Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

Georgia Travelog #19
Helen - Saturday, 12 Apr 2025, 3:30pm

Our second hike today was Horse Trough Falls a bit outside of Helen, GA. Geez, the day's more than half over, and we've only done two hikes out of four planned. We're not even that far— as the crow flies— from our previous hike, the amazing Anna Ruby Falls. Where did all the time go? Well, for one, we drove back down to Helen to enjoy a sit-down lunch after Anna Ruby. And two, on the way back out here we took a... um, scenic route... through the forest.

Yeah, Apple Maps gave us a bum steer getting to the trailhead. I refuse to say we got lost— because I always knew where we were. We just weren't where we wanted to be and weren't always 100% sure which route would get us there. 🤣 The difference between the mapped directions and the route I ended up driving was over 9 miles of Forest Service road.

"Only 9 miles?" you may ask. "What's the big deal?" The big deal is it's 9 miles of dirt road. Eight miles of dirt road with extremely spotty cell service to figure out where we are on a map. Fortunately my wilderness and 4x4 skill that got us across the dirt roads with no worries also gave me enough confidence with reading the (rarely there) map and the lay of the land to get to the right place.



The right place? That's the Upper Chattahoochee River Campground. And while the... scenic route... we took to get there was often deserted, there were two other cars at the trailhead when we arrived. A few more had arrived by the time we returned. I'm virtually certain they all came in the easier way. It's only 2 miles of dirt road that way.



Most of the hiking trail is a gated off road that goes through the campground. A small paper sign at the front indicates that the campground "will" open in late March, 2025. And here it is, two weeks later, still chained shut. Oops. Probably the people responsible for opening the campground were fired by DOGE. 🤬

As much of an adventure driving here was, the walk to Horse Trough Falls was easy.  The gravel road through the campground was actually a better driving route than the route we actually drove to get here. But it was a pleasant walk in the woods with a brilliant blue sky overhead. I'd say the blue sky is because we're up in the mountains... except we're not "up" that much by California standards. The trailhead's at 2,200' elevation.



Horse Trough Falls was bigger than I was expecting. What was I expecting? I dunno; but with a name like horse trough I guess I was prepared for it being like someone spitting in a bucket. Instead it's easily 30' high and with plenty of water flowing.



In beauty I walk.

Georgia Travelog #23
Helton Creek - Saturday, 12 Apr 2025, 6pm

Today has been another day of driving around the Appalachian Mountains of north Georgia, but unlike yesterday— when it rained on us most of the day— today has been beautiful. As a result we've had a fairly packed day.

Once again we started out from the Holiday Inn Express in Dawsonville— except this morning we checked out. Tonight we're not done 'til we get to Atlanta! But first there was so much else.

Today our first stop was in Helen, the over-the-top charming kitschy shrieking tourist trap of a town made up to look like a German alpine village. We thought it might be a good place to get some morning eats! Alas the German bakery we'd spotted yesterday was really a German confectionery. Meaning, most of what they sell ready-to-eat is sugary sweets. I didn't feel like a Bavarian cream donut with a side of cheese danish for breakfast, so we sulked back out to the car where I ate a protein bar as we continued our drive.

Next up was Anna Ruby Falls a bit north of Helen. This falls blew me away. It's reached by a totally paved trail. It's steep but doesn't have stairs like Amicalola Falls (which we visited Thursday). Its tourist-friendliness isn't what blew me away, though. It's that up at the end of the canyon is a double falls. Two different creeks falls the back wall of the canyon and merge at the bottom.

After the falls we doubled back to Helen for lunch. Yes, we thought eating in the tourist trap town would be fun! We scrupulously avoided all the tourist trappy places, though, and shared a pizza at a low-key pizzeria. Then we went back to that bakery we skipped out of in the morning, because Bavarian cream donuts with a side of cheese danish.

