Tallulah Gorge Sliding Rock Trail (Tallulah Gorge State Park - GA)

Hike Date: 07/28/2013

On Sunday, July 28th, we went hiking (Paige, Ashley, and I).  Scott was out of town for work and we wanted to do something outside so we decided we would go on a hike.  We went to Tallulah Gorge State Park (in NE GA) to do the Sliding Rock Trail.  They only give out 100 passes per day starting at 8 AM and they do not give out passes if there is a chance of rain.  There was only a 20% chance of rain when we woke up so we went ahead and made the hour drive and luckily they still had passes left!  We were on our way after a quick overview and safety class.  Yes, they tried to scare us away in the safety class!

The first adventure is going down 600+ stairs to get to the gorge floor and then you have to jump or climb across giant boulders to get to the other side.  I bruised up my arm pretty bad on one jump but we all three made it to the other side.  There was definitely strategy involved in making it, as you can see below.

There really is NO trail and there is no room for a trail because you are basically just beside the water and making your own way down.  We all brought tennis shoes (actually hiking/trail shoes) and water shoes.  We quickly changed into the water shoes in the beginning because most of the trail was wading through the water.  We all had packs on and fell or slid into the water a few times.  It was rough!  There was even a section where you literally had to crab crawl across a giant rock to get to the other side BUT it wasn’t that easy because it was slippery so it kept pushing us down towards the water so we were constantly trying to crab crawl and avoid being pushed into the water!

We finally made it to the sliding rock and had to make silly faces, of course!

The sliding rock was a blast (video below) but it was a pain to get back out of the water.  Our video didn’t take the first time so we had to go down twice.  It was so slippery I think we probably burned 200 calories swimming and sliding and climbing rocks to get back out!

After we finished swimming we had to make our way back out of the gorge.  That meant go back the way we came (no thank you!) or take another route which consisted of climbing rocks at a steep incline.  All I can say is that I am glad that my choice of cardio is walking at a 15 incline!  It was a blast!

We had a great girls hiking trip and burned over 1,000 calories!

Have you ever done the Sliding Rock Trail at Tallulah Gorge?

Appalachian Trail - Grayson Highlands State Park | NC Hikes

Trip Date: May 2013

We didn’t even know if this trip was going to take place or not because we both felt awful last week.  The weather didn’t look too promising either but we went ahead and decided to take the trip.  We have been hiking in Boone before but this time we were going to also be driving to VA to hike with my dad (he is hiking the Appalachian Trail).  We hiked a total of 28 miles on this trip!

Thursday:

We woke up early and drove to Boone (approx 4.5 hours from us). Scott played golf at the Boone Golf Club and I walked the course with him and made up my own workout based off what he was doing - it was really kind of silly but fun! Walking 18 holes was a workout itself!

Friday:

We didn’t have any hiking planned for Friday because the forecast was to be very windy and cold. We slept in for the first time in a long time and then we went to the gym. I had amazing energy which led to an awesome workout! We were at the gym for an hour and a half (I normally try to keep my workouts to one hour) but I let my HRM go for 2 hours just to see the difference (total 836 calories)! I love after burn! If you are interested in this heart rate monitor you can find similar ones here.

After we ate lunch (and I got that awesome fortune cookie) it started to clear up outside so we decided to go on a short local hike. We did Elk Knob which is a 4 mile hike. We did it in 1 hour and 20 minutes…including taking a break to eat. I let my HRM go until I got in the shower for a total of 590 calories! It was a really pretty hike that we will add to our trip each time we go to Boone.

Saturday:

My dad was in Damascus, VA for Trail Days and got food poisoning…which was actually a blessing in disguise because we were able to know exactly where he was and pick him up in Damascus. I can’t even describe the feeling. It was the first time in 2 months that I had seen him! I cried for 2 minutes straight and wouldn’t let him go!  We hiked with him 10 miles in Grayson Highlands State Park. It was an amazing hike. We saw wild ponies and the landscape was gorgeous! It was hard to say goodbye again but he stayed to camp overnight to continue his hike again the next day.

Scott & I hiked another 4 miles back to our car to head to back to Boone. Once we got to the hotel and showered, we decided that we would walk to the restaurant so we walked another 4 miles after hiking 14 on the AT.  

Below are a few photo collages of our adventures:

Sunday:

We checked out on Sunday but still wanted to do something active so we did a short hike/trail run at Julian Price Lake Loop off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a fun and quick little hike!

I talked to my dad on Monday and he told me that us coming up to hike with him was one of the best 5 days of his life.  I’m assuming the other 4 days…when he got married, when my sister was born, when I was born, and when he joined the Marines.  I’m so proud of him!