Every so often, my husband surprises me with a romantic gesture that steals my heart. He’s a clever fellow, so he saves them up and only disperses them on rare occasions, ensuring that I will always be surprised and wowed because he has gone above and beyond. This time he surprised me with a special two day getaway tacked on to the end of the ACFW conference in Nashville.
I flew one-way to Nashville, did the conference thing, then he drove the 880 miles to join me on Saturday night. Then on Sunday and Monday, he took me on a tour of 8 waterfalls in the forests of Georgia. I love waterfalls. I love hiking to waterfalls. Opportunities to do so do not exist in West Texas. So my fabulous husband planned this excursion just to make me smile. And to prove that there will be some benefits to an empty nest once we set our last two fledglings free. Always thinking, that man. 😉
Some of the waterfalls were at major attractions. Some were out-of-the-way hidden trails where half the adventure was simply finding the trail head. And one in particular will be etched in my memory forever – not because of the fabulous waterfall, but because of distance errors, darkness, and an unexpected trail companion.
Here are some of the highlights:
Amicalola Falls – We walked about 425 stairs to see the falls from below. Going down was easy; coming up was much slower. Good thing this was the first hike of the day.
Helton Creek Falls. There’s a swimming hole here a few families were taking advantage of on a Sunday afternoon. We opted to keep dry.
Angel Falls on the Left and Anna Ruby Falls on the Right. Anny Ruby was our favorite of Day 2.
Tallulah Gorge – Stunning canyon views
And then there was the adventure at Raven Cliffs Falls. This was our last stop for Day 1. Wes’s research had said it was an easy 1.5 mile hike to the falls. So 3 miles round trip. It was late afternoon, but we had plenty of time. So we headed out. Only, after 1.5 miles, there was no waterfall in sight. So we kept going. Apparently, the hike was 2.5 miles, which meant 5 miles round trip. Yikes! Now we were cutting things close. And the only people we had seen had been coming down. We were the only fools still going up this late in the evening. Well, except for one fellow.
He’s hard to see because by the time I got my phone out of my pocket to take a picture he had already started walking away, but yes, that dark blob is a bear!
When we finally reached the end of the hike, we didn’t see a waterfall . . . at first. But I was determined. There must be one. We did not hike all this way through bear territory, not to see a waterfall! So I climbed a little farther up a section of trail that looked more like a mini rock slide than a trail, but eventually I found it. Hiding in a crevice of what must be Raven Cliffs.
But the hike had been worth it. The view even apart from the waterfall was beautiful!
But that wasn’t the end of the adventure. On the 2.5 mile trek back to the parking lot, darkness fell. And dark in a forest is DARK. Not knowing how much battery life we had on our phones, we stumbled through the shadows without our flashlights for as long as possible. The lack of light made our progress even slower, of course. And every time a twig snapped all we could think about was the bear. We broke down and used our phone flashlights for about the last mile and made it back safe and sound. But it was a very memorable adventure!
Sometimes, it’s the unexpected trouble turned adventure that creates the most lasting memories.
- What unexpected adventure have you encountered that made for an unforgettable experience?
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I love hiking! The hikes you and your husband took look gorgeous, Karen.
Do you wear a FitBit? I’m guessing you put in thousands upon thousands of steps on the day of the adventurous ‘bear + darkness’ hike. 🙂
The scenery was gorgeous. So green and lush.
No, I’ve never gotten into the fit bit thing, but my husband has an app he uses for his bike riding that has an option for mapping hikes as well. That’s how we knew how far we had walked on the bear hike. His app would notify us after every half mile. We certainly got our steps in! Made up for the 12+ hour car ride home on Tuesday where we sat the entire day. 🙂
Hi Karen,
That sounds like such a fun trip! You guys were certainly daring to keep going after seeing the bear. I think I would have rushed out of there as fast as I could!
I love waterfalls too. The UP of Michigan has a LOT Of them! (Hint, hint! A trip to Michigan might be in order in your future!) 😉
Waterfalls AND lighthouses. What a great idea! I’ve never been to Michigan. One of these days, I’ll have to see what I’ve been missing. 😉
Since I was born and raised in Georgia, I’m kind of partial to those falls. I’ve been to most of them. Almost fell off the hill at Tallulah Gorge. But a friend grabbed me and saved me from falling in the swimming hole!! And we’ve encountered bears before. Just FYI, the movie “Deliverance” was filmed around those parts. Hope you didn’t hear banjo music!! But what a lovely trip!! I’m glad you had a chance to experience nature in my home state!!
We stayed at the rim of the gorge, so falling would have been deadly. But the views were spectacular. Up at Inspiration Point there were a pair of hawks that must have been nesting nearby for they soared and swooped right by our heads. Magnificent! I tried to grab a picture and managed to get one not too far away, but the photo just doesn’t do him justice. The forests of Georgia are gorgeous, Lenora! I’d definitely enjoy going back for another visit.