Our next stop was Upper Chattahoochee Campground to hike to Horse Trough Falls. This is one where the drive to get there turned into an adventure. The Apple Maps piped through my mobile phone into the car's infotainment system recommended a slightly different route than the Google Map I've embedded above. Yeah, make your jokes about Apple Maps; but this is the first time they've steered me wrong. We wound up taking a much longer drive on dirt Forest Service roads than we needed to. And a few times it took interpolating between Apple Maps and AllTrails to figure out the right way to go. But we did get there, safely, and had a bit of fun making it an offroad adventure. In a rental car.

Once we got to the trailhead for Horse Trough Falls— and OMG, what a terrible name— we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. Maybe other people got a bum steer from Apple Maps, too, but couldn't find their way out of it like I did. 🤣

The falls were a mostly level 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot. It could have been even shorter but the actual Upper Chattahoochee Campground was still closed for the season... despite signs from last year saying it'd reopen March 15. Oops, maybe the people responsible for reopening the campground got sacked in one of DOGE's mass firings. 😰

Horse Trough was another falls that blew me away. It wasn't as epic as Anna Ruby but it was still way more than I expected out here, at what felt like the (horse's) ass end of nowhere.

After Horse Trough we switched gears a bit and did a non-waterfall hike. Instead of a falls we visited the top of a mountain. And not just any mountain, but Brasstown Bald, elev. 4,784', the highest peak in Georgia. It was late, almost 4pm, when we got to the visitors center a few hundred feet below the summit. I wondered if I should've dropped it from the list to save time for other hikes but I chose instead to trust in the continued sunny weather and sunset just after 8pm to give us more time to play. We had a good late-afternoon visit up there and still had time for two more waterfalls!

Trahlyta Falls wasn't so much a hike as a jump-out-of-the-car-and-take-pictures situation. Yes, there was a hike we could do, but it was in a state park that had a lot of construction going on. It was a headache to deal with. So we drove out of the park and back around to an unmarked pulloff on the highway where we snapped pictures from across the creek canyon.

Finally we made it over to Helton Creek Falls. It was only about 15 minutes from Trahlyta, though it may have taken longer as once more we had to drive a few miles on a dirt road to get to a falls. Once more, though, the falls exceeded my expectations. I was ready for a maybe 20-foot tall falls. Instead we got a 100' tall falls in multiple drops!

Panama Travelog #7
Gamboa, Panama - Mon, 23 Dec 2024. 12:30pm.

First our hike this morning at the pipeline road was a bust. "Abundant wildlife!" gushed one recent review. Others praised the quantity and variety of wildlife we'd see. We saw none. None. It was just a walk through the rain forest on a dirt-and-gravel road.

At least we shortened the walk to 2 miles, from 4, by driving the first half of it. The first half was open to vehicles, though some weak-sauce city folks types quailed at the dirt-and-gravel road and parked near where the pavement ended. The vehicle trail was passable to almost any ordinary vehicle, including our small, fake SUV with low ground clearance and no 4x4. Heck, there were two taxis waiting at the trailhead, where the remainder of the road was gated off to foot traffic only.

We consoled ourselves after seeing nothing on the pipeline trail by looking forward to our next hike, a waterfall hike just a few miles south of town. We'd driven past the trailhead last night on our way to Gamboa, driving through Soberania National Park. So after a tasty little lunch in town— and a surprise bird sighting on the ordinary-road road— we drove out to Sendero del Charco, the trail for Charco waterfalls, in Soberania National Park. It was closed.

Closed! Who closes a hiking trail? And why, on a Monday?

Apparently it's because the national park wants to charge for the trail but doesn't have the ability to put a self-payment kiosk there. So it's closed on Monday so they can give the fee-taker in this remote area a day off.

It's not like the trail is blockaded, though. I mean, we could totally park off the side of the road across the street and walk around the gate at the trail. We physically could do that but we decided not to risk whatever wrath there may be of the authorities. Fooling around with nominally illegal activity is something I make a habit of not doing in foreign countries.

Maybe we'll be able to make a side-trip out here the day we head back to Panama City. But for today, we've got a drive in the opposite direction. We're headed out to Valle de Antón, a resort area in the caldera of a long-dormant volcano!

