Ray Major

 

Roger Dowiat passed away December 23, 2009.

 

I met Roger at the Atlanta Astronomy Club’s annual star party, the Peach State Star Gaze. I think it was 2003 when we first met. The friendship started slowly, but grew stronger as the years went by. By 2005 I made it a point to set up near Roger so I could hang out with him.

 

The 2005 PSSG was particularly memorable. Roger and I were joined by our friend Bobby Thompson and the three of us had a blast. There was one night we stayed up very late. Roger’s normally jovial mood was enhanced by consumption of some “fruit juice” he brought with him. He was hoarse the next day from laughing and cutting up so much. I was later told we could be heard all over the field. For any of you who may have been kept awake by our antics, I offer no apologies. Eventually one of us mentioned that we might ought to think about calling it a night. I said, “Yeah, we’ve been up so long Leo is rising.” Bobby looked at me and asked, “You know what comes up after Leo, don’t you?” I said, “Virgo.” Bobby replied, “The sun.”

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of that trip, as I wasn’t into photography at the time.

 

I heard Roger talk about the nice piece of property he had in Mentone, Al, and some years later I got to see it when the club held the Messier Marathon observing session there. I fell in love with the place immediately. Roger told me I would be welcome to come back there anytime. The following Spring (2008) I took him up on it. I was wanting to see Rock City, and I made plans that would include a night of camping on Roger’s property. I spent a night at Cloudland Canyon, and a couple of nights at a nearby KOA, where Roger picked me up to go tour the upper end of Lookout Mountain. We toured Ruby Falls, Rock City, Patriot Point Park, and rode the Incline Railway. We did a considerable amount of walking that day, for a couple of old guys. The picture at the top of this post is of Roger in the cavern that leads to Ruby Falls.

 

 

In this photo, Roger enjoys the view from the observing deck at the top of the Incline Railway.

 

 

At Rock City Roger used my camera to make this picture of me navigating the Fat Man’s Squeeze.

 

 

 

After completing our tours of Ruby Falls, The Incline Railway, and Rock City, we moved on to Patriot Point Park, site of the famous “Battle Above the Clouds.”

 

 

I don’t think Roger knew any strangers. When a couple of other tourists walked up, Roger immediately engaged them in conversation and began sharing some of his knowledge of the area.

 

 

Our tour of the Chattanooga area done, we proceeded to Roger’s Lookout Observatory. I would have thought we had done enough walking for one day, but we proceeded to do some more walking around that beautiful place in the country that Roger was so rightfully proud of.

 

 

The view from the hill above Roger’s observing site.

 

 

It was at the Lookout Observatory that I made the first, and thus far only picture I ever made of a star. We joked about that being the astronomical building. It has a star on the front and a crescent moon on the side. To see the full moon you would have to be inside the building.

 

Laid-back old country boy that Roger was, I think it was appropriate that he should own a genuine outhouse. I kidded him a lot about being a redneck, but he didn’t mind. It was a title he had proudly bestowed upon himself, and he carried it with more grace and charm than any man I ever met.

 

Roger told me I should come back sometime and he would take me on a tour of the Little River area, but unfortunately it was never to be. Hard times soon deprived me of the means to travel. I have scoped out the Little River area on Google Earth, and I can see why Roger wanted so much to show it to me. I hope to see it someday, but I will do so just wishing I could have Roger as my personal tour guide. I will always wonder what stories he would have told and what local color he could have added.

 

I didn’t know it, but when I parted company with Roger the next morning after playing tourist together, it would be the last time I saw him. It would still be the better part of two years before he left this world, and we stayed in touch with occasional emails and phone calls, but we never managed to be in the same place together again. I’m glad for the times we were together, and I will always cherish the memories.

 

Rest in peace, Roger, and thanks for being my friend.

 

 

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Station Cove Falls is just a few miles north of Walhalla, SC, near the Oconee Station Historic Site. The Historic Site has a trail that links to the falls trail, but I decided to save that hike for another day.

 

 

I parked at the trailhead down the road from the entrance to the Historic Site.

 

 

The bulletin board had this reassuring sign. My appropriate precautions consisted of making plenty of noise as I hiked, as several park rangers have told me that bears are usually skittish and will avoid contact with people if they hear them coming.

 

 

One of the reasons I chose this trail is it had been a while since I hiked, and this half mile trail was rated as easy. I did not want to push my luck with my physical condition after being off the trails for so long. The trail was indeed easy. The path was wide and well kept, and there was not much elevation change to deal with. Steps on the trail were few and far between.

 

 

There were a few footbridges to cross over gullies and minor tributaries.

 

 

The only part of the trail that worried me was the stream crossing below the falls. The rocks were wet enough to pose a danger of being slippery. I stepped carefully and made it across without any problems.

 

 

This is the view of the stream above the crossing.

 

 

Shortly after crossing the stream I was treated to my first view of the 60 foot cascade known as Station Cove Falls. It was well worth the trip.

 

 

This is a closer view of the falls. After lingering for a while to rest and enjoy the view, I returned to my vehicle. I very much enjoyed this hike and plan to return someday.

 

 

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Pigpen Falls and Licklog Falls are in the northwest corner of South Carolina. The trail is accessed by driving Hwy 107 three miles north of Oconee State Park and turning left onto Village Creek Road. A right turn onto gravel Nicholson Ford Road leads to the parking area for the trail.

