Today we hit the trail again, this time even further north, in beautiful Chattahoochee National Forest. We decided to tackle two trails at once and traversed the Keown Falls Trail and Johns Mountain Loop Trail, totaling 4.6 miles. This was by far our most challenging hike to date and was rated moderate to strenuous in our handy Georgia Hiking Guide.
We started at the Keown Falls trailhead and followed the loop counterclockwise to the falls overlook. This segment of the trail ran alongside a small creek which sometimes actually joined our trail which we found ourselves wading through and jumping over on occasion.
One major difference Keown had from other trails we have hiked, is it's much narrower walkways and less distinct trails. The blazes along our way varied from green tags nailed to trees, to white signs with a bird's footprint on them, to basic white sprayed blazes. This aspect, along with a walkway riddled with stones and roots, kept our eyes constantly fixed on (or searching for) the path.
Just over .5 miles in, we reached the stone staircase leading to the falls' observation platform. The stairs came at uneven intervals and thankfully there were some handrails to assist us in the climb. On these stairs we first spied the Wooly Lip fern- a species that is rare in Georgia- and also encountered some basking lizards.
A view of the falls from in front of the platform:
The observation deck was closed for repairs, so we ventured out in front of it to get a full view of the falls.
Once we rejoined the Keown Loop, the trail actually led us under the falls. This portion of the was quite treacherous as we navigated over unmarked trails and slippery rocks. Because it had rained the day before, there were multiple waterfalls creating creeks which we traversed as they merged with our trail.
We enjoyed our lunch at the lovely picnic area at the trailhead.
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