Becky Branch Falls - 1

Becky Branch Falls Becky Branch Bartram Trail Warwoman Dell Chattahoochee National Forest Clayton Rabun County Georgia One of the most beautiful waterfalls I visited on my trip to Northern Georgia happened to also be the most difficult to photograph. Located above the Warwoman Dell parking lot in the Chattahoochee National Forest, a steep ½ mile accent on a well travelled trail leads you to a footbridge that crosses Becky Branch above the base of this beautiful 30 ft tall cascading waterfall. Named Becky Branch Falls, I couldn’t contain my excitement till I noticed I only had a handful of compositions available. Undeterred, I did my best to clean up the debris and I proceeded to rattle off several shots from the base of the falls as well as the footbridge. A few days later, after I had returned home, the photographs of this waterfall were one of the first I began to work on but I quickly learned something was wrong and it would take more than 10 minute edit to share it. So for the last few months I’ve been working on and off on different shots to see if I can finally bring this beautiful falls to light and last night I think I finally got it! This composition is from the base of the falls, the perspective gives the viewer no idea that they are looking at 30 foot tall waterfall. I think if I ever return here I hope there’s a about twice as much water on it as there was on this visit, I’m not sure if that would help with the challenges presented on my first trip, but it doesn’t hurt to find out!

Lower Black Falls Of The Etowah - 1

Lower Black Falls Of The Etowah Etowah River Frank D. Merrill US Army Ranger Camp Dahlonega Georgia Now that things are slowing down a little bit I finally had a chance to go through the 2000+ photos I took on a trip back in early November where I stayed at my good friend John Deas home located about 20 miles north of the Georgia Border in North Carolina. All together I visited 34 waterfalls over 4 days in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina! One of our early stops was to the Upper and Lower Black Falls on the Etowah. Located on the grounds of the Frank D. Merrill US Army Ranger Camp, both falls are very close to the camp training area. We visited the Upper Falls first and though it’s about 80 ft tall, with all the recent rains it was a bit blobby and there were several trees that had debrised across it, as well as at the base so we opted to check out the lower falls. Following an old railroad grade we passed several cascades before reaching this falls which required a steep 30 ft. scramble. Though this falls could have used about 40% less waterflow it was still beautiful and resting in a rhodendron surrounded grotto made it even more awesome. I came away with several good shots of this falls so over the coming months you’ll be seeing plenty more of this one!

Lower Black Falls Of The Etowah - 2

Lower Black Falls Of The Etowah Etowah River Frank D. Merrill US Army Ranger Camp Dahlonega Georgia

Cane Creek Falls - 1

Cane Creek Falls Cane Creek Camp Glisson Retreat Center Dalonega Georgia North Georgia is loaded with several privately owned waterfalls that are accessible to the public, you just gotta ask. One of these places we visited was Cane Creek Falls in the Camp Glisson Retreat Center which is part of the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference. All we had to do was stop by the visitors center, ask about the falls and then drive a short distance to the falls parking lot near the base of the waterfall. When I shot the falls I was a bit worried about it being too blobby too, but after finally looking at my photos I think it it turned out fine. Several inches of rain had fallen a couple days before my arrival so many of the falls had more than enough water on them. This was another waterfall that I was able to wear out and get several perspectives of and though it’s got a big splash pool and open canopy it’s still a beauty in my book!

Cane Creek Falls - 2

Cane Creek Falls Cane Creek Camp Glisson Retreat Center Dalonega Georgia

Crow Creek Falls - 1

Crow Creek Falls Crow Creek Near Seed Lake Rabun County Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia I have to admit, our journey through the north Georgia mountains really opened my eyes to how beautiful that whole area is and one of the more impressive areas we saw was the gravel road that follows around Seed Lake. This 10 mile road drives above and along the banks of this gorgeous lake that’s spotted with beautiful vacation homes, but the real treat are a couple waterfalls located a short walk from the road into the Chattahoochee National Forest. One of these falls is Crow Creek Falls. After passing the 5 ft tall Lower Crow Creek Falls (which will definitely be featured later) we came to this 20 ft tall beauty. In retrospect, I wasn’t really all that impressed with the view from the side of this waterfall, but from downstream I thought the scene was killer!

Crow Creek Falls - 2

Crow Creek Falls Crow Creek Near Seed Lake Rabun County Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia A waterfall that I've come to really like in Northern Georgia is Crow Creek Falls. Located in Rabun County in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Crow Creek is one of those waterfalls you can spend a lot of time at, and boy did we. A lovely 15 foot or so multi tier waterfall, there are numorous places to enjoy this beauty! I've found my favorite place to shoot this set is from downstream!

