Panther Creek at Toccoa GA Day Hike


Nature Boy

Nature Boy

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Bushclass I
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Nature Girl and I went out today to Panther Creek, near Toccoa GA today to try out our new Ribz packs graciously given to us by Carbonmated.

In mine I carried a fire kit, first aid kit, space blanket, food and snacks, spare fixed blade knife, 2 'common man' stoves that I stole the idea from, will explain later, whistle, compass, and my canteen cook set, mini trowel, folder knife on my belt, and a mora neck knife (thanks Bard!). Nature Girl carried almost the same except she squeezed in a poncho in hers also.

The Ribz front packs worked great! Makes it a lot easier for a day trip. Everything was in reach and will make a great addition to a regular backpack!

Want to apologize for the poor photo quality. The camera lens was smudged, didn't notice til we got back home...

The entrance....
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First camping area about 1/4 mile into the trail and a view of the river behind it...
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Lots of run-off areas and fallen trees on and near the trail thanks to the every other day rain we've have the last 2.5 weeks...
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Half mile into the trail and another big clearing set up for camping....
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Sasquatch victim?
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Got to the 1.5 mile mark and decided to have some lunch. Ramon noodles and crackers 'cooked' on my 'common man stoves'. They were an idea I stole from Dave Canterbury's online store....made my own. Slow to make a good boil (20 minutes) but when you're out enjoying the woods, times doesn't matter for us then.
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While wating for the water to heat up we explored the river near the camp spot. I thought I saw a bunch of trash floating in a small cubby hole...turned out to be 13 cans of PBR beer and 1 can of Miller High Life! Didn't know how long they been there and let them soak for the owner to return....
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On our way back we stopped at the overlook and then headed out before the sun set on us...
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We also found what looked like an old grave. The rocks were laid out and it reminded me of one of those old grave plots I've seen at older church cemetaries.
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Thanks for looking!
 
I've always wanted to check this place out. Nice pictures, is there a big waterfall there? How was the foot traffic?
 
I really like that trail. But it seems like people on it don't know how to dig cat holes. At the falls, there is a pool deep enough to go swimming and boy is it cold!
 
There is a water fall 3.5 miles into the trail. As for foot traffic, today anyways all we met and saw was one lone hiker, but he was a nice guy! We gave him the BCUSA web address for him to check out later.

This pic was taken back in the summer, its the bottom cascade part of the falls. There is a lot more above it further up the trail.
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Nature Boy said:
There is a water fall 3.5 miles into the trail. As for foot traffic, today anyways all we met and saw was one lone hiker, but he was a nice guy! We gave him the BCUSA web address for him to check out later.

This pic was taken back in the summer, its the bottom cascade part of the falls. There is a lot more above it further up the trail.
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Have you been past that? Panther Falls is still a little bit further. You WON'T be disappointed at all!
 
RangerXanatos said:
Have you been past that? Panther Falls is still a little bit further. You WON'T be disappointed at all!
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That day it was getting late so we headed back :(. We plan on going again. We ole folks have to go a little farther every visit. We're slowly gettin' there lol.
 
That is some beautiful country, thanks for sharing !
 
Nature Boy said:
That day it was getting late so we headed back :(. We plan on going again. We ole folks have to go a little farther every visit. We're slowly gettin' there lol.
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Lol. Nothing wrong with that. I thought we reached it too the first time I went. I did a little research and found out that we only went to the cascades and not the falls. It gets dark quick down in those valleys! Me and a friend had to come back at around 3 in the afternoon before because of it getting dark. And that was in around March.
 
I haven't been out there since 90-91' when I was in the BoyScouts. Seeing that scenery brings back some memories. I need to get the wife excited about seeing the area and drag her out there.
 
Nice day out on the trail. You guys eat the same lunch I do in the woods, light, fast and filling lol. Thanks for posting the pics Kenny, nice country up there
 
Great outing you two. That would be an excellent area to have a meet in
 
Nice job getting out. I can't believe you found all that beer. I wonder if it was left intentionally or someone lost it? Weird.
 
Good stuff and free cold beer! Can't beat it. I'd have to drink at least one!
 
OutdoorEnvy said:
Nice job getting out. I can't believe you found all that beer. I wonder if it was left intentionally or someone lost it? Weird.
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My guess is someone brought it in for a party evening and put it in there to keep cold. Then they decided it was too heavy to pack out the next day and left it behind. You'd be amazed what people leave behind in the woods because carrying it in was too much work to carry it out again :rolleyes:
 
Sgt. Mac said:
Great outing you two. That would be an excellent area to have a meet in
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Come on down! Nature Girl said she would keep you fed! There are a few large open areas on the trail and would make a good meeting spot, and water and trout are plentiful.
 
Wow, great photos! I have found that Sterno works better when dipped out of the can. When I dip out a spoon or two and put in my Crusader cooker, it will boil 2 cups of water in 6 minutes or so. Maybe dip it out and burn it in the lid with your little stove rig.

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TheProfessor said:
Wow, great photos! I have found that Sterno works better when dipped out of the can. When I dip out a spoon or two and put in my Crusader cooker, it will boil 2 cups of water in 6 minutes or so. Maybe dip it out and burn it in the lid with your little stove rig.
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I normally do the 2 spoonfuls in an open cup, along with my old style (open top and bottom) canteen stove for sterno. I just wanted to try out my diy version of Canterbury's 'common man's stove' that he sells on his site. Also needed to do 2 cups at once for us both to eat together. It was slow, but if you're not in a huge hurry, kind of relaxing while looking around the camp area as it heats the water. That's how we found the beer there! lol.

I want to make a couple of canteen cup lids, but I don't have the tools or a workshop full-timing in an rv.
 
Glad you got out, Georgia has some great scenery.
Thanks, Donk.
 
Sgt. Mac said:
Great outing you two. That would be an excellent area to have a meet in
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Let us know if you ever want to head south to Georgia and we'll have a Panthers Creek meeting for you. We'll show you what southern hospitality all about. Serve up the best fried chicken and BBQ ribs you can eat. Peach cobber on the side if you like.
 
Thanks for the pictures... I used to hike the panther creek falls trail alot in my 20's... But its been 20 years since Ive been there... I was just thinking a week or so ago about doing a trip up there soon...
 
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