Come on, Godfrey. Let's go.
Let's go up. Up. So, we are at Raper Creek, the Raper Creek Falls Trail Loop. And most
of this trail, or at least a good portion of it, supposed to be this uh service road,
which isn't the worst thing. It's easy for Godfrey to hike. We just went down to see the falls
because it's the first thing right where I park. Um, it's a bit of a scramble, so that's why we
did actually do it this time. Godfree's arthritis medication seems to be working pretty well. So,
I get the scramble out of the way. Um, I would have never done that in the middle of
the hike with him cuz I don't think he'd have the strength. But, at the outset, we just decided to,
well, I just decided he can't decide [ __ ] Um, I decided, let's just give it a try. So,
we went down to the falls and of course it was slippery. and I went right in the water. But I
live to tell the tale, but the rest of it should be relatively easy because it's just forest
service road for most of it. I think we'll find out as we go. So, this is about as late as summer
or summer latest spring hike as you're going to get. The first day of summer is tomorrow and
uh the heat and humidity has already started here in North Georgia. It's not so much hot today,
it's just humid. Due points are like at 70°, so it just makes the air a little bit thick.
So, we are hiking. We started out at about 9:30 and you can already feel the humidity,
but the temperature is not bad. And at least for now, we're walking in
uh a lot of dappled shade, so that's enjoyable.
Summer's coming up and next week supposed to get in the 90s. Let me
check my map and see which way I'm supposed to go.
So, we've come to the end of the Forest Service road, little bridge that crosses
the creek. I'm going to take Godfrey down to the creek and let him drink.
Go drink. Go drink. Got to go drink.
Go drink. Don't bite logs.
So, the part beyond the sign that says no motor vehicles is still like
an old more narrow forest service road, it seems to me. But at least
there are no more supposedly no more motorized vehicles beyond this point.
So, there are tire tracks, so maybe people ride dirt bikes and [ __ ] back here.
So, we're getting close to where the trail hits the loop. But, I just wanted to show that the
roodendrrons are now in bloom. They really bloom kind of late over here. And my dog is sitting in a
mud puddle. If you ever wanted to see what a white dog looks like half covered in mud, this is it.
So, I cut the hike short. Um the main reason is uh there's like a suspicious guy um at the start
of the the trail where motor vehicles aren't allowed after the bridge and it just didn't
sit well with me. He's just sitting there in his pickup truck and it's probably nothing. But when
somebody's sitting there and you're walking by with your dog, they don't even look at you at
all to say hello or just to acknowledge that you're there or even glance to see you. Uh,
you know, cuz I was looking at him the whole time cuz I've got my dog, so I want to, you know,
I'm aware of what's what my surroundings are in case I've got to put the leash on him real quick.
So, at first we just continued hiking. Yeah, I noticed Godfrey is a little slow from scrambling
up from the fall. So, and I still had that sitting in the back of my mind. So, I'm like,
you know what? We've already gone a couple of miles. Godfreyy's probably tired. Uh, let's just
head back to the Jeep and satisfy my curiosity. I'm sure I'm sure it's just my cityorn paranoia.
Uh, but you know, when you're out here in the North Georgia mountains and you're like the only
one, you just see one other guy that just doesn't even acknowledge you you're there. Just left a bad
feeling. So, this is probably just the city guy in me kicking in that needs to go check it out.
Even though, let's say, my Jeep is stolen and is gone. Not a whole heck of a lot I can do about
it. But the earlier I get started walking back out of here, the earlier I can call police and
get me a ride home. It's better I do that now before I get another few miles in, you know,
and Godfrey is really not able to walk anywhere. So that's my story. I'm sticking to it. So we're
almost back to where my Jeep should be. Godfrey is only on a leash because I'm trying to keep
him out of the mud. I got most of that stuff cleaned off of him in the in the creek. So,
I'd like to keep him as clean as I can when we get back cuz you got all these ruts with mud. And
hopefully uh my uh paranoia is just paranoia. We'll find out soon. Okay, so my paranoia is
indeed just paranoia. Thank goodness. That's all I have to say. Short hike, dog. That sucks.