Crow Creek Falls Lower - 1

Crow Creek Falls Crow Creek Near Seed Lake Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia When we arrived at the watershed for Crow Creek Falls in Rabin County, Georgia I had little idea that I'd get more bang that I bargained for! Which is fine with me! Turns out when we got out of the truck I immediately heard falling water. I asked John, "The falls is that close to the road?" He responded, "One of them is." Located 30 ft from the road here you had this 5 ft tall beauty. Wow! In fact, I liked this waterfall more than the main falls upstream! I'll tell you what, I wore this little waterfall out! I started out from here where I was perched on an overhang covered in dirt and hemlock needles with my feet dangling over the edge. I could have sat here all day. If only I had of brought that bottle of bourbon...

Lower DeSoto Falls - 1

Lower DeSoto Falls DeSoto Falls Recreation Area Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia Located in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest Lower DeSoto Falls was the only falls on this trip that I had been to in the past. My last visit was in January of 2010 when I passed though bouncing along the lowermost reaches of a major snow event that was dumping 8 inches of snow and ice just to the north of us. Our latest visit I was a bit surprised to find a lot of downed trees everywhere, so much so that the trail to Upper DeSoto was closed apparently the result of damage from hurricane remnants, and if I were to guess; Hurricane Irma. It was obvious a lot of work had been done on the trail to Lower DeSoto to even make access to the falls possible as several 2nd growth pine trees and hemlocks had collapsed across the trial . You could imagine my lack of surprise when we arrived to the waterfall to find a tree had fallen onto the falls. Gorgeous nonetheless, I explored this falls far more that I did on my first visit, where I just walked up to the observation deck took a couple shots and left. I didn’t realize it at the time but several of the falls we would visit on this trip were going to be effected by downed trees. I’ve often threatened to bring a chainsaw and handsaw on these outings but the naturalist in me just won’t allow me follow through.

Dick's Creek Falls - 1

Dick's Creek Falls Dick's Creek Bartram National Trail Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia One of the most moving moments of my lifetime was at Georgia's Dick's Creek Falls in the Chattahoochee National Forest! The sight and sound of falling water before me, the thundering sound of Dick's Ledge on the Chattooga River behind me, and a pristine and gorgeous National Wild And Scenic River on a beautiful partly cloudy day was awe inspiring! I can't wait to go back!

Dick's Creek Falls - 2

Dick's Creek Falls Dick's Creek Chattooga River Dick's Ledge Bartram National Recreation Trail Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia On my recent trip to Northern Georgia I visited several waterfalls for the first time. One of these was Dick Creek Falls and though the waterfall itself wasn’t the most incredible, the overall scene was a sensory overload! The trail to the falls is about .3 of a mile and I knew myself and my good friends The Static Brothers were in store for a real treat when I could hear the sound of falling water starting from about .2 miles away! Following a side trail from the Bartram National Recreation Trail when we reached the top of Dick Creek Falls little did I expect the scene that greeted us! Dick’s Creek Falls spills into the Chattooga National Wild And Scenic River and all that roar we heard from far away wasn’t just Dick’s Creek Falls, it was a river wide waterfall! I just stood here in awe. I could not believe it. Though this view was a real treat we made the decent down to river level and it was just a mind blowing scene. Dick’s Creek on the right, massive boulders to the right, looking downstream on one of the most beautiful river scenes I’ve laid eyes on, to the left the Dick’s Creek Ledge, the name given to the river waterfall by the kayakers/canoeists/ rafters! Just wow! There will be some photos of the lower section a little later. There was some adventure there as well. Oh, and the land on the other side of the river is South Carolina.

Horse Trough Falls - 1

Horse Trough Falls Horse Trough Creek Tributary Of The Upper Chattahoochee River Mark Trail Wilderness Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia When I bought a couple North Georgia waterfall guide books a waterfall that really captured my attention was Horse Trough Falls, I just had to see this beauty. Our forecast for the day called for bright sunshine so my good friend John Deas and I knew we had to get to the falls early. Located in the Chattahoochee National Forest, the 55 ft. tall falls is on a tributary of the Upper most section of the Chattahoochee River which forms within a mile of this falls. A high mountain falls, at an elevation of 2360 ft, it requires a bit of rain to get this baby going and it was as striking and impressive as I had thought. Though the sun was already on the uppermost section of the falls, I couldn’t have asked for better conditions. What a beautiful waterfall in a gorgeous setting!

