Georgia Natural Wonder #103 - Horsetrough Falls - Mark Trail Wilderness. 913

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Georgia Natural Wonder #103 - Horsetrough Falls -  Mark Trail Wilderness

Horsetrough Mountain, with a summit elevation of 4,045 feet, is located in Union and White counties in northeastern Georgia, USA. It is also within the boundaries of the Chattahoochee National Forest and is part of the Mark Trail Wilderness. The Eastern Continental Divide follows the main ridge line that makes up the mountain, crossing the peak. Water to the south and east of the mountain flows to the Atlantic Ocean, while water to the north and west of the mountain flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Streams from Horsetrough Mountain form some of the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, and the West Fork Little River. The Appalachian Trail follows the main ridge line of the mountain but does not cross the summit. Horsetrough Falls is located on the southern side of the mountain.


Horsetrough Mountain viewed from Brasstown Bald.

The namesake river of Chattahoochee National Forest, Chattahoochee River, is the largest river in Georgia. Its headwaters are north of Helen in the Mark Trail Wilderness. The River forms within a mile of the Horsetrough Falls, about 300 feet below the aptly named Chattahoochee Gap on Coon's Den Ridge. The water that passes over these falls joins the Chattahoochee, beginning a nearly 500-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico. You can easily rock hop across it at this point, but that's certainly going to be impossible down near Tallahassee or in Atlanta. In this remote area near the start of the Chattahoochee River lie two waterfalls, easily-reached yet barely-known. Do this short leg stretcher of a hike to be treated to some of the finest waterfalls in northeast Georgia. This hike occurred on Saturday, April 18, 2015. My plan was to hike the short trail out and back to Horsetrough Falls, and along the way, take the short side trail to Chute Falls.


Humble beginnings of Chattahoochee River. Chattahoochee (chatta = "rock," hoochee = "colored" or "painted," the combined word means "rock of many colors") is the Creek Indian name for the river. The Cherokee, who controlled the area from the late 1400's called the river Chota.

Directions from Helen, GA: Follow GA State Route 75 North for approximately 8.7 miles, before reaching Chattahoochee River Road (Forest Service Road 14). There should be a sign for Chattahoochee Wildlife Management Area. If you have reached the Uncoi Gap Appalachian Trailhead and crossing, you have gone too far. Turn left onto Chattahoochee River Road, and follow it for 4.6 miles, before reaching the turn-off for Upper Chattahoochee River Campground. Along the way, there will be several roadside (or nearly so) waterfalls that are worth seeing. Turn right into the campground, and continue to the back of the campground until you reach the parking area. If the campground is closed, you can park at the small parking area before the bridge and entrance to the campground. Now you can come up FS 14 from Cool River Tubing but the dirt road from there to Unicoi gap is 12 miles. Meaning you have to go 7 miles on the dirt road instead of just 4.6.


Mark Trail Wilderness sign FS 14 Unicoi Gap.

The drive down to the campground and falls from the main road is gorgeous pretty much year round. About half way down there are a few huge clearings under the trees on the left. If you like more primitive camping, there are some great spots here right along the creek and you can avoid the crowds down at the campground.



I was not familiar with the area, and thought that the trailhead is the parking at the campground entrance. Turns out, the official parking is at the back of the campground, but the parking I used is the only option in winter. This added a quarter-mile each way for my hike, and I'll include it in the mileages. Here, a bridge crosses Hanson Creek. Then, I followed the road to its end. There was a sign for Horsetrough Falls along the way. At 0.25 miles, reach the real start of the trail. There is a trailhead kiosk here. From the sign in the furthest campground parking lot the trail curves left,



At 0.4 miles, reach an unmarked side path on the right. A footbridge lies straight ahead. This is in fact the first bridge, of any type, to cross the Chattahoochee River. The water coming down from the creek on the right and under the footbridge is actually the very first parts of the Chattahoochee River that you can see without taking the Appalachian Trail or bushwhacking through the woods.



Horsetrough Falls is just past the bridge, but I wanted to leave the main show for the end - and meanwhile, I took the side path, which leads to Chute Falls. This side path closely follows the Upper Chattahoochee River. It is not an official trail, so there are a couple blowdowns and some overgrowth, but it'll get you to the falls without any problems. Reach Chute Falls at 0.65 miles, where the path ends at the creek at a small rock outcrop. The falls is on the right.