 

The trail begins with a .5 mile hike on the Foothills Trail.

 

There had been some storms recently, and this tree seemed to have been a victim of it. It appeared to have been freshly uprooted. Fortunately, the tree fell away from the trail and not across it, or my hike would have ended before it got started good.

 

The Foothills Trail led to the Chattooga Trail, where a left turn led almost immediately to the small cascade and pool known as Pigpen Falls. This was a very lovely and peaceful place to be, and I lingered there for a while.

 

I crossed a footbridge over the creek and continued on down the trail. Lush growths of ferns such as this are pretty common in the Appalachian Mountains, and add a lot to the beauty of the hiking trails.

 

The trail got a bit narrower as I reached the Licklog Falls area, and the dropoffs got a bit steeper and deeper, but it never got bad enough for me to be really uncomfortable with it.

 

In the area above Licklog Falls, I encountered these blossoms I was able to identify as Rhododendron Maximus.

 

This is Licklog Falls. The view was mostly obscured by trees. While there were some side paths leading down to the creek and possibly a better view, they were much too steep for me to attempt.

 

This is a wider angle view.

 

I decided to explore the trail a bit further, and came upon one of the strangest looking stumps I’ve ever seen.

 

Another view of the stump. The only thing I can think of that would cause such an unusual growth would be some kind of trauma to the tree that didn’t kill it. What was left had to grow whatever way it could.

 

A bit farther down the trail, a side path led to the Chattooga River. The river serves as the state line in this area. I was standing in South Carolina, the other side is Georgia.

 

Another photo from the same spot, looking downstream.

 

At this point, I decided I had seen enough, and returned to my vehicle. The round trip was maybe 2.5 miles, and well worth doing again someday.

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The Holcomb Creek Trail is in a remote area a few miles east of Clayton, Ga. Getting there involved driving 10 miles from Clayton on a winding, twisting backroad. Then I turned left onto Forest Service Road 7, also known as Hale Ridge Road. FS7 is a gravel road, narrow in many places, with a lot of twists, turns, and rough spots. It took over half an hour to drive the 7 miles to the trailhead. The information I had said the trail descended pretty steeply for .3 mile to a footbridge at Holcomb Creek Falls, and proceeded from there another .25 mile to Ammons Creek Falls. An alternate trail from that point would follow Holcomb Creek for .6 mile back to FS7. This was said to be an easier approach, with more room for parking, so I chose to start from there. As I drove the .5 mile to the alternate trailhead, I was a bit concerned that I was driving uphill, and that was altitude I would have to lose and regain on foot.

The rock pictured above marks the entrance to the main trail.

 

As I followed the trail alongside Holcomb Creek, I came upon this small cascade and pool.

 

A closer view of the cascade.

 

Leaving the cascade, I headed on downhill. The section of the trail shown here was tame and easily traveled. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way. As I went farther downhill, the trail got steeper and narrower, with a lot of exposed roots and stuff to trip over. The dropoffs beside the trail kept getting deeper and steeper. With my fear of heights, it was really rattling my nerves. I began to wonder if it was really a good idea for me to be hiking such a narrow trail by myself in a very remote area.

 

At the bottom of the trail was the overlook for Ammons Creek Falls, a 40 foot cascade. I met another group of hikers who had come in the other way. They assured me that way wasn’t bad.

 

As I headed down the main trail toward Holcomb Creek Falls, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a brilliant splotch of color. I’ve seen a lot of fungi in my time, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any this colorful.

 

This is the 120 foot cascade known as Holcomb Creek Falls. It was a beautiful sight to behold, even though much of the lower portion was obscured by trees.

 

Since I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go out the way I came in, I began the climb to the main trailhead. The trail was a bit narrow and dangerous in some places, but mostly wasn’t too bad.

 

After having to so carefully watch my step on the trail, it was a relief to get back to the road. Even though I still faced a .5 mile uphill climb, I knew if I tripped and fell I wouldn’t fall very far.

 

It’s always a relief to get back to my vehicle after a long walk.

My first thoughts after completing this hike were that I was glad I had done it, but I didn’t want to do it again. After getting back home and going through my photos, I realized I might decide to do this one again someday. If I do, I’ll probably stick to the main trail and upper section of the alternate trail (where the small cascade is) and leave the lower section of the alternate trail to more sure-footed individuals.

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Watson Mill Bridge State Park is located midway between Athens, Ga. and Elberton, Ga. near the small town of Comer. It is home to the longest covered bridge in the state. It is a popular place for afternoon picnics or a leisurely stroll. It is also popular among equestrians, and has 12 miles of horse trails.

 

Historical marker.

 

A view of the inside of the bridge.

 

I chose to hike the 2.5 mile hiking and biking trail on the north side of the river.

 

This trail led beside the river downstream of the bridge and dam.

 

After following the river for a ways, the trail turned left for a loop through the woods.

 

Along the way I spotted this unusual variety of clover.

 

After completing the loop, I snapped this picture of the view back upstream.

 

After crossing back over the bridge to the south side of the river, I was greeted by these beautiful blossoms.

 

This photo was made on the south bank, facing downstream.

 

I’ll wrap up this tour with a last look at the bridge.

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