Now that it’s winter, we’re catching up on some past-due blog posts. Expect more stories about trips from the spring and summer of 2011 to be posted in the next weeks.
This summer, we led day hikes to Rabun Bald and Emery Creek Falls. Though the weather was hot, we had beautiful views from the peak of Rabun Bald (the second tallest mountain in Georgia) and cool water (including swimming) at Emery Creek. Below are some photos of our hikes (click on each photo to view a larger version):
Rabun Bald: Much of our hike up the mountain was through tunnels of Rhododendron.
Rabun Bald: The Rhododendron were in bloom, making our hike particularly beautiful!
Rabun Bald: At the top of the mountain, the clouds gave us quite a show – half of the sky was clear and half was obscured.
Rabun Bald: Despite the clouds, the peak of the mountain was a perfect place for photography.
Rabun Bald: A great day, a great mountain, and a great group!
Rabun Bald: One our our hikers found her first geocache on the side of Rabun Bald.
Emery Creek: The first step into the cool water of Emery Creek was a bit of a shock on a hot day!
Emery Creek: Though the water was fun to walk through, we had to be careful of slippery rocks.
Emery Creek: An impressive spiderweb above the trail was a perfect place for a photo shoot.
Emery Creek: The falls are a long cascades with several levels. The rocks are like giants’ stair steps, but we climbed up them anyway!
Emery Creek: The base of the falls had a deep pool where several of us couldn’t resist lounging in the cool water.
Emery Creek: On of our participants had always wanted to walk on a fallen tree – so we did!