This past Saturday we went hiking high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains above the Carson Pass. The hike is an adventure, of course, and I'll blog about it— soon. First I want to share the continuing adventure of just getting there.

Like any good adventure, the whole journey is part of the adventure! ...Okay, the first hundred-some-odd miles of driving weren't particularly adventurous. We got that part of the trip out of the way by driving Friday Night to Jackson, in the foothills. That left us with a more enjoyable drive Saturday morning up the western side of the Sierra Nevada, driving through the scenic Carson Pass and making a few stops along the way. Then, 191 miles after leaving home, the adventure notched up to the next level. We left paved roads behind.



We turned off Highway 88 at Red Lake, just over the far (eastern) side of the Carson Pass. I think we may have stopped to visit Red Lake once before, but if so it was years ago so we stopped for a visit again Saturday. Red Lake is at about elev. 7,870' (2,400 m). Beyond it Red Lake Peak reaches elev. 10,040' (3,060 m).

Our purpose in stopping here wasn't just to appreciate Red Lake and the peak beyond it but to begin driving the Forestdale Divide Road. It's a 4x4 trail that cuts through remote high country south of Carson Pass. It begins here at Red Lake and ends about 6 miles south at Upper Blue Lake. (Yes, whoever named lakes around here was big on colors. But at least the Blue Lakes are actually blue, unlike red green lake. 😅)



The Forestdale Divide Road is one I've seen marked on a detailed biking map I own of the area. No, I haven't owned or ridden a bike since my early 20s, but I've had this biking map for years. (It's also extremely useful for hiking and 4x4ing.) And for years I've seen this road marked there and marveled at the contour lines it passes through. I could tell it traverses some stunning remote country. And as you can see at around the 2/3 point in the video when we stopped at the top of the Forestdale Divide to get out and walk around, it is truly stunning.

Here's a still photo from the Forestdale Divide in case you're wondering if it's worth watching the video. (Hint: It totally is. Though maybe watch it on YouTube for better resolution.)



In beauty I walk.

Even when "I walk" actually means I drive. 🤣

Saturday morning we drove up the mountain from Fresno to the Dinkey Lakes trail. Most of the drive was along California 168, up through the small resort town of Shaver Lake. We continued several miles further up into the Sierra Nevada, turning off the highway at Tamarack Ridge, elev. 7,582'. From there it was a bit over 10 miles on mostly dirt roads to the trailhead for Dinkey Lakes.



If you were to look up directions to get to the Dinkey Lakes trailhead, this is probably not the route you'd see recommended. It's an alternate I figured out last year when the normal route was impassable due to a washout. That said, as far as alternate routes go, it's a fairly good one. The trail only gets really bumpy on the last 1/2 mile or so, and by that point the main route has merged in so it's not longer an alternative. Plus, in our Nissan Xterra Pro4x I didn't even have to engage 4 wheel drive. The vehicle's stock high clearance, combined with skilled driving, was plenty to get over everything the trail threw at us.

Stay tuned... the hike comes next!

I mentioned prior to our hike at Angel Falls this morning that today would be a two-fer. Our second hike was to Fresno Dome. The summit is at almost 7,600' elevation. Thankfully we don't have to ascend most of that on foot; our car does most of the work driving to the trailhead.

It was maybe a 45 minute drive up to the second trailhead on a variety of Forest Service roads. First the route was paved, then semi-paved, then pretty much dirt and rock. Along the way we were wondering, Did we really need our 4x4 SUV today, or could we have driven our convertible— which would've been a beautiful choice for the weather? I recorded some video as we drove.



We've asked ourselves many times the question, "Do we need 4x4?"— and specifically the followups, "How much 4x4 capability?" and "How often?" We ask it when we're choosing which car to drive for a trip. We've asked it each time we've bought a new car the past 25+ years, too. Why pay extra for a 4x4 and deal with its shortcomings as a street car if you're rarely going to use it for 4x4 driving?