Your husband is leaning on a railing, & it says, “To Minehaha,” There’s a Minehaha Falls in Minnesota! Have you guys been there? THANKS for sharing your romantic & fun story!
No, I’ve never been to the one in Minnesota. Is it beautiful? I bet it is. 🙂 The one in Georgia was near a lake, so the drive to find it was just as lovely as the short hike to get to the falls. It was well hidden. That name carved in the wooden railing was the only sign to let us know we’d found the right place to begin our hike.
Gorgeous waterfalls and gorgeous photos!
I have a nature adventure I’ve never had to repeat, thank the Lord! On a date with a nice guy I’ll call Gene (we were both in our 20s) he took me along on his church’s young adult cross-country ski expedition in the Snoqualmie area in Washington. Nice people; beautiful area! We got all outfitted; then I hear “head for the chairlift.” Uh-oh! I DON’T ski downhill, no, no no! They said don’t worry, we’re just going to higher flat ground. So we’re up there, it IS lovely, and here comes a thunder ‘n lightning storm. We are told by the Ski Patrol to get down FAST and NOW. My friend/date left me! Off he went down the hill. I’m stuck, too petrified to move. Everybody else is on their way down. One of the guys in the group came and kindly had me stand behind him, my skis inside of his, my arms around his waist, and he took me down. That was my LAST date with Gene.
Ha! What a great story. But I know that fear. My family used to got downhill skiing once a year at Christmas time. I got to be a pretty comfortable intermediate skier. Then came the day my dad took me on an expert run. I swear the top section was a sheer drop! I cried. I begged. I pleaded. But my dad was firm. There was only one way down. Then he showed me. He didn’t go far. He stopped and waited for me. But was at the top of the hill scared out of my mind. With my safety net gone, there was only one choice. Go down myself. I basically stepped off sideways and traversed the entire width of the run before aiming my skies downhill for the turn. Then I would actually aim uphill to slow myself down enough to straighten out as I went all the way across the mountain the other way. It wasn’t pretty, and I had to watch out for expert skiers zipping past, but I actually made it down without falling. I was proud of that accomplishment, but I also vowed never to go on an expert run again. 😉
Thank God we both made it! I hate snow anyway (I’m a summer gal 100%) and this didn’t help. I love cross-country, but not any higher up than need be. By the way, thanks for the awesome books!
We love waterfalls too! We recently hiked to a beauty in Shenandoah National Park. If you’re ever in Pennsylvania, look up Rickett’s Glenn State Park. It has 24 waterfalls! We haven’t been there recently because with little kids, my husband’s afraid we may lose the little ones over a ledge, but some day we’ll be back.
That sounds like my dream vacation spot! Thanks for the recommendation, Carolyn.
I love waterfalls, too! We went to northern Idaho and then Yellowstone a few months ago and enjoyed seeing several! Last year we were down around Gatlinburg, TN hiking to waterfalls with 4 little ones in tow and YES, it was stressful and worth it in the end.
You are a brave woman to go hiking with little ones. I’m impressed, Beth! 🙂
One similar story: my friends and I set out late in the afternoon to hike to a waterfall whose trailhead was connected to our campground in West Virginia. Turned out, the hike was longer than expected, and it got dark before we could get back. We had one flashlight and no cellphones for the three of us. It was pitch black out, no moon whatsoever.
After about an hour of hiking in the dark, we made it to the road that would lead us down to the campground. As we turned to look back at the trail we’d come, we spotted a sign: Caution: High Cliffs Ahead. Apparently that whole time we’d been stumbling along the trail, we’d had massive cliffs alongside us! We were very thankful when we returned to our campsite safe and sound, though that hike is still one of our most memorable ones.
Wow! what a wonderful,exciting adventure! How nice of your husband to plan that surprise for you. A recent( albeit) small adventure I had was when I was spending time with my niece and her fiance`e on Memorial Day. On the spur of the moment we decided to take a walk through a forest trail . There were no bears,but still a neat little adventure. 🙂 Thank you for this fun post,Karen!
It was so neat to see your pictures because I was born and raised in Northeast Georgia. I haven’t hiked all of those falls, but I’ve seen Anna Ruby Falls and Tallulah Gorge. Not too far from Raven Cliffs (which I’ve never seen) is a shorter, easier trail to Duke’s Creek Falls. I love that one. Glad you had so much fun and adventure in beautiful Northeast Georgia!
P.S. I just finished reading ‘No Other Will Do’ today. Loved it! (As I always do your books.) Looking forward to Tori’s story… 🙂