Cohutta Wilderness: Rice Camp Trail to Jacks River Falls Trip Report for Thursday 4/26/12-Saturday 4/28/12

Trail Hiked: Thursday: Rice Camp Trail to Island campsite on the Jacks River ( 4.2 miles)

Friday:  Jacks River Trail to the Falls and back ( 5.7 miles there and back)

Saturday: Rice Camp Trail back to the trailhead ( 4.2 miles) 

Weather: Thursday: Overcast throughout the day with light to moderate rain in the evening into night  H 85º/L 62º

Friday: Overcast with a few breaks in the clouds, light rain in the evening H 82º/L 55º

Saturday: Sunny and breezy on the ridge lines H 88º/ L 54º

Pack Weight: Fully loaded (including dry sack) with 4 days of food and 2 liters of water 19 lbs.

The Hike

I met up with my hiking buddy Maddog at about 9 am Thursday and we headed north towards the state line. When we reached the small community of Cisco, Georgia the fun began.  I had been doing research for several days on access to the wilderness area with little luck on good clear directions.  From this point we were on our own, but with good maps on the GPS and a steady hand on the wheel we turned down a narrow mountain forest service road and up we went.  After taking a wrong turn we got back on track and found the right service road to get to the trail head.  This service road is used much less than the rest of the roads we had been on up to this point. At about three quarters down the service road we approached our first creek to ford.  Since we were in my front wheel drive 4 door car, we got out to check the depth.  We figured it was about 15 inches at the deepest point and with gravel underneath, traction wouldn't be an issue.  Off we went plunging my road going sedan into the realms of which it's designer's probably never imagined. We came through the other side with car still running and no water in the floorboards.  With a collective sigh we continued on our journey.  The second creek fording was much less eventful and we powered right through it and were soon at the trailhead gathering our gear. 

As we approached the trailhead there was a young man with his dog sitting at the base a massive pine.  He had a look of despair in his eyes so naturally I asked if he was okay.  Turns out he marched down about 12 miles of the Jacks River Trail including 20+ water crossing wearing bluejeans, heavy leather justin work boots and carrying about a 60 lb. pack.  He was dropped off at the start of the trail and thought he would have cell service to call his buddy to come pick him up. There was not so much as an inkling of cell service until you get back to Cisco which was about 20 miles back down the forest service roads.  I told him we would be back in 2 days, and if he was still there I would gladly give him a ride.  With a long face he said thank you, but I have to get out of here.  He picked up his pack, called his dog and started the long walk back down the mountain. I felt bad leaving him, but we had to get to our campsite or we would be left in the dark.

The Rice Camp trail was a nice stroll as we went down into the valley following Rice Camp Creek.  The trail meandered around and across the stream about 15 times. The trail is not very maintained, but is used frequently by horse back riders.  The hooves of the horses have pounded the ground smooth in some places and exposed the roots and rocks in others making for an ankle twisting nightmare if you don't watch your foot placement.  The other thing about walking on a trail where horses have been is the "Meadow Muffins".  It seemed every tenth of a mile we were dodging a pile or two.  As the trail began to descend further down towards the Jacks River the "Meadow Muffins" cleared out as the path is now just a small rocky, pine straw covered slip and slide that goes down, down, down to the Jacks River.  

We now found ourselves at the intersection of the Rice Camp Trail and The Jacks River Trail.  We turned West to stay on the Jacks River Trail and came to an abrupt stop facing a waist deep 150 yard river crossing.  We  were loosing daylight fast, and after some discussion we turned back East towards the Rice Camp Trail.  We noticed a clearing with a fire ring across a narrower part of the river to our right.  After looking for a way across we found a small path that lead down to the waters edge and to a small shoal allowing access to the island campground. We made our way across and found a great campsite with a large fire ring and lots of great trees for hanging our hammocks for the night.  We got camp set up, dinner cooked and a fire started and that is when the rain started.  The rain picked up and we were tired from the long drive and the walk in, so we hung our bear bags and turned in for the night. With the sound of the rain hitting my tarp and the sounds of the rapids on either side of us I was soon fast asleep. 

After 12 hours of some of the best sleep I have had in a long time, I arose to Maddog already having a campfire going and enjoying breakfast.  I got up and headed over to join him and discuss the plan for the day.  We decided it was such a great campsite and since we did not know how far we would have to go to find another, we would take a day hike to the falls and return. We packed up our packs with lunch and water and headed back West to the water crossing we had come to the day before.  We went across one at a time through the chilly waist deep water without either one of us going for an unexpected swim. The trail to the falls was nice with a slight uphill grade to the falls. It started nice and wide and covered with pine straw.  As the trail continued it narrowed and turned rocky as the grade started climbing towards the falls.  As we got closer the sound of the falls went from a mere murmur to an outright roar.  The falls were magnificent and we spent the day climbing around the falls and exploring.  I got down as close to the bottom as possible and just sat listing to the roar of the water.  As I sat there staring down the river as it dropped of the landscape time seemed to stand still.  It was good to sit and think about absolutely nothing and soak in the beauty that surrounded me. 

As the day grew long we started the trek back down to camp.  We found a nice spot along the river to stop and eat lunch.  As I sat on a big rock in the middle of the river, it made me think about how small we really are in this great big world.  Maddog jeered me out of my daze and we headed back towards camp.  The trail seemed much shorter back to camp. We soon approached the river crossing and made it across with no problem.  Back at camp we started a fire and did some camp chores, and buttoned downed our tarps before the rain that was on the horizon. Before dinner I started moving around some large river rocks, and soon enough I had a river rock recliner and a table by the fire to sit down and hangout.  As the light and the fire began to fade the rain once again started falling.  We retreated back to our hammocks for another blissful night of sleep in the woods. 

Morning came quickly and soon we were packing up camp to head back to the trail head and head back to civilization. The hike out was more strenuous than we expected. With one foot in front of the other we were soon on the downhill side and back at the trail head.  The adventure was still not yet over as we still had two creeks to ford on the way out.  The creeks would be higher from the recent rains.  As we approached the first, it was a bit deeper but nothing that we couldn't handle so across we went.  The ride out went quick….almost too quick.  I knew when we hit the highway we would be home all too soon.  It always seems the trip home is much quicker than the trip to the destination.  I don't know if it's the anticipation of starting the trek that makes the trip there longer, or if the longing to stay in the forest just one more day makes the trip home seem faster. 

Gear

I took my trusty DIY hammock, and OXbarn to sleep in comfort and stay nice and dry.  To keep warm I had my 40º underquilt and 20º sierra designs sleeping bag.  I had to toss my sleeping bag half way through the night as I started getting hot.  For food I carried my DIY alcohol stove that is still serving me well after almost a year of abuse. The GSI kettle has worked flawlessly as well. For water filtering I was using a sawyer inline filter attached to a cheap water bladder and hose. It did the job but tended to leak at the connection points to the hose.  I will have to work on that a bit so I don't have to keep going back to the water source to keep filling the water bladder.  Maddog was nice enough to let me borrow his ULA Catalyst backpack.  It was a a joy to carry compared to my old Jansport pack.  I will be buying one of my own very soon. For footwear on this trek I picked up a pair of Five Finger Spyridons and they preformed wonderfully.  It was a great to hike with the feeling of bare feet. With the more natural gate and lighter steps the pressure  and stress on my knees was much less.  I hope to hike in them for a long time to come. 

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