The truth is that we don't need 4x4 for 99% of the miles we drive. We very seldom drive through snow (it doesn't snow where we live), and almost everywhere we go has paved roads. Though the tall suspension, tough shocks, and thick tires on our Nissan Xterra SUV prove disappointingly necessary on crumbling highways we see more and more often.

With Fresno Dome I'm glad we took the 4x4. Even though I didn't actually engage 4x4 mode, the tall suspension, tough shocks, and thick tires made quick work of the forest road. I might have been able to nurse our convertible through. I've driven ordinary sedans to places that would surprise most people. But here I was thankful for the peace of mind that I was driving a vehicle that was barely even being tested by the terrain instead of one at risk of damage.



Ironically there was a big mud puddle in the road right before we got to the trailhead that I didn't record video of. It was deep, I could tell it was deep, and I wouldn't risk driving any ordinary street car through it. If we'd gotten that far in our convertible I would've parked 1/4 mile back from the trailhead and we'd walk through the mud. As it is, I'm glad I could drive through it. In fact I even revved the engine to splash the mud. Gotta wear it with pride on our 4x4 so people know it's not just a suburban grocery-getter.

Keep reading: Hiking Fresno Dome

Alaska Travelog #22
Outside Seward - Tue, 18 Jun 2024, 2:30pm

On our drive out of Kenai Fjords National Park after hiking there today we took a slight side trip to visit the Resurrection River. The park road runs along the glacial outwash stream until where the state highway crosses it a bit above the head of Resurrection Bay. In a few places the embankments along the side of the flood plain are low enough that vehicle trails have been made through them. We drove out on the rocky wash.



In the photo above we're actually a fair distance, as far as 4x4 situations in riverbeds go, from the bank. Out here the surface is fairly flat, and the rocks are fairly uniform in size and rounded smooth from the action of the glacier that's now retreated several miles upstream. Yes, this is the outflow from Exit glacier which we visited earlier today and also yesterday (different hikes each day).

After we got back on the road we stopped another mile or two downstream when we saw a large nest high up in a tall tree— with a bald eagle in it!



Bald eagles are native to this habitat. They tolerate the cold weather well, and there's abundant fishing nearby. We see them occasionally near our home (where there's not cold weather) though only a few sightings a year. Out here in Alaska you can see bald eagles a few times a day.

Australia Travelog #42
Blackheath, NSW - Sat, 30 Dec 2023, 7:30pm

When we finished up our (second) hike at Katoomba Falls this afternoon it was only 5:30pm. "Only" 5:30... and we'd already been out all day! But I have a saying, "As long there is light, as long there is water, as long I have energy, I walk." Though that may have been eclipsed this week by There is no back, only forward. 😂 Either way, I still had a bit of spring in my step. It was too early to call it a day.

Govett's Leap, Again

We drove west to the town of Blackheath and then out to Govett's Leap. Yes, this is the second time we've been there; we visited Govett's leap yesterday, too! But yesterday my ankle was really achy and today it is... only mostly achy. We were ready to try a hike a mile or so around the rim to see another waterfalls!

Alas as we got about 1/4 mile out the sky rapidly darkened and scattered drops of rain began to fall. Would we want to continue into worsening weather? As we were discussing that question at another overlook we queried a pair of hikers who were returning from farther out. One of the trails is closed, they warned us, and to get a good view of anything you have to walk about 4 miles roundtrip. That made our decision for us: we returned to the trailhead and the car.

Victoria Falls Goose Bin Chicken Chase

I was still not ready to call it a day, though. There was one more hike I'd spotted on our maps out in this direction, Victoria Falls. And there was a 4x4 road leading straight to it.



The road out to Victoria Falls felt very remote. ...Not because it was a rough road; it was actually pretty mild as far as 4x4 roads go. It was compacted dirt and well graded. Though as we'd purchased all the optional insurances on our rental car I thought about hooning it through just to see what would happen. I chose against hoonery because it was so deserted out here. If we wrecked we might have to wait hours for help, regardless of insurance.

