NEGH 2023 Hikes

Date: 02/21/2023 Name: Wolfpen Gap to Lake Winfield Scott near Blairsville, GA Distance: 6.1 Difficulty: Moderate Total Climbing Elevation: 1,253 Type: Out and Back Notes: We lucked up again with dry, mild weather with skies gradually clearing throughout the hike. This hike was in the Blood Mountain Wilderness that combined multiple trails into one hike: […]

Date: 02/14/2023 Name: Park Creek-Park Ridge Trail Loop near Standing Indian Campground. Distance: 5.8 Difficulty: Easy Total Climbing Elevation: 663 Type: Loop Notes: This was a nice hike on a mostly sunny day with a cold start finishing with mild temperatures. The trail is well used in mixed condition with the usual rocks and roots

Date: 02/07/2023 Name: Gorges State Park Waterfalls Trail near Sapphire, NC Distance: 7.3 Difficulty: Difficult Total Climbing Elevation: 1,742 Type: Out and Back Notes: This was one of our more challenging but rewarding hikes with a concentration of several large waterfalls in a hike. We visited four large waterfalls: Windy, Staircase, Rainbow and Turtleback Falls.

Date: 01/31/2023 Name: Unicoi State Park Bike Trails Distance: 6.9 Difficulty: Easy Total Climbing Elevation: 843 Type: Loop Notes: It was a good hike day with minor sprinkles on a cloudy day with very mild temperatures. The trail was wet, but not soggy, and it was reasonably maintained with a just a couple of blowdowns.

Date: 01/24/2023 Name: Valley of the Giants near Suches, GA Distance: 3.5 Difficulty: Easy Total Climbing Elevation: 420 Type: Out and Back Notes: A cold start, but a sunny day for this easy hike in the Coopers Creek WMA. With the exception of a few very large blowdowns, and considering the lack of any apparent

Date: 01/24/2023 Name: Cooper Creek Trail near Suches, GA Distance: 1.7 Difficulty: Easy Total Climbing Elevation: 256 Type: Loop Notes: We decided to hike the Cooper Creek Trail a short distance up a windy forest service road from our hike in the Valley of the Giants. The trail is a short, easy hike, with the

Date: 01/16/2023 Name: Blue Ridge Gap to Bly Gap on the Appalachian Trail near Hiawassee, GA Distance: 6.4 Difficulty: Moderate Total Climbing Elevation: 1,286 Type: Out and Back Notes: With last minute changes to the hike schedule, there were only three of us hiking today. This was a very nice hike on the northernmost section

Date: 01/10/2023 Name: Latham Cemetery and Pear Orchard Loop Distance: 5.4 Difficulty: Easy Total Climbing Elevation: 702 Type: Loop Notes: Another really nice hike with a large group of twenty hikers on a mild and sunny winter day. The main trails were in fair condition, but some of the side trails to the falls and

Date: 01/05/2023 Name: Grassy Knob Loop and Whitewater Falls south of Cashiers, NC Distance: 5.3 Difficulty: Moderate Total Climbing Elevation: 971 Type: Loop Notes: This was a great day for hiking with mild January temperatures and sunny skies. This trail is a combination of the Foothills Trail and Round Mountain Gap Trail ending with an

Date: 02/28/2021 Name: Chattooga River Trail – Sandy Ford South to Licklog near Clayton, GA Distance: 6.1 Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Total Climbing Elevation: 807 Type: Out and Back Notes: Another great day for a hike with sunny skies and warm mid-winter temperatures. This was a fairly easy hike with a generally dry, soft trail,