Coleman river trail

It has been so hot here this summer. We have had August in July. Mid to upper 90's with 90 something percent humidity. It has been killing me. Mainly because I am an outside person and it is too hot to be outside. I was having outside withdrawls so I rousted my poor husband out of bed early to go on a hike. Not only is he a couch potato he also is not a morning person. I lured him in by finding a trail on the internet that was in an area he remembered going as a kid. I didn't tell him the last write up I found on the area was in 98, certainly the trail was still there as it was national forest and wilderness area.So off we headed to an area in remote Rabun co. Ga . an area known for the movie "Deliverance" and the Foxfire books. Lush green forests and rocky cold mountain streams..

We found the road from my description . It was still a one lane dirt road. There was a beautiful old homestead in the middle of the national forest looked like it was still occupied.I expected to see a old guy in coveralls playing the banjo on the front porch. As we ascended the narrow winding dirt road a beautiful rumbling stream appeared along side it. We rolled down the windows and the temperature said it was 73 degrees.

The stream was beautiful. Noisy waterfalls where the water squeezed between huge moss covered boulders,and still, reflective pools where the water took a moment to rest before continuing its descent down the rock covered mountain. The description said the trail head was 2 miles in on the right before the bridge. We found it. There was a small pull out big enough for one car and it was occupied. There was nowhere else to park on the narrow road and nowhere to turn around so dissappointed we drove on up. The stream leveled out as we came to the top of the ridge and there were a couple of nice camp grounds on the shoals and somewhere to turn around.Hoping to get to hike we headed back down. Low and behold when we got there the spot was empty. So we began our hike. The description said .9 miles in..

The hike began with a nice stretch of level trail along a nice stream. Then there was about a 200meter climb. As I hopped from tree root to rock I wondered if this was why there were no new write ups on the trail. I was also wondering if the .9mi was straight up. The trail leveled out at the top and started a slight incline. You could see glimpses of the stream down below but mostly you could hear the roaring as it cascaded down the mountain. There were "trails" (More like slide marks) down to the bottom where people had gone down to view the falls. I would have loved to and will some day when I am more prepared, with hiking boots and jeans and enough power to climb back up. We finally caught up with the top of the stream and it was beautiful.

Deep cold pools of crystal clear water beneath swift cascading currents. Surely hiding some elusive native trout. We continued on the trail passing fungi,flowers,and lush green ferns. There were small rivulets of water crossing the trail in steep narrow ravines covered by vegetation and spanned by rickety bridges.

After hiking for about an hour (.9 mi. my butt) with no end to the trail in sight we decided to turn around. The heat was beginning to catch up to us and in this forest the wind couldn't reach you and the humidity was so high my glasses and camera lense kept fogging up.
In conclusion, it was a great adventure to be repeated in the fall with trout pole in hand and jeans and climbing boots.
Coleman River Trail, not for the faint of heart but worth the climb.