What this is all about

I like to hike, and I belong to a womens hiking group called "TrailDames" - one of our hikes took us to a waterfall just over the border in South Carolina. This got me interested in finding waterfalls nearby and earlier this year I found a website with directions and photos of waterfalls in North Georgia at (see links for TrailDames & North Georgia Waterfalls below)

I now also belong to another womens hiking group called Off the Grid. Both OTG and Traildames are on Meetup.

Mr. Anthony's site has lovely photos of well over 100 waterfalls in North Georgia and I got interested in seeing them. As the weather got hotter through the summer I concentrated on shorter hikes to falls, and falls that were visible from the road. Then, as it started to get cooler again, I started doing longer hikes. It turned out to be far more fun than I expected it to be, and to my surprise - when I added them up - I had been to over 100 myself!

So I decided to make a record of them and of what it's like to visit them, in case anyone else is interested in seeing them too. I will be adding photos and directions, trail conditions, etc. in the future. As I "redo" falls I will update the page that already exists for them, instead of creating a new page every time. Keeping with the format of this blog site, I will put new information at the top of each existing page.

I won't be putting road mileages on the directions, I strongly urge you to compare my directions to a good map so you can see the distances for yourself. I'm not very good at guessing distances, so if I can find a trail length I will use that. If I'm guessing, I'll put a question mark so you'll know!

My apologies for the "watermarks" on the photos, but I have had...and know other people who have had...photos stolen off the net. The watermarks are to ensure that they can't be reused without being identified as mine.

I got a good GPS unit and I'll slowly be putting GPS coordinates for the falls, when I can. If I can get close to the falls the GPS will be for the falls. Otherwise, it will be for where you can see them most easily.

Nov 2012: I got a new PC and now that I can actually get things done (!) I'm going to rearrange the way the falls are listed. I'm going to list them separately, instead of grouping them by the day I saw them. The only ones I'll group are the ones that are on the same creek, or very close - like on the same road.

I've completed rearranging the posts. Hopefully this will help make the falls easier to find. I also found my count was WAY off, so I've updated the total too.

Jan 2013 - I just got a video camera, so I'll be adding short videos of the falls as I am able to get back to them. They might be a bit shakey at first, but hopefully I'll get better as I get used to using it!

Jan 2014 - I almost forgot about posting this! I had been in contact with Sharon Collins, the host of GPB's "Georgia Outdoors"...offering to take her around my 18 Waterfalls tour. She was not able to make it, but I did take her cameraman Shane Keating on the tour. I was hoping they'd do a show about the tour, but that didn't happen. However, some of the shots did show up in the episode "Mountain Magic"...so I've added a link to that episode.

Aug 2015 - I've created a Google map of the waterfalls I either have been to, or know about as publicly accessable, check it out at: https://goo.gl/maps/79Lyb

Got some additional news. The episode of Georgia Outdoors mentioned above, that has some of the shots taken by the cameraman on my 18 Wateralls tour...won a 2015 Southeastern Emmy for "Magazine Program" http://www.gpb.org/emmys

Total Falls

Total waterfalls as of 6/7/2015: 504
Total videos as of 6/7/2015: 180

Friday, October 19, 2012

Pigpen Falls & Licklog Falls (in SC) (4 falls)

Pigpen Falls & Licklog Falls & small falls along trail

9/22/2012 - went back to see if I could get better photos of these falls.  It takes a special kind of nut to drive 200 miles to do a 1 mile hike!  It was hard to get a better photo of Pigpen Falls, as a small tree has become bent over right at the best spot to take a photo without having to get in the plunge pool.  I did get a better one of Licklog Falls, and I even got a small falls that is on the trail in to Pigpen Falls. 

I also took as good a shot as I could of the upper falls of Pigpen Falls.  I tried to find a way to get closer, but just couldn't manage it.  So it's hard to see in the photo, and unfortunately the angle makes it look flatter than it is, but when you are there it's clear there IS an upper falls!

According to GMAPS these falls are on Pigpen Branch

2/12/2011 - These falls are found along a trail in the Chattooga River Trail system.  This was the hike that inspired me to start searching out waterfalls, so I decided to add them.  The picture of Licklog Falls isn't as good as I could wish, the angle was from above and the camera had a lot of trouble with how bright the water was.  This is another one that will go on my redo list!
GPS: 34.92810°N 83.12504°W3

 
GPS: 34.92848°N 83.12905°W
 
 
GPS: 34.92984°N 83.13098°W
 

 Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA
  • east on Warwoman Rd - to end
  • right on GA hwy 28 - becomes Highlands Hwy in SC
  • left on Village Creek Rd
  • hard left on Nicholson Ford Rd (my map also says CH 50)
  • after fording small creek - parking is on the right
  • there is also parking further down the road, at the end
Note: hike more or less north on the trail, past 2nd parking area, keep an eye out for an sharp left turn...this goes down to Pigpen Falls.  Licklog Falls is further down this trail, after crossing the bridge across the creek - as the trail starts down hill.  If you park at the end of the road, the trail is straight ahead, through the parking area...don't take the trail that goes up some log steps - that goes back to the first parking area.
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