Over the past month or two, most of my talk of adventures and hiking centered around Alaska. However, there is plenty to see in Georgia, too. I have yet to take my first hike of the fall season, as though it’s still very warm in Atlanta, the autumn rain and thunderstorms are unforgiving.
Can I just interrupt this adventure tale to tell you how terrifying this is for a new driver? Atlanta drivers seem to take more risks than usual when it rains. They turn onto your lane when they don’t have the right of way, refuse to let you over when you try to change lanes, and honk like they heard it’s the new failsafe way to lose 200 pounds!
That little rant executed, I must admit that this summer and spring was just as rainy, though it had finally let up just a bit for August.
Redneck Georgia
This hiking trip was in mid to late July and it took a great deal of planning and hedging of bets to get around the rain. But, I prevailed and made it down to Jackson, GA—at least 50 miles south of the city.
They did not roll out the welcome wagon for me. Almost everywhere I stopped and everyone I saw was waist-deep in redneck culture. There were trucks boasting Bikers for He Who Shall Not Be Named; confederate flags on the back windows of lifted Ford and Chevy trucks; and bumper stickers on cars driven by old White ladies, proclaiming, “BLUE lives matter!”
It was hard to believe, I was just 50 miles south of the Atlanta city limits.
Green Georgia
The park itself, however, was a beautiful mix of greenery and waterfalls. I had hoped to go swimming, but one look at the river let me know that such an idea was a foolish one. I later found out that in the months prior to my visit, there were many others who lacked that common sense and decided to go swimming, anyway. Almost all of them drowned.
Thanks to them, there were several areas of the park blocked off, especially trails that ran close to the river. There were also a lot of warning signs telling people to stay off the rocks and stay out of the water. Didn’t have to tell me twice!
Aside from this, there’s no elaborate story to accompany the hiking trip, so here are the pictures I took that day.
Have you gone hike, lately? What’s the next big destination on your list? Maybe I’ll finally work up the nerve to brave the mountain roads of North Georgia and make it up to Tallulah Falls. Just maybe… 🤔