Sitton Gulch TTA

Scenic City hiked at Cloudland Canyon starting at Sitton Gulch. My first time on this trail. Started with 17 hikers. Some were only hiking to the lower waterfall. The rest of us led by Carl climbed to the top of the canyon stopping at all the waterfalls as we climbed up. The falls were beautiful and the views from the top were breathtaking. The Fringe trees were blooming on the ridgetop. We walked out to the overlooks then made our way back to the gulch. There were lots of pretty wildflowers along the way. 

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Cloudland Canyon TTA

I was supposed to meet the hikers at the Visitor Center, but the parking lot was crowded, and needing to pee I stopped at a side road with a gate and ran into the woods. Then on to the trailhead. Sara called to see where I was. I called Craig to let him know I made it there. The other hikers came thru to park at the trailhead a little further thru the parking area so I moved my car to where they parked. When I got my parking pass I couldn't find my wallet...panic!!! Back to the other parking lot, back to the potty stop in the woods retracing my steps, called the visitor center to see if someone found it in the parking lot. Called the place I stopped on the way there. Called on Jesus to have mercy and help me find it. Called on a friend to help me pray. Tore the car apart looking for it. Pulled everything out of my daypack and SAW THE WALLET I had put in a ziplock with my headlamp and lighter.....Phew, thank you Jesus.

Called to see where Joan and Sara and the other hikers had gotten to on the trail. Marietta kindly waited for me on the West Rim Trail while the others hiked down and back up the 600 steps to see the waterfalls. The leaf colors were vibrant in a lot of the trees, and the ones on the ground left a color filled carpet for us to walk on. Overlooks on this trail are just beautiful. I spotted a couple of hornet nests really high in the trees. Those hornets must be expecting a lot of snow. Weather forecasters. The sky stayed clear until the last section of our hike. The clouds rolled in, the wind picked up, but we didn't get rained on. It was a beautiful hike. 

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Cloudland Canyon TTA

Soddy Daisy TTA, I met George and Gail in Red Bank and we drove to Georgia to Cloudland Canyon. Pete met us at the Visitor's Center. It was a cool and windy 42 degrees. We hiked the West Rim Trail and enjoyed the beautiful views into the canyon. Lunch was at a rocky area out of the wind. Thanks to Sarah, George brought homemade biscuits with jelly or sausage. Yumm!

Back at the trailhead, we drove to the East side and looked into the canyon from that side. According to the park map there are a lot of trails here we still need to explore.

After saying goodbye to the other hikers I drove to Chickamauga to see the Gordon Lee Mansion. I walked around the grounds of the manor. According the the website of the Friends of, there will be candlelight tours during December. http://www.friendsofthegordonleemansion.org/tours.html 

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Cloudland Canyon

Lora and I attended the 2011 TTA anual meeting at Lookout Mountain. We got there Friday evening and set up our tent. We did some visiting with old friends. Saturday morning we took the following hike. I had to work Sunday so we didn't get to spend the next day. We had a great time.

Cloudland Canyon State Park Waterfalls and Sitton Gulch Trail.
Rising Fawn, Georgia.

Hike Leader: Joan Hartvigsen, 7 miles strenuous. This Georgia park is located on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. The park straddles a deep gorge cut into the mountain by combined waters of Bear and Daniels Creeks. The Waterfalls Trail consists of gravel and 1,200 stair steps. Both waterfalls cascade off of sheer faces at 60 and 90 feet, and are among the most beautiful in the state. The Sitton Gulch Trail follows Daniel Creek through open, green hemlock groves and overlooks numerous small waterfalls cascading through limestone crevices. The autumn color is magnificent.

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