Wagers: Raven's Cliff

To expose Hank to the great outdoors in Georgia, Katherine and I planned a day trip to North Georgia to hike. Hank grew up in Colorado and always takes Katherine on an adventure on west whether skiing, show shoeing or simply hiking. Here, although there are tons of great hikes, she never had done it. I think we have now made it a tradition that when they come back into town we'll take a scenic hike because we had such a fun time this go round.

We drove to Raven's Cliff just outside of Helen. Mommy had done the hike several times before. She had hiked it growing up with Granna and Opa, then after Daddy and she started dating she introduced it to him. If I remember correctly, Uncle Brad and Aunt Jacquelyn got engaged along the trail. Now, it was Trenton's turn to be initiated into the Raven's Cliff hike. We always remember the hike for the heart in the tree along the trail.

It was the perfect day; cool, but sunny and beautiful. That week, there had been rain so the stream was full and the waterfalls were flowing. Round trip it was a 5 mile hike traversing the stream via boardwalks. It was the ideal length for Mommy who has a little over 4 months pregnant and Daddy who had to carry an extra 25 lbs on his back. Most of the journey Trenton took in the pack and was a trooper loving the ride Daddy provided him. However, he did have times he wanted out and to hike himself. He marched along with us, even finding his own hiking stick along the way. Lily was there on the hike, too, so he would tell her, "'c'mer, c'mer" so she would follow. Once we were at the falls, Trenton insisted on continuing on the steep part as well. Daddy helped him go to the second falls. Once there, he added a rock to the stack of rocks started by previous hikers marking the top of the summit. On the way back to the car, Trenton took a nice nap on Daddy's neck. Hikes can wear you out!