Posted By Smudew on July 28, 2009

Hike:  Dukes Creek & Anna Ruby Falls

Weather: Very cloudy, light drizzle at first.

We went for a hike to Dukes Creek, located right above the little town of Helen, in the north Georgia Mountains. A tornado had just blown thru Helen and there are several photos showing the roofs with tarps on them and the trees all torn down.

The Little Town of Helen. Tornado Damage

The Hike:  At Dukes Creek we saw an absolutely beautiful area; lush trees and a beautiful rushing creek.  The start of the trail was wheelchair friendly, then came to some steps where the actual hiking began.  The “Lookout” at the beginning of the trail was beautiful.  You could see Yonah Mountain in the distance.  My great-great grandmother lived very near Yonah Mountain and Mama was born there.

The trail went downhill almost the whole way – which of course, meant that it was all uphill on the way out!

The platforms where the falls are were great.  There were several levels and each had a place where you could sit and rest and enjoy the beautiful waterfalls.

On the way back out, we took a side trail and followed it for about a half a mile to where it ended at a fenced off  “Protected Area”. A lady and her dog had followed us down this trail (unbeknownst to us) and she almost caught Don “fixing” his britches!! 

We then went to the lodge at Unicoi State Park and walked around there for a bit, then on to Anna Ruby Falls.  The gift shop there was having a  “Closing Sale”, so we bought a little baby raccoon (stuffed animal) for Mama and a map of The Appalachian Trail.  The trail up to Anna Ruby Falls was very pretty, but it was extremely crowded.  Anna Ruby Falls were very pretty.

Short Day – Good Hike.

Here is a slideshow of the hike:

Categories: Hiking
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