June 14, 2005
| HIKERS – Peggy Brownrigg, Phil Brownrigg, John Hires, Terry Doyle, Jack Jacobi, Bob Magee, Donna Presley, Tony Presley, Dan Ross, Doug Russell, Bill Taylor, Bob Thompson, David Whitaker, Geri Whitaker.
TRAIL INFO. – Today, we hiked the Raven Cliffs Trail and the Dukes Creek Trail near Helen, GA. Total round trip hiking distance – 7.2 miles Trail difficulty rating: Moderatey easy with lots of flat or gentle inclines. Directions: Take GA 75 north from Helen for 1.5 miles. Turn left onto GA 356(75 Alternate) and travel 2.3 miles to the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway. Turn right and travel 2.8 miles to the trailhead and parking area. Another great day for a hike! Mostly sunny and humid with temperatures ranging from the low 70’s to the upper 80’s. FLOWERS IN BLOOM: Partridge Berries, Foam Flowers, Tall Bluets, Lycopodium, New Jersey Tea, Pipsissawa, Whorled Loosestrife, Micheaux’s Saxifrage.
BIRDS IDENTIFIED: Red Eye Vireo, Oven Bird, Black Throated Blue Warbler, Blue Jay, Acadian Flycatcher, Pine Warbler, Towhee, Raven |
 Our parking lot at Raven Cliffs Trail-head. |
 The only change from last year was “free parking”! |
 After a week with lots of rainfall, Dodd Creek was roaring! |
 After a 2.5 mile hike, we arrive at the awesome rock cliffs. |
 Raven Cliffs Falls flows between the split in the massive cliffs. |
 Lots of huge boulders and rushing water! |
 Now we move up to the Dukes Creek Recreation area and get this view of Yonah Mountain. |
 Dukes Creek area has two falls. The taller one is fed by Davis Creek. |
 The falls area features nice observation decks. |
 This falls is formed by Dodd Creek and provides a constant cool mist in your face and camera lens! |
 The OFHC gang for today’s hike. (l-r) Bob Magee, Terry Doyle, Dan Ross, David Whitaker, Donna Presley, John Hires, Geri Whitaker, Bob Thompson, Peggy Brownrigg, Phil Brownrigg, Bill Taylor, Jack Jacobi, Doug Russell, and Tony Presley. |