Cohutta 2021

I started out with grand ideas. Starting at Horseshoe Bend TH I planned two small loops that encompassed first Rough Ridge – (Old) Sugar Cove – Jacks River, then Hickory Ridge – East Cow Pen – Rice Camp. Returning to the Horseshoe Bend TH. I forgot I was old, slow, and river crossings are time consuming.
My youngest son, Liam (22 yr. old gazelle), made the trip with me. We arrived at the TH around noon and set out at a good pace. After multiple crossings of the Jacks and a couple of unintentional excursions off trail, it was clear that we would not reach our planned destination on Rough Creek before nightfall. We pitched camp on Horseshoe Bend west of Rice Camp Branch. Falling short of our destination goals, our plans changed.
Morning brought overcast skies and threats of rain. We dropped our packs at the Rice Camp Trail junction and hiked up to the falls. Jacks River Falls never disappoints. After lounging at the falls we hustled back to our gear and struck out on the Rice Camp Trail. We passed through the Rice Camp TH and continued south on Hickory Creek Trail. After a total of eleven miles, we camped on the Thomas North Fork.
Anticipation was high as the sun rose. The Conasauga River and Panther Creek Falls lay before us. We reached the mouth of Panther Creek after crossing Conasauga twice without event. The sight of Panther Creek Falls is a quite agreeable halfway point of the trail. Eighteen hundred feet of elevation across three miles makes most of my body parts burn. Settled into a very nice dry campsite at the junction with East Cow Pen Trail.
While driving in the first day, a bear ran across our way shortly before reaching the trailhead. We felt privileged to see it. What we didn’t realize was that we would see four more on our last day. Two pair, a sow and cub each, graced our trailside as we hiked north on East Cow Pen. Once we reached Rice Camp TH we road walked back to Horseshoe Bend TH. As we drove away, we reveled in the fact that we saw more bears than people on this adventure.