creek Wildlife Management Area, in Suches, GA. We started out on Coopers Creek Road, which was lower elevation and on the west side of our journey, and there was less snow overall for sure on that side. Then we went across Wolfpen Gap towards Duncan Ridge Road, which is the pictures with more snow and ice on EVERYTHING. We turned back after a short time on that road, as we were told it gets narrower and more rocky further on, and as I had my family with me I wasn't taking any risks. Definitely an enjoyable couple hours of checking things out.

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  13. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Dammit, that baby is so adorable.

    Looks like a great trip! Im often surprised how easy going the overland/offroad/whatever culture is. Journey not the destination folks. My kind of people!

    Ever done the GA traverse?
     
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  14. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Thanks man! She's definitely a little cutie, and she knows it. Spends most of her time dressing up like a princess right now, but still enjoys the camping and dirt roads too.

    And yeah, on a really cold day where we wouldn't otherwise spend much time outside, this is a great way to do it....see some new things, explore some new places with no real destination or timeframe in mind...definitely a good time.

    As for the GA Traverse, this was actually part of it. I've also done the eastern end, from Dillard, GA into SC. Looking forward to checking out more of it for sure!
     
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  15. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    Took another trip up into the mountains this past weekend. Thought I'd try a road that was closed before, thinking with the shutdown over maybe it would be opened back up, but no luck. The trail up until this point is some of the more rocky stuff I've personally been on, so definitely cool to experience the car having no issues whatsoever and making it seem like a walk in the park. After we got turned back, we dropped into the trail at a different spot and rode through from there. The munchkin took her usual dirt road nap in the back seat, and my wife and I enjoyed a quiet drive with good scenery...with no leaves on the trees, the view can be quite nice at times.



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  16. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Sweet!
     
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  17. shaneadams90

    shaneadams90 ESEE Knives Marketing Director Staff Member

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    Thanks for sharing your adventures....you are right in my neighborhood!
     
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  18. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    We try to spend much of our free time in the northern part of the state for sure. Waiting on some dry and slightly warmer weather and hoping to get in some camping in the near future.
     
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  19. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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  20. martin_j001

    martin_j001 Member

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    The last two weekends of adventure...

    Got out late last week, didn't even leave the house until around noon. Turns out it was a good thing, as the scenery was quite cool with the abundance of fog.
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    Stopped for the munckin's ice cream (a "Bencher" requirement) at Vogel State Park. It was 40 degrees out, but she was determined to have it outside too.
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    We then proceeded over to Helton Creek Falls.
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    ...and of course had to check out the creek crossings while in the area.
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    As I had the day off yesterday (Federal Holiday), I decided to get out and do some exploring on my own. Found a trail that sounded mildly interesting, in an area that I like spending time in, so went to check it out.... Ended up with a little over 4 miles of wandering around. The trail itself is an old dirt/gravel road that doesn't appear to be open very often at all, maybe only during fishing (trout) season here in GA. So...the trail wasn't anything special, but some of the scenery was pretty cool, and waterfalls were definitely cool, and it was nice to be outside on a beautiful day. Still managed to pick up the munchkin early too, and get her to the playground before a Happy Meal for dinner. :)

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