Tallulah Gorge
by rmajor
The fourth and final stop on my Canyon Climbers Club tour was Tallulah Gorge. This is the gorge crossed by famed tightrope walker Karl Wallenda.
This plaque commemorates his feat.
The tower on the North Rim still remains, now laid over on its side. I tried in vain to find video on the internet of Wallenda’s walk across the gorge, but the best I could do was this clip of him doing a headstand in London.
This photo was taken from the top of the stairs leading down into the gorge from the North Rim.
After climbing down 310 steps from the North Rim, I was able to cross the suspension bridge. The bridge is 80 feet above the gorge floor and fortunately is pretty stable. It only swayed a little as I crossed.
After climbing 340 steps to the South Rim, I was able to check out the view from that side, including this waterfall.
One of the nice surprises I found on the South Rim was these small purple flowers.
The South Rim was alive with color as flowers bloomed on the warm spring day.
The dogwoods were blooming as well.
I was also treated to another view of the suspension bridge.
My hike completed, I returned to the Visitors Center to have the Park Ranger make the final punch in my Canyon Climbers Club card. The Ranger told me that was the first she had seen with all four punches. She had seen a lot of them with three, but most usually lack Providence Canyon. That’s understandable. Providence Canyon is located in the southwest part of Georgia, and the other three are scattered across northern Georgia. It takes a bit more travel commitment to reach Providence.