A view from the dam at Unicoi Lake in White County on Nov. 8. (Jeff Samsel)

October has left us and with it the crowds of folks who visit from Atlanta and farther south to see red, orange and yellow mountains. Fortunately, autumn color doesn’t just go away because the calendar page turns. In truth, a good argument could be made that the first couple of weeks of November offer the prettiest color spectrum in North Georgia.

Even as November progresses and leaves continue falling, the mountains will take on a reddish, bronzy tone that provides a beautiful, distinctively fall look, and vistas will become more open. And with each weekend passed, you’ll find less company on trail and at overviews, even at very popular destinations like state parks and highly accessible waterfalls.

What all this means from a practical standpoint, quite simply, is that if you have flexibility in your weekend plans or, better yet, can scratch out a few weekday hours, you really should plan a little hike or at least a mountain drive to enjoy November’s color without October’s crowds.

Good day-plan options are pretty much countless in our area. Here are eight easy ones, all close to home and with good planning information that is readily available.

• Drive the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway
• Hike to Dukes Creek Falls (located off Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway)
• Hike the Hemlock Falls Trail along Moccasin Creek
• Visit Anna Ruby Falls
• Hike the North and South Rim trails or Hurricane Falls Loop at Tallulah Gorge State Park. (Will be more crowded than many places because of whitewater releases, but most people will crowd the lower overlooks.)
• Hike to Panther Creek Falls
• Drive along Wildcat Creek, stopping at pull-offs to enjoy the waterfalls
• Walk one of the trails or gated roads at the Lake Russell Recreation Area

Whitewater Releases

Tallulah Gorge autumn whitewater releases will continue for the next two weekends. Lower gorge overviews in the state park will NOT be uncrowded, but if you don’t mind waiting your turn, watching tiny-looking boats navigate the gorge’s whitewater from way above is super cool. Beyond seeing the daredevil boaters, the entire gorge is extra spectacular with late-autumn foliage and heavy water flows.

For obvious safety reasons, hiking into the gorge is not permitted on release days. Remaining whitewater release dates  are Nov. 10, 11, 17, 18

I don’t know whether hot dogs roasted over a campfire truly taste better than all others, but they sure seem like it. I do know that my children love suspending a skewered hot dog in the perfect place in the flames and turning it as needed until it is “just right.”

Campfire cooking can be as complex as you want to make it and can involve various kinds of specialized cookware. For simple family fun, though, two basic techniques top all in my book: skewer roasting and foil wrap baking.

For skewer roasting, think marshmallow roasting – just not necessarily with marshmallows. We use lightweight, telescoping skewers, which my children got me for a birthday. That said, a stick with the end carved to a bit of a point works nicely. Coals from a fire that has been going for a while allow for the most even cooking, but my children don’t normally want to wait for that stage. Plus, holding food in a big flame is more fun.

Hot dogs are the simplest roasting food and probably the most universally liked by all ages. Plus, they’re already cooked, so when a little chef goes straight for the flames and proudly pulls out a dog that’s black on the outside but still cool in the middle, it’s still OK to eat.

A couple of other good meat options are shrimp or boneless chicken breast or thigh meat cut into small enough strips that they cook all the way through quickly.

Various vegetables, including mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers and onions, also lend themselves nicely to fire roasting, but I’ve yet to convince my children of those merits.

The other way we like to create campfire cuisine is to wrap ingredients in foil, place the bundle among the flames and let the campfire do its magic. This technique takes a bit of experimentation to get things cooked right. However, if you make sure your foil wrap opens at the top and has enough overlap to rewrap easily, even as crinkling makes the foil smaller, you can check on what you are cooking and put it back into the fire, if needed. Use heavy foil and double it. Also, be sure you have some big tongs or a broad, sturdy spatula for getting foil wraps out of the fire.

My first foil fire food experiences go back to when I was a Boy Scout. We would make pies of sorts with apples, Bisquick, water, brown sugar and cinnamon. Today, I’m more apt to go for a meal than a dessert, usually with stew meat and asparagus or other vegetables.

