Cohutta 1 - October 17, 2009 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Cohutta 1 |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Georgia |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | October 17, 2009 |
| Duration: | 3 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Fair |
| Trail Traffic: | None |
| Trip Weather: | Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | None |
| Trip Precipitation: | Rain |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 51-60, Low: 41-50 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | Mike and I decided to do some preliminary scouting on some trails in the Cohutta Wilderness in preparation for bringing our Boy Scouts on a backpacking trip in the area. Our adventure started out at the Rice Camp Trailhead in The Cohutta Wilderness. Our first trail section was the Hickory Creek Trail. This trail was relatively flat and wove in and out of hollows and streams. Three of the streams were crossed by culverts. The five other crossings were shallow and were crossed with a hop skip and a jump. We reached the Conasauga River. At the junction of the Conasauga River Trail and the Hickory Creek Trail there were lots of paths and obvious campsites. I made the poor decision to head toward our destination, Panther Creek Trail, on the north side of the river to keep from getting my feet wet. After about a quarter mile the paths went away. Being stubborn I pushed on. We bushwhacked for another quarter mile only to find ourselves up against a rock face that was over one hundred feet high and ran all the way down to the waters edge. Well, time to pull off the boots. The river was knee deep and about thirty yards wide where we crossed it. Once across we could see the Panther Creek Trail just on the other side of the rock face. It had gotten late so we decided to camp on the south side of the river. Rice and pasta with chicken was the hot meal of the night. A dessert of M&M cookies topped it off. While Mike was making supper I was building the evening fire. It had rained for two days prior to our arrival so making fire was quite a challenge but I was successful and we had a smoky fire to sit by. The night brought rain. It rained much of the night and in a slight break in the weather we rolled out about seven thirty had a breakfast bar and packed up wet gear. It’s really neat that when your gear is wet it weighs a whole lot more than when dry. We crossed the river and headed up Panther Creek Trail. The first mile and a half was fairly steep and crossed the creek seven times. The tumbling creek was a pleasant sight. Then things got interesting. The next quarter mile rose up four hundred feet to the top of the falls and the best way to describe it is a rocky boulder scramble to the top. The falls spill over Panther Bluff for about sixty to seventy feet and are a grand sight to see. The hike to the top of the bluff with its creek crossings and rock scrambles has taken us most of the morning so we sit in the rain and have a small snack. The trail leaving the bluff was difficult to find and it took a while to find it and get started again. The trail follows the creek briefly and then turns away toward the ridge and East Cowpen Trail. Up is a good description of the remainder of the trail. It was a relief to finally reach East Cowpen Trail. Undulating is a good description of E. Cowpen Trail with more down than up. Typically walking ridge trails gives you good vista views. Due to clouds, fog, mist and rain there wasn’t much view but the walk was good. We arrived at the junction of Hickory Ridge Trail a little after mid afternoon. Being foot sore and wet after the 1800 foot climb up Panther Creek Trail we decided to pitch our tents. I had the honor of building the fire again this night and Mike prepared a hot teriyaki noodle and chicken supper with fruit rollups for dessert. We fellowshipped beside a smoky wet fire in a misting rain and went off to our tents going down with the sun. The night brought more rain. Packing our wet gear and having a breakfast bar was a basic repeat of the previous morning. The biggest debate was to put the rain gear on or not. The misting rain wasn’t bad but when the wind blew really big drops fell from the trees. We opted for rain gear which we pulled off twenty minuets down the trail. The last three miles of E. Cowpen Trail is all down hill for about 1200 feet. Except for banging your toes into the front of your boots it was almost a race to the trailhead and parking area. We loaded our gear in the truck and headed home. We spent the next eight hours talking about how much fun the trip was and wishing it could have been another day longer. There are more trails in the Cohutta Wilderness so I will be back. |
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