This is a very beautiful falls. The creek makes a narrow, powerful drop through a rock chute just a few feet wide and then makes several more small drops in cascades.



The waterfall is similar to Raven Cliff Falls, but much smaller and yet more beautiful at the same time.



From here, retrace your steps to reach the main trail at 0.9 miles. Turn right, across the footbridge. Easily climbing through a diverse hardwood forest the trail is completely shaded, normally running 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the campground. The wide, short trail is great for families with young children, but is probably not one for strollers. The trail follows Horsetrough Creek, which runs to the left of the trail. This is the common name for the creek, which does not have a name on the topo maps. You shortly reach Horsetrough Falls observation area at 1 mile. Here you get a great panorama of Horsetrough Branch and the magnificent waterfall on it.



Like so many north Georgia waterfalls, Horsetrough Falls drops in a series of free-falls and cascades, combining three separate ledges to create the 70 - foot tall waterfall. Since this is a high mountain waterfall, waterflow will be highest 2-3 days after a rain. Photographers will want to get their at mid-to-late morning, when the sun is hitting the falls, but bring a tripod, just in case.



While this falls may be somewhat low-flow, particularly during drier conditions, it is one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have seen and has made it into the top 5 best waterfalls I've seen.



TRD photos of Horsetrough Falls years ago.


Frowning son ruined good picture.

The creek cascades in many different branches down the rock face for 70 feet.



From the observation area, take a slim path that goes by the deck.It branches shortly - take the left branch to the creek. From here, it is possible to rock hop along the creek to the base of the falls in all but extremely wet conditions. The view is equally impressive from the base of the falls.



From this point, retrace your steps back to the start of the hike, reaching it at 1.5 miles. To summarize, this hike is a great leg stretcher after work or an add-on, if you're in the area. If you are coming via the directions listed above, then make sure to look for the three roadside waterfalls on the way to the Horsetrough Falls trailhead.



The hike to the falls is from the 34-site Upper Chattahoochee Campground, which is open from March to December. We have never camped down in the actual campground – always preferring to stay at the primitive spots further up the road. But they have restrooms down here (no showers; bring your own toilet paper) and 34 camp sites. Most of them have concrete pads, picnic tables, and fire pits. We have never been in peak summer, but in the Fall and Winter, there are usually a dozen other campers but it is never overly crowded.



Turn left on the road that runs past the campground as you exit to follow the river for the next seven miles down to the city of Helen, Georgia.According to the editors of About North Georgia, the Chattahoochee River Road (FS 14) is one of the Great Autumn Drives in the state.



This is another great waterfall hike that is centrally located to Helen. While Dukes Creek Falls and Raven Cliff Falls back to the west of Helen tend to be the more popular spots, Horse Trough Falls is just as close and half as crowded. Although the trail is usually only open from March to December.Being that it’s such a short and flat walk from the parking lot and has a viewing deck, it is the best all ages waterfall in North Georgia in our opinion. Our favorite spot at Horse Trough Falls is the area off to the right (as you walk up). There is a nice clearing besides the Chattahoochee (waterfall side) that is perfect for hammocking or a picnic blanket. The temperature stays cool here year round and even in the summer, feels great. If you walk far enough in to be away from the other waterfall watchers and bring a book and something to drink, you’ll be set for hours.

Mark Trail Wilderness

Horsetrough Falls is in the Mark Trail Wilderness, an expansive area containing most of the Upper Chattahoochee River. Among the larger wildlife that flourishes here are bear, wild turkey, and deer. The Mark Trail Wilderness was designated in 1991 and currently consists of 16,400 acres. It is named in honor of Mark Trail, a daily newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. The Wilderness is located within the borders of the Chattahoochee National Forest in White, Towns, and Union counties, Georgia. The Wilderness is managed by the United States Forest Service and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.


Ed Dodd

The highest elevation in the Mark Trail Wilderness is the 4,045-foot peak of Horsetrough Mountain. Fourteen miles of the Appalachian Trail cross the Wilderness. The Wilderness features other peaks and Horsetrough Falls on the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. The Tray Mountain Wilderness is located across State Route 75 to the east.



Mark Trail is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. In 2006, King Features syndicated the strip to nearly 175 newspapers.



