Seven tribes from one nation began a long journey from here that became known as the trail of tears. In 2005, members of the Cherokee Tribe created this waterfall in remembrance of that journey. It begins with seven fountains, seen here, that flow into a narrow channel and then down a series of steps, eventually ending in a pool. This is just one of the Ghosts of the Trails of Tears shots that I took.
For the last several weeks, I have been considering making the short trip to this waterfall. I found it on Alltrails and was impressed with the photos and the short hike to the base of the falls. I was not disappointed. The hike down is short, but extremely steep. Along with the steepness, there are beautiful views of the falls along most of the trail. I got this one just beyond the plungepool at the base of the falls. I am sure that during the spring, the pool is full to the base of the falls.
It is intriguing to go some place and run across things that can not occur naturally in nature. When I went to Middle Creek Falls, that is precisely what I found. Not only did I run across this stack of rocks, I ran across another at the top of the falls. I am assuming that there had not been any significant rainfall recently. I wonder if it ever gets enough rain to wash these away. It reminds me of another rock mound that I went by on the way to the top of Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain.
Several weeks ago, I made the trek to Frozen Head State Park. Fortunately, this time, I made it before the park closed. My goal was to make it to Debord Falls and then on to Emory Gap Falls. I stopped by the visitor center and was told that the flow for the waterfalls was low. I expected this since it was fall. However, I was not prepared for water levels this low. I am glad I made the hike, but will definitely not take the time during the fall again.
Since I don’t get that many chances to revisit places, I have to try to make the best of it based on planing. One of my favorite tools is Google Earth. I use it to visit places before I actually set foot there. If you have photos turned on, you can even get a preview of what you can find there. Possibly even what it looks like at different times of the year. But the ting I have had most success with is browsing the route I plan on taking. That is how I ran across this waterfall. I saw a couple photos in Google Earth and thought I might stop on the way to Frozen Head State Park. Lets just say that I would never have known where this was if I had not seen photos and the approximate location. Although the falls are only about 20 yards from the road, they are completely invisible.
So, I was talking with some friends the other day about the significant amount of rain we have had in North Georgia this year. I was told that since the first of the year until now, we have had the same amount that we normally get in an entire year. At least the lake has not gone down like it did with the drought from the last several years. The most common alert we have had this year has been flash floods. This happens to be one of those waterfalls that excel at flash flooding.
