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Wild Rivers Route - Cohutta

Aug 7
Fri 8:30 AM
Location
This location is shown only to members
Estimated attendance
 9  people attended.
5.00 5.008

Who organized?
Lou

3 days, 22 miles, 55 river crossings, bugs and humidity - Should be fun!!! Remote Cohutta area hiking on Conasauga and Jacks River trails with steep climbs in between. Wear your river shoes...and bring hiking poles!
This is a Johnny Molloy Route from his new book. Start at Conasauga River Trail head east to Hickory Creek trail north to Rice Camp to Jacks River and west to end at Steel bridge. This is a short shuttle route.
Alternate route is Conasauga to Panther Creek to East Cowpen to Hickory Ridge to Jacks or stay on East Cowpen to Rice Camp too Jacks. This adds some mileage and at least one good hill for John and Jr. Not sure about campsites yet. I'm open to suggestions. The goal is to stay wet, maximize river crossings, embrace humidity, stay bug invested, catch fish and not get snake bitten or run into any bears...

Photos of this Meetup

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Talk about this Meetup

  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 29, 2009 8:31 PM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    video of this trip (day one): http://www.youtube.com/watc...
  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 11, 2009 8:15 AM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    Masha: It only allows to upload 50 photos at a time. Just do it again for next set of 50 pictures.
  • Maria Vedenyapina
    Posted Aug 10, 2009 11:00 PM
    Maria Vedenyapina
    Mushroom Mermaid
    Please see my pics at http://masha.zenfolio.com/p... However I planned to post more of my pictures here, since here it is for you, and on my site it is mostly for my friends and family who haven't met you. I don't understand how this system works! I uploaded 50 pics and it stopped working, even though I tried again from the very beginning. Dima, can you explain?
  • Maria Vedenyapina
    Posted Aug 10, 2009 10:54 PM
    Maria Vedenyapina
    Mushroom Mermaid
    Karen, don't worry, the crayfish survived! As did the salamander.
  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 10, 2009 6:13 PM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    No, we let it go! :)
  • RainFly
    Posted Aug 10, 2009 9:58 AM
    RainFly
    Assistant Organizer
    What I want to know is did you eat the crawfish?
  • Pre-Meetup comments below
  • Lou
    Posted Aug 7, 2009 7:27 AM
    Lou
    Fish Dog
    John: We should be at trail head NLT 10:30. I want to go high route. If we don't see you wait at Bray Field.
  • Lou
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 10:32 PM
    Lou
    Fish Dog
    Be at Starbucks at 8:30 sharp. My number is [masked].
  • John
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 8:10 PM
    John
    Assistant Organizer
    The "high ridge route" is only without a water source for 8 miles. As a bonus you get to see two very pretty water falls.
  • John
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 7:49 PM
    John
    Assistant Organizer
    I am more than willing to lead a second group but .... I am not so willing to do the route, up the Conasagua. I was going to meet you all at the trail head tomorrow anyway so maybe if some people want to start earlier they could meet me there say 10. This group could be the panther creek falls/ Jacks falls route. We could wait for you all at Bray field for lunch and a swim. Just a thought
  • David
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 6:38 PM
    David
    Don Quixote
    thx Dmitry . . . I'll look for you around ~8:30/40 am tomorrow: do you know how to get to my place?
  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 4:38 PM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    David: I think I can catch you on my way from Lawrenceville. Maria is riding with me as well. My car works fine for two passengers and 3 backpacks.
  • David
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 4:11 PM
    David
    Don Quixote
    Refugee from the Phillip trip here . . . Anybody in the speghetti junction area (or east or south of it) want to stop off @ Shallowford @ I85 and give me a ride tomorrow morning to NW Starbucks?
  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 1:52 PM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    Phillip bailed on his trip to Cohutta, so we might get some folks from their group joining us tomorrow. As those guys were prepared for much easier trip (14 miles in 3 days) the ridge trail might be too much for them. We can split in two groups: one taking a lower route, and another doing the higher elevation route. We'll figure it out tomorrow at Starbucks at 8:30 AM.
  • Wild Bill
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 9:59 AM
    Wild Bill
    As usual, I'll have my airline luggage scale in my truck for those who wish to weigh their packs before starting the hike. Bill
  • RainFly
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 8:31 AM
    RainFly
    Assistant Organizer
    Thanks Lucinda, may try the hammock after I see how you all have your's set up. Thanks for the quick response.
  • Lucinda
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 7:44 AM
    Lucinda
    Karen, there will be flat spots for tents. As for hammocks...some people just use them all the time instead of tents. Hammocks are cooler than tents in the summer, so that's why I like to use it in the summer. Plus it's something different, and you do have more site options with a hammock. As for waste...just dig a six inch hole in the ground, poop, fill it in. (Can use a rock or your heel to dig. Some people bring a trowel thing, but it's not necessary).
  • RainFly
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 7:33 AM
    RainFly
    Assistant Organizer
    Folks, all this talk about hammocks, does this mean there will be no flat ground for sleeping? Just checking. Also, all you rugged warrors, how do you dispose of your bodily wastes? (I like to plan ahead too) This is alittle embarrasing, but needed info please. Thanks
  • Lou
    Posted Aug 6, 2009 6:45 AM
    Lou
    Fish Dog
    Weather looks great! Hot and humid but very little chance of rain! Start hydrating now and drink water Friday morning and on the ride up. Bring spare shorts for wading/swimming/cooling off. We have route options. Did everyone pull a copy of route? Plan to meet at 8:45 at Starbucks on E. Piedmont/Barret Pkwy near I575 near AT&T Store and Barns and Noble. My cell is [masked].
  • Dmitry
    Posted Aug 5, 2009 6:47 PM
    Dmitry
    Brer Mountain Rabbit
    Seems like were are going to be blessed with the hottest weekend for this summer!
of 4