When we got to the trailhead we found that the map calling it "Victoria Falls Lookout" was a cruel joke. A sign at the "lookout" at the end of the road explained that there was no vista there... and that even to glimpse Victoria Falls would require a strenuous hike of a few hours. We noped out of that and drove back across the 4x4 bunny trail to the Great Western Highway.

Dinner at the "OK, Boomer" Chippy

It was nearing 7pm as we got back to civilization, aka a paved road with painted lane markings on it. It was time for dinner. Back in Blackheath, a few miles back toward our hotel, we'd spotted a few restaurants that looked worth trying... including a fast-casual fish-and-chips shop right alongside the main road.



Hawk's not a fan of fish at all, but this big sign of theirs that promised burgers and chicken meant that both of us were sure to find something we like.

It turns out "BBQ Chicken" actually meant fried chicken nuggets with barbecue sauce... but that was perfect because that's actually one of Hawk's favorite fast-food meals. I was ready to order a burger but then spotted "Chicken parma" near the end of the menu. I asked what kind of sandwich that was, figuring it was almost certainly a chicken parmigiana sandwich... and it was. But with mayonnaise. Ugh. Who puts mayo on a parm sandwich?!

I ordered my sandwich hold-the-mayo, and the cashier was incredulous. "You really want it with no mayonnaise?" he asked, as if he'd never met a person who thinks mayonnaise is disgusting and is a cultural affront on an Italian-style sandwich. "Correct," I told him. "Do you still want the tomato sauce, then?" he asked, still incredulous. Fuck him and his culturally ignorant, mayonnaise eating ways. At least the kitchen staff prepared it correctly. I mean, not ruining it by slathering mayo on it is easy. The chicken tasted freshly fried, so overall the sandwich was great.

Now it's time to head back to the hotel for the evening.

In my previous blog I described how our plans came together at the last minute (well, 36 hours ahead of actually getting there) to hike Rancheria Falls. It would be a lot of driving just to hike one short hike. Thus I looked for ways to make the trip a two-fer. There was another waterfalls hike nearby, on the first bit of the Dinkey Lakes Loop. It was in just the right place to be a two-fer. The only problem? AllTrails.com says it is CLOSED.

I'm glad I read for more details because it's not actually the trail that's closed, it's the dirt road getting there. When I see that a road is closed, and I'm planning to go there in my 4x4 already, I think....



Seriously, I've driven around "ROAD CLOSED" signs several times in my 4x4. I've even driven around a "BRIDGE OUT AHEAD" sign once. And yes, that time I drove down the embankment, through the water, and back up the other side!

But this trek didn't require anything like that. There are other roads to get there. There's a whole network of dirt 4x4 roads in the area. A helpful post on the website clued me in to where to start looking, and I mapped it out.



We drove back west about 10 miles from the turnoff for Rancheria Falls, to the top of the Tamarack Ridge. From there a well-marked trailhead sat on the side of the road, beyond a large parking lot full of pick-up trucks with empty trailers. The area is popular with people driving XUVs. (XUVs are extreme ATVs. If you're not sure what that means, imagine a golf cart with 4 wheel drive that goes stupid, dangerously fast.)

The paved road ended just beyond the sign in the photo above. From there it was dirt roads the next 9 miles. The first 8 miles were passable by a regular street vehicle, but the last mile— after we joined with the the road that was closed lower down the mountain— definitely required high clearance. I'm pretty sure we hiked Dinkey Lakes once before, umpteen or more years ago, but I don't remember the last mile of road being that rough.



We rolled up to the Dinkey Lakes trailhead at 1pm. The Dinkey Lakes Loop is an amazing 7 mile trail in the high Sierra. From here at the trail signpost it looks... well, dinky. I'm glad I've been here before so as not to feel rooked after the tough drive.

Our plan wasn't to hike the whole 7 mile loop but only to visit a waterfalls near the start and then maybe hike up to the first lake and back. BTW, as much as hiking at Rancheria Falls was tough because of the elevation, here it's even higher, 8,600' (2.6 km) at the trailhead.

Update: keep reading as we visit... one of... the Dinkey Creek Falls.

