The weekend after we adopted our sweet black lab, Hampton, we decided to spend Easter in the best church out there - the great outdoors.
Just a two hour drive from downtown Atlanta, we got to the trailhead around 9pm. Once off the paved road, we took a nice climb with switchbacks on a rough road for about 4 miles to reach the trailhead. 4 wheel drive is definitely required for this portion. A small car with 4 wheel drive would likely have clearance issues. Truck or SUV is your best bet.
Hampton was all ready to hike in with his new dog pack, stuffed with his food, water, treats and toys for the weekend. At 75lbs, his supplies for the weekend ad an extra 15lbs to our pack and he's more than able to carry his share.
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| Hampton and his new pack! |
Hiking in with headlamps, we made sure to have bear mace handy and talked loudly. After calling the ranger station earlier that week, we knew that there had been some bear sightings in the general area and we weren't going to take any chances. Scraping our feet in the dead leaves on the ground and shouting the occasional, "Hey! Hey bear! Hey-o!" ensured that we wouldn't walk up and surprise a bear.
It was a short walk, about 7 minutes in the dark or 1/4 mile, until we hit the Toccoa Swinging Bridge. It was hard to really get a good scope of things in the dark, so we crossed the river, headed down the bank to the left and scored a beautiful level campsite right along the river. We set up camp on a cushy bed of pine needles and found a great tree further up the river to hang our bear bag.
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| Victor and Hampton enjoying camp in the morning. |
Waking up shortly after sunrise, we could finally see the bridge in all its glory. 270 feet long, it's the longest swinging bridge east of the Mississippi River. The Swinging Bridge over the Toccoa River is part of both the Benton
MacKaye Trail and the Duncan Ridge National Recreation Trail and is located in Fannin
County, GA.
Victor took the opportunity to get some fly fishing in before we decided to take a look around.
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| Can't I go fishing too? |
We did short day hikes up and down the river for fishing spots and took in the bridge during the day. The bridge is stunning and it's amazing just to see how it's supported.
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| Amanda and Hampton on the bridge. |
After exploring, we came back to camp for lunch and a quick nap. We were rudely awakened by a few groups of people that had come in for a day hike to check out the bridge and had set up their family chat time less than 4 feet away from our tent, even though there were hundreds of feet of empty space behind us. We quickly broke camp and hiked further up into the trail to get some personal space and away from screaming children.
Our second campsite was also right on the river and a great spot for fishing. Even though we matched the hatch perfectly, we didn't get one fish on the line.
Upriver, a group of guys were fishing with spinner rods and caught a few small fish. They asked us what we were using and laughed when we said we were fly fishing. "You should use Cheetoes!" they told us, and it was our turn to laugh. "No, really. Use Cheetoes." Apparently, fishing guides upriver were chucking junk food into the river, getting fish hooked on junk, to ensure that their fishing trips always ended up with catches and the non-guided trips came home empty-handed.
Enjoy the scenery and have fun fishing, but don't expect to catch much, unless you're using Cheetoes.
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| Second Campsite |
It was really wet that weekend and we had a rough time getting a campfire going. With the tree cover most of the ground stayed wet, even after a day of sunshine. If it's been raining recently, be prepared to have an issue with fire, or no fire at all.
After enjoying our Easter Sunday in the sun and among the stunning forests of North Georgia, we headed back to the truck. It wasn't until we were all the way back in the parking lot that Victor realized he left his multi tool back on one of the rocks where he was fishing. He grabbed the bear mace and headed back down to the river to search for his brand new $80 tool. Across the river from where he said he would be, the tool was sitting out in the middle of the river on a large boulder. He jumped out to grab it, turned around and caught sight of a 300 pound black bear less than 150 feet away. Victor immediately grabbed his hiking pole, threw it up above his head and yelled out, "YARRRRRRR," in his loudest, most pirate-y voice. Like racoons, black bears are often scared away. This bear was not amused and stood his ground. Again, Victor summoned his inner Cpt. Jack Sparrow and let out another loud, "YARRRRR" and the bear scampered off into the woods.
On our way home, we attempted to stop in downtown Blue Ridge to check out the cute shops and grab some lunch. Unfortunately it was Easter Sunday and everything in town was closed, save a gas station with (ironically) Cheetoes and sodas.
For the Toccoa River Swinging Bridge and Benton MacKaye Trail, remember:
1. Drive a large 4 Wheel Drive vehicle to the trailhead. A low-clearance 4 wheel drive will not do.
2. Don't camp right by the bridge unless you plan on breaking camp early.
3. Call the Ranger Station (Toccoa Ranger District 706-632-3031) to ask about bear problems and any special regulations.
4. Fish with Cheetoes if you're dead set on catching something.
5. Bring bear mace and make noise when moving quickly, through heavily wooded areas or near loud water. You don't want to surprise a bear.
Have fun and let us know in the comments below how your trip goes!!
