Tuesday, March 3, 2020

2020-02-29 Hope Diamond Falls Adventure

Hope Diamond Falls Adventure
With Professor Scott Burns
Upper Holcomb Creek Area
Rabun County, GA
Saturday, February 29th, 2020

The Professor and Me at Hope Diamond Falls

February 29th usually only comes around once every four years.  I decided to take advantage of this bonus day to join the Professor (Scott Burns) on a bushwhacking adventure to find Hope Diamond Falls.

I made a few stops along the way to check out some early morning roadside view before meeting Scott in Highlands, NC for the final drive to the "trailhead".

 Shortly after Sunrise over Lake Jocassee


 Whiteside Mountain Panorama


There are no official trails to Hope Diamond Falls.  However, Waterfall Legends Bernie Boyer, Waterfall Rich Stevenson, Brenda Wiley, and Renee Haddenstein recently visited the Hope Diamond and put considerable effort into creating a reasonable path much of the way. 

It was about 25 degrees Fahrenheit starting out with anywhere from 0.1 to 2.0 inches of fresh snow on the ground. 

Bushwhacking with the Professor

Here are some of the photos from our adventure:

White Diamond Falls

The Professor and Me at White Diamond Falls

 Upper White Diamond Falls


Me by some cool ice at Hope Diamond Falls  
(note: the falls is at the very top center of the photo)

Hope Diamond Falls

The Professor at Hope Diamond Falls

Hope Diamond Falls

Rather than returning back the way we came, Scott and I decided to blaze our own path to another tributary full of off-trail waterfalls.


 Waterfall on Tributary of Upper Holcomb Creek

 Waterfall on Tributary of Upper Holcomb Creek

Upper Waterfall on Tributary of Upper Holcomb Creek


From here, we decided to bushwhack up to the Bartram Trail and enjoy an easy trail/road walk for the final few miles of our adventure.

Along the Bartram Trail

Waterfall along the Bartram Trail



I really enjoyed this adventure!  And Hope Diamond Falls is one of my new favorites!

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157713337540693






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