December 27, 2005
| Today’s hike was on the Beech Creek Trail which is near Tate City, GA in the edge of NC. This trail is not heavily traveled but offers a nice hike through a lush hardwood forest andit follows a nice mountain stream. The trail passes by an old corundum ore crushing/loading site. The Tate City area was once a thriving mining community. There are several small waterfalls along the trail along with beautiful 150 ft. “High Falls”.
HIKERS – John Bellamy, Phil Brownrigg, Joe Collins, Bob Magee, Beth McDonald, Dick Metzgar, Wayne Miller, Bruce O’Connor, Bryan Lambert, Bob Presley, Donna Presley, Tony Presley, Bob Thompson . TRAIL INFO. – This trail features lots of water along the way with a beautiful canopy of hardwoods including Chestnut Oak, Hickory, Beech, Poplar, along with Eastern Hemlock. The old corundum mine is an interesting historical feature. High Falls is very nice as it cascades 150 ft. down a huge rock face. The trail has three stream crossings which can be tricky and slippery, but it is possible to cross and keep your feet dry, if you are sure footed and lucky. You can hike all the way up to Scaly Mtn. and take the Chimney rocks trail back down making it a 12 mile loop, or you can do an out and back as far as you like. Directions: Travel west on U.S. Highway 76 from Clayton, Georgia for 8 miles. Turn right on Persimmon Valley Road. Continue down Persimmon Valley Road to Tallulah River Road on the left which is marked with a sign. Take this beautiful drive up the Tallulah River all the way to Tate City, GA continuing past the NC state line. Look for the parking area on the left side of the road for the Beech Creek Trail. It is less than a mile from the end of the road. Today’s hiking distance – 7 miles Another great day for a hike! Fair with temperatures ranging from 30 to the mid 50’s F. BIRDS IDENTIFIED: American Crow, Carolina Chikadee, Junco, Ruby Crowned Kinglet. |
 Our parking spot for the day was the “Glory Patch”. Sign on left side of road. |
 A beautiful walk through the woods. |
 The whole Beech Creek area is beautiful. |
 The OFHC was well represented with 13 hikers. |
 It was a cool morning with some areas showing some snow on the ground. |
 One of the nice little waterfalls along the trail. |
 The old corundum mine ore crushing/loading site. |
 The sign that points us to High Falls. |
 The trail down to High Falls is a bit slippery from snow and ice. |
 High Falls – view one |
 High Falls – view two |
 The O.F.H.C. gang for today’s hike. (l-r) Joe Collins, Bob Thompson, Dick Metzgar, Bryan Lambert, John Bellamy, Bruce O’Connor, Beth McDonald, Wayne Miller, Donna Presley, Phil Brownrigg, Bob Magee, Bob Presley, Tony Presley. |