Horse Trough Falls - 2

Horse Trough Falls Horse Trough Creek Tributary Of The Upper Chattahoochee River Mark Trail Wilderness Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia

Little Rock Creek Falls

Little Rock Creek Falls Little Rock Creek Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia When I’m on a waterfalling trip I’m like an energizer bunny, I keep going and going and going! Such is the case with this waterfall, Little Rock Creek Falls. Located off trail in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest the trail description to the falls said that it was only a little over a 1/2 mile "but would feel much further.” Well, it wasn’t kidding. By the time we’d reached the trailhead for this waterfall we had spent the whole day chasing them and quite frankly we were wore out, but the waterfaller in me said, “You are here. You must go.” There was about an hour left of good daylight, so myself and my good friends The Static Brothers headed out to the falls. Little did we realize that this one was going to wear us out completely, so much so that in the end it would be Karl Hassel and I who are the only ones who would make it to the falls. This trail worked hard to defeat us: ups and downs, steep slippery slopes, numerous downed trees that required weaving over and below massive limbs. At one point Karl just stood there on the trail staring ahead. “I don’t think we’re going to make it.” “Sure we are Karl! It’s just around the bend! Come on!” I said! And sure enough, just around the bend was the waterfall. At about 25 ft tall it was gushing, in fact it was way to much water, especially for 20 minutes before sunset in a secluded valley with towering trees. Setting up, we only took a few shots before we needed to run off. Light was quickly leaving us behind. We power walked back to the the car. It was brutal. Nevertheless, we made it back to the car in near darkness completely exhausted. I look forward to returning to this waterfall on a day it has less water and when I have more light, but for now this will have to do. Exhausting or not, it was well worth the adventure!

Minnehaha Falls - 1

Minnehaha Falls Falls Run Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia Of all the falls I visited in northern Georgia the one I wish I had gotten more time to spend with was Minnehaha Falls. Upon our arrival to the falls trailhead, sunset was quickly approaching and though the hike to the waterfall was 0.2, I knew I needed to hurry, complicating matters I had been dealing with some sharp pain in my left knee over the last few weeks. Did I care? No. I fully ignored it, power hiking to the falls. Once I ascended up the final leg of the trail and got to see this beauty in all it’s glory I just stood there staring at it. Wow! At 55 ft tall, this cascading waterfall emerges from the rhododendrons above, then spreads out over the rock before resting in a shallow wide splash pool at the base! Once I got refocused I only got a few shots off before it got too dark to shoot. I know one thing for sure, I'll certainly be back for some quality time!

Minnehaha Falls - 2

Minnehaha Falls Fall Branch Chattahoochee National Forest Rabun County Georgia The last time I visited Minehaha Falls it was near dark and we only got 10 or 15 minutes of time with it. So when I returned recently I made sure to plan to spend a lot of time with this beauty. And I’m not exaggerating beauty, this is in my top 10 waterfalls that I’ve visited. At 60 ft tall and located in Rabun County, Georgia, there’s not much adventure to this one. A fairly easy .3 mile hike leads to a huge payoff and one of the real gems of the eastern United States!

Noontootla Falls

Noontootla Falls Noontoontla Creek Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia Over the years and as I get older I find that I am pushing myself more and more to get that shot. To ignore the dangers and my fear of heights to see an arch or a waterfall. That was the case for Noontootla Falls. This roadside waterfall is located along Forest Road 58 in Fannin County, Georgia. The definition of the word roadside, in this instance, is subject to interpretation as the waterfall sits high above on a cliff face and is only partially visible to the road. In fact, one could easily drive right past it. Undeterred by the obvious 200 yard + elevation gain on a 65 degree scramble path, we headed up to the falls anyway. As we made our ascent it became more and more apparent that we came up the wrong side; rhododendrons blocked the view of the falls from below and to continue up the path lead to a side view. It was obvious that the view was far better on the other side of the creek. I had my reservations about crossing the steep watershed but I had fist punched a patch of poison ivy on the way up and went creekside to wash off my hands. Boy I’m glad I did. Getting closer to the creek, I realized that scrambling across some rocks and logjams I should be able to make it to the other side. Though not as easy as I had thought after one of the log jams gave way under my knee I was able to pull myself up and across to the other side. Wow! What a scene! There it was! In my face, standing at the base is this 80 foot plus waterfall as it cascades down the rock! Now came the wait. The sun shining down from high above was only obscured by the occasional passing cloud. After about 20 minutes we were about to give up when we spotted a cloud headed in the right direction. Though it didn’t block out the direct sunlight for long, it was long enough to get off a handful of shots. Overall it was a truly exhilarating experience where I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and it was worth every minute of it!

Stonewall Creek Falls - 1

Stonewall Creek Middle Falls Stonewall Creek Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia

Stonewall Creek Middle Falls - 1

Stonewall Creek Middle Falls Stonewall Creek Chattahoochee National Forest Georgia

Trahlyta Cascade - 1

Trahlyta Cascade Wolf Creek Vogel State Park Georgia On our first day out in North Georgia last week we decided to head down to Upper and Lower Desoto Falls in the Chattahoochee National Forest and as luck would have it we passed by Trahlyta Falls in Vogel State Park. The main falls was gorgeous but it's beyond me why the park system put a deck right in the middle of the falls near the base. After shooting from the deck and at the base I decided to join my good friend John Deas who had been occupied with a cascade that was below the main falls. Boy what a beauty and what a bunch of personality! It would turn out I'd enjoy this fall far more than it's more famous brother! I got a ton of great stuff from this little fella and in the end it would one of my favorite falls of the trip!