Who attended?

  • 9 attendees
    • “ Beautiful scenery but a real tough hike for me. It stretched my margins indeed. The river crossings were a real challange. The company was great and we all got back safely. I would not recommend this route for newbies to backpacking. ”
    • “ This is finest group of people I have met in one place in a long time. What can I say-- sureal, one river crossing after another. Babbling brooks, swallow-tail butterflys, hummingbirds, smooth mountain stone, cool breeze, numerous swimming holes, ending with a campfire, and good conversation, one word, unbelieveable! ”
    • “ I had thoughts that it was going to be hot, humid, and uncomfortable. Boy, I was wrong! The crystal clear river kept us cool with crossings, swimming, and breezes. Some new members joined us: Karen and Maria. Some old favorites: Wild Bill, David, Dmitry, and Kenneth. John was the life of party because he was cooking pizzas. I didn't get any because I was sitting too far away from the fire, it was hot. I went to bed feeling hot and sweaty, but woke up in the middle of the night kind of cold and had to put on my down vest. Who knew in the middle of summer! I had to go back on Saturday and did the same trail back. Karen went with me because she had an injury. We saw either an eagle or very big hawk, a huge number of Butterflies and a Humming Bird flying around some very beautiful red flowers. Karen said"This is paradise", I agree! I can't wait to share this river trail with my daughter when she gets old enough. Thanks to Lou for putting this trip together. I had a great time. ”
    • “ This was a good hike for a hot weekend. Lou catching lots of fish has inspired me to start bringing a fishing rod. I need to hike some more with Masha so I can learn more about mushrooms. ”
    • “ Great fun. Cool People. ”
    • “ I was so glad to meet this wonderful group! And I really hope to make it again and again! The nature of North Georgia is great, but only you guys have made it so exciting! And I think it was a very smart idea to go for all those river crossings in the hot weather! It was a challenge, but it helped us to stay cool. ”
    • “ Yet another wonderful trip on our list - kudos to Fish Dog for putting this one together! I should come up with a trip report for this one sometime soon. Stay tuned and check out our message board! ”
    • Lou