2. Hiking Adventures

MFI (Missing From the Internet)

Hikes to three off trail waterfalls in Rabun County, Georgia. Emory Branch and upper Sarahs Creek
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This is the third waterfall. First visited on the fourth anniversary of my heart surgery, I honor my surgeon by naming this 50+ footer "Dr Groh". It is located at the 2400 foot level on Sarahs Creek in Rabun County. Coordinates are 34.94274, -83.26715
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This is the third waterfall. First visited on the fourth anniversary of my heart surgery, I honor my surgeon by naming this 50+ footer "Dr Groh". It is located at the 2400 foot level on Sarahs Creek in Rabun County. Coordinates are 34.94274, -83.26715

  • MFI; Missing From the Internet ( Trying to avoid "undocumented", "discovered", "found" ....; etc). Here are three waterfalls in areas I am exploring. This first waterfall is located at the 2600 foot level of Emory Branch in Rabun County. Coordinates are 34.99255, -83.26188
  • From Warwoman Road , take Hale Ridge Road (FR 7) 6.7 miles to Overflow Road (FR 86). Turn left and go 0.65 miles to FR 696 on the right. Turn right on FR 696 and drive 2.0 miles and park where Emory Branch crosses the road. Bushwhack up the River Right side of the creek. Less than 200 yards, but extremely thick rhododendron !
  • A little scarred with downfalls, this is a pristine 25 footer. There is an additional five feet (below) that I didn't include in the pictures.
  • The dotted line marked "4 WD" is FR 696 and is driveable with normal clearance vehicles. However, I ALWAYS recommend high clearance, 4 WD vehicles on Forest Service Roads.
  • Next, this waterfall is located at 2600 feet on Sarahs Creek in Rabun County. Coordinates are 34.9472, -83.27567
  • From Warwoman Road, take Sarahs Creek Road (FR 156) . Pass the Lower Campground at 1.9 miles. At 2.1 miles, FR 155 takes off to the left. Bear right and, at 2.6 miles, pass the kiosk at the Upper Campground . Continue straight, little bit left. The road parallels a tributary, passes some campsites, crosses the tributary, makes a right hand switchback and begins to climb. Pass FR 156C and, at 3.3 miles, just before the ford, arrive at a good parking spot on the left. Experienced off-roaders can continue but I encourage hikers to park here.
  • Cross the ford.
  • Pic of Sarahs Creek above the ford.
  • The road on the other side of the ford.
  • The next ford.
  • Follow the road. Be prepared for a managed forest fire in the future (The Forest Service calls them "Prescribed Burn"). I always check the Forest Service's website for alerts before heading out to explore <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices">https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices</a>
  • The third ford.
  • Many times, you will hear the sounds of falling water as the road you are hiking parallels Sarahs Creek; sometimes at creek level but mostly, above. Out of sight but not out of sound! Less than 45 minutes into the hike, (about 1.4 miles) the road swings out of a cove and close to the creek. This waterfall is easily heard and, with a little rooting around, can be glimpsed from the road. Getting to the bottom for photos requires some scrambling. I walked back down the road a bit before going down over the bank and working my way up to the waterfall.
  • At full flow, this would be awesome!
  • The rocks are absolutely beautiful.
  • Although I have referred to this waterfall as "Little Thunder", I haven't given it an "official" name. Mark Oleg suggested "Mossy Chasm" or "Mossy Crevice".
  • This is the third waterfall. First visited on the fourth anniversary of my heart surgery, I honor my surgeon by naming this 50+ footer "Dr Groh". It is located at the 2400 foot level on Sarahs Creek in Rabun County. Coordinates are 34.94274, -83.26715
  • Park in the same place as you did for the previous waterfall. Cross the second ford and look to the left. There is a camping spot with a fire ring.
  • Walk into the camping area and go right. Climb the bank and pick up an overgrown logging road. The logging road parallels the creek albeit, "high" above. Although the logging road is overgrown, my trademark cuttings make it an easy hike.
  • The road "ends" at the waterfall. Still a hundred feet above the stream bed, it is a near-vertical scramble to the bottom. I used ropes to assist in the return climb.

  • mtnimages

    on October 18, 2018

    Thank you, Bruno.

  • Bruno Suignard

    on October 18, 2018

    very nice!!

  • mtnimages

    on October 17, 2018

    And there is a 20 X45 foot cascade behind the camera.

  • nc-hiker

    on October 17, 2018

    50' .... a huge one!!

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