2019-02-16 First Prong of Keener Creek

Scaly Knob, Gulf Knob, and the

First and Second Prongs of Keener Creek

Chattahoochee National Forest

Rabun County, GA

Saturday, February 16th, 2019

The Professor and Me by a newly "discovered" waterfall along the First Prong of Keener Creek

This Saturday I joined the Professor (Scott Burns) for a bit of exploration into the Chattahoochee National Forest area of Rabun County, Georgia.   Our primary goal would be to explore the First Prong of Keener Creek in search of undocumented waterfalls.

On the drive up, I made a quick stop along the way to visit Reedy Branch Falls which is about a 5 minute walk from the parking area along Hwy76 in Oconee County, SC near the Georgia State Line.

 Reedy Branch Falls

Reedy Branch Falls Selfie

I met Scott in Dillard, GA and we combined into one vehicle as there is limited parking at the "trailhead".

 

GPS Track from our Hike

Click here for the Interactive Link

We did a Lollipop Loop which included Scaly Knob and Gulf Knob.

 view from Scaly Knob

 Gulf Knob Selfie

 The Professor relaxing on Gulf Knob

View from Gulf Knob

The Professor on Gulf Knob

 
After a nice break on Gulf Knob, we started our bushwhack descent down to the First Prong of Keener Creek.  We pretty much explored all of First Prong which is mostly just a long series of slides and cascades.  We found a few noteworthy drops, but nothing that I would consider a "must see" type of waterfall!

 Waterfall on the First Prong of Keener Creek

 The Professor and Me by a Waterfall on the First Prong of Keener Creek

 Another nice drop along the First Hike of Keener Creek

On the return hike, we took a slight detour to check out the Waterfall on the Second Prong of Keener Creek!

 Waterfall on the Second Prong of Keener Creek

  Waterfall on the Second Prong of Keener Creek

 Waterfall on the Second Prong of Keener Creek

It was a beautiful day for a hike!  The sun was shining  all day long making for some less than optimal waterfall photography, but it was still an awesome day out in the woods!

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157676669363937

2019-02-02 Bald Rock Sunrise and some Dupont Area Waterfalls

Bald Rock Sunrise and some DuPont Area Waterfalls

Greenville County, SC and Transylvania County, NC

Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

Group Photo at the Other Real Dupont Secret Falls

L to R:  Me, Jennifer, Andy

"There are Falls along this Southern Stream,

Westward as you go

There is sunlight and moss in the trees

Down the Seven Bridges Road"

For well over a year Andy has been eyeing a spot on the topo maps near DuPont State Forest, NC.  Our main goal for the day would be to find out if Andy's exceptional track record of finding waterfalls would continue! 

In addition to Andy and his dogs Boone and Kona;  Jennifer would also be joining us on this adventure! 

But first, I decided to get up early so I had time to stop along the way and check out the sunrise from Bald Rock (aka Graffiti Rock).  It was not the greatest sunrise I have ever seen, but still worth getting up early for!

 Just before Sunrise from Bald Rock

Bald Rock Sunrise

Bald Rock Sunrise

View of Table Rock from Bald Rock

Sunrise through the Trees

Zooming in on Greenville, SC from Bald Rock

After sunrise, I continued my drive up the mountain into North Carolina.  I still had a little time left before meeting Andy and Jennifer, so I made another quick stop at Merry Falls.  This one is visible from the road, but a short scramble takes you down to the base for a much better view!

 Merry Falls

 Merry Falls Selfie

Merry Falls

According to my GPS track, our main hike did take us across some private property.  Therefore I am not going to post any details as to the location of these falls or the route we took to get there. 

We were successful in finding some "new" waterfalls, but based on the No Trespassing sign at the uppermost drop, we were obviously not the first humans to stumble across what we are calling Seven Bridges Road Falls!   Note:  We were careful to stay on the Legal Side of the No Trespassing Sign!

View from Seven Bridges Road

View from Bridge #2 along Seven Bridges Road

Lower Seven Bridges Road Falls

Ice at Seven Bridges Road Falls

Group Photo at Seven Bridges Road Falls

Upper Seven Bridges Road Falls

Upper Seven Bridges Road Falls

We were careful not to go past the No Trespassing Sign!

Looking downstream from Upper Seven Bridges Road Falls

On the hike out, we explored another smaller tributary stream.  We did find a nice little drop, but nothing really worth going out of you way for!

 Andy using a rope to descend down a steep bank

Nice little drop along an un-named low flow tributary

Boone!

We still had some time left, so we did another short off trail hike inside DuPont State Forest.  Jennifer had found this waterfall years ago.  As far as we know, it does not have a name!

 DuPonts Other Real Secret Falls

 Jennifer at DuPonts Other Real Secret Falls

 Group Photo at DuPonts Other Real Secret Falls

DuPonts Other Real Secret Cascades

DuPonts Other Real Secret Cascades

This was an awesome day of waterfall wandering!  It was a bit too sunny for waterfall photography, but we were fortunate enough that most of the waterfalls we saw were nicely shaded!

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157678419443898