Well, it is the Yuletide, and what better way to celebrate a part of it Thursday with a hike to Pete's Branch Falls for Festivus.
This hike wasn't new as this was my fifth time starting from Horse Creek Recreation Area and then heading into the Cherokee National Forest. My most recent trip was Halloween of 2020, but I went past the side trail to the falls this past November. So, I am not going to do a detailed description of this 3.8-mile hike, see this blog for that.
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| Nov. 2017 (TL), April, 2019 (ML), Nov. 2017 (BL) & Halloween '20 (R) |
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| My November hike |
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| Starting the day at the Horse Creek Trailhead |
On this day the water flow was good which was a plus for the falls but made rock-hopping tricky. I also had to cut limbs off a blowdown so I could get past. While it was chilly on Thursday the lack of consistent cold left the falls free of ice. Two other things, first the overlook pier near the trailhead was closed. Hopefully, it will be repaired in the near future. Second, Santa Russ wasn't happy having to haul out trash. This is my "Airing of Grievances"...oh, I did inform the Krampus.
But the hike to Pete's Branch Falls wasn't all the hiking I did on this day. I decided to do the one path at the recreation area I haven't done, the Horse Creek Recreation Trail. It starts at the picnic area near the trailhead parking and weaves almost a half-mile (one-way) including skirting the campground, crossing three footbridges (including a covered one) to a dam and swimming hole. The trail is relatively flat and mostly paved. It was a nice finish to a day of hiking that Pete and the rest of us loved...
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