This past Saturday morning we headed up to Bassi Falls up in the Sierra Nevada. The drive was pleasantly short at about 60 miles. We knocked out the majority of the driving from home with our “Friday Night Halfway” to Folsom.

While Bassi Falls was the main event for the day, getting there was part of the fun. The journey is part of the adventure. This journey included three fun things: US 50, a waterfall (yes, a waterfall on the way to see a waterfall!), and 4x4 driving.

US 50: Far from the Loneliest Road

Most of our driving Saturday morning was on US 50. It's dubbed "The Loneliest Road" for its path through the middle of nowhere in the Great Basin desert of Nevada. Having driven across Nevada four times now I can attest that it's a very lonely road. Here in California, though, it's anything but lonely. Crowded is more like it.

Our journey on US 50 actually began Friday evening, when we exited from eastbound Interstate 80 onto US 50 in West Sacramento. That's where US 50 begins— or ends, depending on which end you're starting from. That other end, by the way, is Ocean City, Maryland, a whopping 3,073 miles away. (Interesting note: this isn't even the longest road in the US. Four others are longer!)

Thankfully traffic on US 50 Saturday morning wasn't too bad. By leaving Folsom before 9am we managed to get out ahead of the road-clogging people driving motor homes and towing boats over the mountain pass to Lake Tahoe. It helped, too, that almost all of the route up to our turnoff at Icehouse Road has at least 2 lanes in each direction— so there's no getting stuck single file behind a slow moving vehicle.

A Waterfall on the Way to a Waterfall!

While getting stuck behind a slow moving vehicle on mountain roads is no fun, there are things you'll miss if you go too fast. One of those things is Bridalveil Falls. It's tucked in a blind corner on the side of the road, and the one small road sign announcing it's ahead doesn't give you enough warning to slow down and be prepared to pull off. I imagine most people zoom past it least twice, saying "Wow! What was that waterfall?" before making a plan to stop and visit it.

This trip, like our last one 6 weeks ago, I drove at a gentle pace through this stretch of the mountain pass. I watched for that small brown sign. As soon as I saw it I eased off the throttle and began signalling a turn so everyone trying to rush up the mountain could go around me instead of impatiently riding my tail.

When we pulled off we had the spot to ourselves for a while. Indeed, the road was pretty busy, but almost everyone was passing by these falls, seeing them too late to stop. I took advantage of the quiet to set up my tripod to take some timed exposures and a picture with the two of us in it. It didn't turn out so well... We were squinting in the bright morning sun, so I'm not including it here. But it was still closer to a keeper than almost any picture I get when I hand my camera to a rando to take a picture of us, which is why I carry the tripod and take the time to set it up when reasonable.

I note the water flow is much lower here than six weeks earlier.

Back on the road it wasn't much further until we reached our turnoff at Icehouse Road. From there we ascend steeply into the Sierra Nevada, heading toward the Crystal Basin.

A Bit of 4x4 Driving

Icehouse Road is paved all the way and in good shape, even if it is steep and winding in parts. From Icehouse we turn onto a dirt road for the last 2 miles to the Bassi Falls upper trailhead. Yes, upper trailhead. There are actually at least 3 trailheads it's reasonable to hike Bassi Falls from. We usually do the upper trailhead because it's the closest to the falls, leaving us more time and energy to spend at the falls. The upper trailhead isn't for everybody, though. You need a 4x4 to get there.



The dirt road is actually pretty easy for the first 1.8 miles or so. Then there's a hill climb that's slightly rough. That filters out the passenger cars. Then right near the end there's a tougher hill climb, with "tank trap" ruts. The video above shows us going over it.

You'll see I actually had to try it twice— the first time with 4-hi and choosing a tougher line I got stuck. I backed up, engaged 4-lo and my rear locker, and walked it.

This obstacle was tougher this Saturday than 6 weeks earlier. It looks like vehicle traffic in the intervening time with dry weather has dug the ruts deeper. But there's a plus to the road getting tougher: fewer people make it to the trailhead! We had the trailhead all to ourselves on Saturday morning.