When Mark Trail began, it was syndicated through the New York Post in 1946 to 45 newspapers. Dodd, working as a national parks guide, had long been interested in environmental issues. The character is loosely based on the life and career of Charles N. Elliott (November 29, 1906 – May 1, 2000), at the time a U.S. forest ranger who edited Outdoor Life magazine from 1956 to 1974. Dodd once said that the physical model for Trail was John Wayt, his former neighbor in north Atlanta.

Characters and story

Mark Trail, the main character, is a photojournalist and outdoor magazine writer whose assignments lead him into danger and adventure. His assignments inevitably lead him to discover environmental misdeeds, most often solved with a crushing right cross.



Trail lives in the fictional Lost Forest National Forest with his St. Bernard, Andy; veterinarian Doc Davis; Doc's daughter, and Trail's girlfriend and eventual wife, Cherry, and their adopted son, Rusty. "Mark reflects a reverence for God's creatures, nature, and the conservation of woods, water and wildlife" (Hill, 2003). His assignments in recent years have involved more sleuthing than wildlife photojournalism.



Cartoonists

Jack Elrod at work on a Mark Trail Sunday strip



In the mid-1940s, Ed Dodd was employed in advertising. Dodd and Jack Elrod met when they were with the Boy Scouts; Dodd was a Scout leader and Elrod was a Scout. In 1946, after Dodd sold Mark Trail to a syndicate, the strip was launched on April 15 in the New York Post. In 1950, Dodd hired Elrod to work as the strip's background artist and letterer. During the late 1940s, the cartoonist Jack Davis worked one summer inking Mark Trail, which he later parodied in Mad as "Mark Trade." In addition to Davis and Elrod, Dodd also hired Tom Hill, Barbara Chen (who did the lettering) and secretary Rhett Carmichael. The strip's popularity grew through the mid-1960s, with Mark Trail appearing in nearly 500 newspapers through the North America Syndicate.



Artist and naturalist Tom Hill, who joined Dodd on Mark Trail in 1946, drew the Sunday strip, which was devoted to natural history and wildlife education, until 1978. Hill drew most of the daily strip art too after 1950, freeing Dodd to specialize in the scripting. Tom Hill's son, Jack Hill, recalled life at Dodd's studio in the Lost Forest outside Atlanta:



The art studio where Tom Hill (my father), Jack Elrod and Barbara Chen worked was on the second floor, where they had a great view of the Forest. There was also a homesteader, groundskeeper Hubert Hamrick and his family, who lived at Lost Forest and maintained the ranch and animals. Besides native wildlife which abounded on the Forest, there was riding stables, guinea fowl, caged pigeons, a 10-acre fishing lake and of course, Andy, the great Saint Bernard who appeared as Mark’s companion in the comic strip. I would visit Andy every time I went to visit Ed Dodd or to go fishing at the Lost Forest lake. Andy never had the freedom of his fictional counterpart and was kept in a running pen bounded by chain links. Ed’s other dog, Mose, was usually found at his master’s feet as Ed smoked his afternoon pipe. Famous people would visit Lost Forest, such as Marlin Perkins, sharpshooters, big game hunters and newspaper/magazine journalists. Ed Dodd was a personal friend of Daniel Beard, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts in 1910 and a fellow naturalist and illustrator. They both attended the Art Students League in New York City.



Dodd retired in 1978, shortly after Hill died. Elrod then continued the strip, adding new characters and taking over the Sunday edition. Based on the complaint of a reader in 1983, Elrod had Mark Trail abandon the trademark pipe that had been part of him from the beginning under likewise pipe-smoking Dodd; and in 1993, Mark and Cherry finally married.



In 2010, after years of tutoring, Jack Elrod brought on the assistance of artist James Allen. Allen initially began assisting on the weekly Sunday page, continuing the themes of wildlife education and natural history and also alerting readers to endangered species and notifications of newly discovered species as well. Starting with the strip dated April 11, 2014, Elrod retired as the strip's primary artist, and Allen formally took over the position, though Elrod continued to draw the Sunday strips for a further two months. Elrod died on February 3, 2016, at the age of 91.

Reception

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, "Elrod's comics typically present information promoting public awareness of imperiled species." A notable exception is the strip that ran on March 11, 2007, which depicted the African Elephant not as imperiled, but as a peril itself. Letters appeared in numerous papers taking issue with the strip's contention that, "The two main killers in East Africa are HIV/AIDS and wild animals, particularly elephants." Several papers ran letters to the editor objecting to this assertion.



