We had visited Cloudland Canyon previously a few years ago, but it was in the off-season, maybe December if I remember correctly. We had been out shopping, or something, and ended up just riding up there because we were nearby. But everything was closed up and we didn't have any maps or information, I hadn't looked up the website at home (didn't have Mobile Internet back then). So we said we'd go back later, in the Spring or Summer.
Didn't exactly mean several years later, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
Recently I saw on the Georgia State Parks Facebook page that they were offering an Overlook Hike on Saturday mornings during June, and decided that would be a great time for us to go.
We met at the Interpretive Center around 10am, and with our friendly guide, Stephanie, headed out on our hike around part of the Overlook and through some forest.
The main point of this hike was more of an informative walk, which was actually exactly what I was looking for. We're not real huge on group activities, following someone else's time clock, being able to stop and take pictures, drink water, change lenses, rest our old, tired butts...
But I have learned from past experience that getting in on a group thing or at least with a knowledgeable leader, you can find out things you might not know or might otherwise miss out on.
That would certainly have been true in our case. We probably never would have went down the little unmarked, unpaved trail that led to this and another viewing platform had Stephanie not taken us there.
We learned the name of this divide - Sitton's Gulch - and that Bear Creek and Daniel Creek converge to form Sitton's Gulch Creek. We were shown where the different trails start and where they would take us, told about how long and/or strenuous the hikes would be. So that was awesome and I'm really glad we got in on it.
After our guided hike, we set out on the Waterfalls hike on our own.
Daniel Creek drops from the rim of the trail to the floor in a series of cascades and waterfalls, two of which are named - Falls #1: Cherokee Falls and Falls #2: Hemlock Falls.
Cherokee Falls was our favorite.
Hemlock Falls was a bit thin-ish, and honestly I guess we just like being able to get closer to the Falls.
On our way back from the Waterfalls hike, we went a short distance on the Sitton's Gulch Trail, but not very far because we were hungry and getting tired.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but we were pretty far down into the canyon at this point. In about the center of the picture you can see the rocky ledge of the canyon rim way, way above us.
Going up.
Canyon view some way back up.
Still going up.
After we hiked back up out of the canyon, we sat down for a rest and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the shade.
After lunch and rest, we went back to the Interpretive Center and checked out the native animals and other informative stuff.
Then we did part of the Overlook Hike again on our own, so we could take our time and take pictures. The Canyon looks different in the afternoon/evening than it does in the morning, with the angle of the sun and minus the morning fog/mist we had this morning.
Awesome views. Hard to believe this was once under the Ocean, and then later on the rim of the Canyon was a Beach. Amazing!
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