The Cohutta Wilderness

We love this place and I want to take my childern and grandchildren there so please please pratice Leave No Trace Principals! (see links if you don't know what they are)

This land was intensivly logged until the 1920's (70% or so). The area has recovered remakably well. Now all that remains are, old road beds, cables, and the ocassional railroad ties.

It became a wilderness area in 1975 @ 36,977 acres it is the largest NFW in the southeast. (The Cohutta Wilderness ajoins the Big Frog Wilderness (8,055 acres) across the state line in TN.


The Cohutta Wilderness in GA is part of the larger 95,265 acre CWMA.

Highest Points: Big Frog Mountian 4,224(TN) East Cowpen (4,200 ish)
Major Rivers: The Conasauga River, and Jacks River. These 2 give you good reason to always carry sandals when in the Cohuttas.

The Benton MacKaye Trail is in and the Pinhoti Trail Borders the Wilderness





Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Waterfalls of the Cohuttas and surrounding area

There are many many named waterfalls in the area. The falls on Hickory Creek @ the Hicky Gap Campgound are probalby the easiest to access (I am not counting the cascades on Holly Creek). Emory Creek Falls (40ft guess) is an excellent waterfall that gets seldom visited, that can be accessed by walking up past all the trash and diapers on The Holly Creek Cascades(its about 1 1/2 mile walk or so with several fords). Panther Creek Falls(from the top is possiably the best view in the range. The hike to this one is difficult any way you cut it but worth the view from the top. From the bottom you access it via the Hickory Creek Trial to the Conasauga River Trail, then from the top Panther Creek Trail. Then lets just cut to the chase...... Jacks River Falls..... A beautiful multi tier waterfall, with deep pools and jumps etc - everything you could want in an isolated waterfall ...... This would be one of the most beautiful waterfalls you have ever seen if it was not for all the folks. On any given day here you may see (I can verify each of these sightings): coolers(styrofoam), A wedding party(complete with smashing champaigne bottles on rocks, plastic liquer bottles, bag chairs, whole 8 man tents (with no men), noodles/inner tubes/aligator floats, and lots of socks and underwear/swimwear. No kidding one nice day in the Winter (in Winter) counted 75 people there! (And you wonder why they closed Beach Bottom) Don't expect to be alone here but it is well worth the hike(unless you go thru the week), I still do it all the time. Beech Bottom Trail is definatly the easiest way to get to the falls, and there is a short cut if you know where it is. Now if you have got some balls and time to kill you can hike to the falls from the bottom. Via Jacks River Trial just past the iron bridge. Now if you do this make sure its is #1 summer time #2 a start time of no later than 9 a.m.
#3 you pack a lunch and snacks in waterproof containers (plus anything else you want to keep dry. #4 you like to be water logged ( you will cross the river somwhere in the neighborhood of 30-40 times. Aside form these there are probably 50 more what I would consider waterfalls. Some I will tell you where they are others you have to find on your own.

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