Jack Hill has criticized the strip for declining in quality since 1978. According to Hill, the earlier versions of the strip featured well-written plot and character development and a detailed art style, whereas later versions were marked by a loss of accuracy and detail and "a free-floating approach to perspective." In addition, time froze: scenes and plots have been recycled from the past. According to King Features, Mark now stays "forever 32". The characters no longer evolve or show much of their earlier personalities. Ironically, these changes, along with predictable villains (who invariably have facial hair with especially pronounced sideburns), uneven art work, quirky dialog, and misplaced speech balloons (often pointed at foregrounded animals), created an amusing charm that attracted a new following among fans called "Trailheads". In recent years, the strip's story arcs have often followed a formulaic ending, with the protagonist dashing in in the nick of time to give the villains a good beating, before handing them over to the law.

Radio

On January 30, 1950, Mutual Broadcasting System launched a radio adaptation, Mark Trail, featuring Matt Crowley in the title role. The 30-minute episodes aired three times weekly, and 174 episodes were produced, running until June 8, 1951. A second radio series, starring Staats Cotsworth, was broadcast on ABC beginning September 18, 1950, with 51 half-hour shows that ran thrice weekly until January, 1952. The series then switched to a 15-minute format, producing 125 episodes that aired weekdays through June 27, 1952. Only a handful of the 15-minute episodes are known to have survived.



The Minneapolis-St. Paul, public radio station KFAI hosted Mark Trail Radio Theatre starting in 1991. Produced by Babs Economon, its 17 adventures aired in 228 weekly installments on Friday evenings through September 2002. A National Weather Service public service announcement using Mark Trail to promote NOAA Weather Radio.In 1997, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began using Mark Trail as its official mascot, making him the voice of the National Weather Service and NOAA Weather Radio.



A television pilot for a "Mark Trail" series was filmed in Australia and Canada in 1969, starring Todd Armstrong as Trail, and Robert Dunlap as Scotty. Produced by Bob Stabler, the pilot also featured Michael Pate, Gordon McDougall, and Susan Lloyd.

Books and magazines

Mark Trail: The Magazine of Adventure for Boys



Between 1955 and 1959, Mark Trail's adventures were reprinted in comic books by Fawcett Publications and then Standard/Nedor/Pines. The strip spawned numerous books and coloring books, including:

• Mark Trail's Book of Animals (North American Mammals) by Ed Dodd (1955)
• Mark Trail's 2nd Book of Animals: (North American Mammals) by Ed Dodd (1959)
• Mark Trail's Hunting Tips by Ed Dodd (1969)
• Mark Trail's Cooking Tips by Ed Dodd (1971)
• Mark Trail's Camping Tips by Ed Dodd (1971)
• Mark Trail in the Smokies!: A Naturalist's Look at Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Southern Appalachians by Ed Dodd (1989)

For the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Elrod wrote and illustrated coloring books which have been distributed to students throughout the U.S. They include: Wetlands Coloring Book, Take Pride in America with Mark Trail: A Coloring Book, and Mark Trail Tells the Story of a Fish in Trouble.



The 1950s magazine, Mark Trail: The Magazine of Adventure for Boys, merged with The American Boy and The Open Road for Boys. The magazine was aimed at boys in the 9-17 age group to guide them in natural history and conservation.

Awards


James Allen at the head of the Mark Trail Wilderness in the Chattahoochee National Forest

Mark Trail has won more than 30 conservation awards from private organizations and government agencies, including the American Waterfowl and Wetland Association, the Georgia Wildlife Association, the National Forest Association, the National Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. An annual Mark Trail Award is presented to individuals, organizations or corporations that assist in expanding the radio network, or recognizing courageous effort in saving lives during weather or civil emergencies. Mark Trail has also appeared in a number of publications by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in efforts to educate children concerning conservation and environmentalism.



In 1991, Congress allocated 16,400 acres of former logged forest along the Appalachian Trail in Georgia to be designated the Mark Trail Wilderness. As of 2006, Mark Trail remains the only comic strip character to be recognized in such a manner, although an official association between Walt Kelly's Pogo and the Okefenokee Swamp was established in 1987, with an Annual Pogo Fest, followed by Pogo and the U.S. Postal Service's 1989 inauguration of a National Wetlands postcard dedicated to the Okefenokee Swamp.



Today's GNW gal another bevy of waterfall  cuties.