Because of the cooking time and temperature unknowns, I prefer to use stuff that I like at any level of doneness. A great and super simple option that might appeal more to young taste buds includes cut up hot dogs, baked beans and bacon.

There’s no perfect recipe, though. Put whatever sounds good to you in the foil, give it plenty of time to cook and see what sort of delight the campfire yields.

There are no artificial lights inside the tunnel, but on the way out you can just walk toward the light. (Photo by Jeff Samsel)

Until a couple of weeks ago, I’d forgotten just how just how cool South Carolina’s Stumphouse Tunnel Park is. I was in Walhalla with two of my boys and had just finished a round of disc golf when it struck me that they might like to explore the park’s namesake tunnel and to see Issaquena Falls, which is in the same park. The park is pretty close to Walhalla, and we had time, so we made a detour.

What I’d expected be a half hour stop for quick looks at a couple of features turned into more than two hours of fun discovery. The splendor of the falls exceeded what I had remembered, and the tunnel, which had been closed last time I was there and only visible from the outside at that time, turned out to be super fun to explore. The boys also spent at least a half hour flipping rocks in a tumbling tributary of the main stream, catching crawfish and seeing what kinds of aquatic insects were under rocks.

A dead-end tunnel cut into a mountainside that was part of an abandoned railroad project, the Stumphouse Tunnel was created in the 1850s. The tunnel, which is 17 feet wide and 25 feet tall, is 1,617 feet long. However, a locked gate prohibits travel past about halfway for safety reasons. An air shaft just past the gate creates a constant cool breeze coming out of the tunnel and condensation, which keeps the tunnel floor moist. There are no artificial lights, so phone flashlights get used a lot. That said, enough natural light creeps in to sort of see once eyes adjust, and exploring without the aid of a flashlight is kind of cool. On the way out, you can just walk toward the light.

A short walk away from the tunnel, small and nondescript-seeming Cane Creek suddenly plunges into a gorge to form beautiful Issaqueena Falls. The creek drops 100 feet over an almost vertical edge, with just enough ledges breaking its fall to spread the flow into a complex and striking veil.
Following the footpath across a small bridge leads to an easy downhill walk to a platform that provides an outstanding view of the falls. Past the platform, an unofficial but heavily traveled trail allows for a steep descent to a flat area at the base of the 100-foot main drop for an up-close vantage.

Located 7 miles northwest of Walhalla on Highway 28, Stumphouse Tunnel Park is open from 10 a.m. to sunset, except on Christmas and during inclement weather. There is a $2 parking fee. The park also has a nice picnic area.

The grand finale of a rafting trip down Section IV of the Chattooga National Wild & Scenic River, Five Falls also serves as a final exam for paddlers who have been honing their skills and teamwork all day. In less than ¼ mile, the Chattooga drops more than 75 feet as it crashes through five consecutive Class IV and V rapids.

The Chattooga River rises high on Whiteside Mountain in North Carolina and gains strength quickly as it crashes down Blue Ridge Escarpment. At Ellicott Rock, the river leaves North Carolina, and for the next 40 miles forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The lower end is well known for its whitewater, made famous in part as the filming site of Deliverance, and the final 7.5-mile run (designated as Section IV) gets national acclaim as an elite whitewater rafting destination.

Steep, powerful and highly technical rapids understandably garner the most attention, but unlike some popular whitewater rafting destinations, the Chattooga offers much more than a wild ride. A drop-and-pool river that cuts between cliffs and steep forested shores, the Chattooga offers placid pools that are as spectacular as its rapids are thrilling. The banks are completely undeveloped, and even access by foot is very limited because of Wild & Scenic River protection and the ruggedness of the river gorge.

Only three companies have permits to run commercial rafting trips, and those trips are limited and timed to remain out of sight of one another. Although some highly skilled boaters do run this section and hikers and fishermen can reach the river in a couple of places, during many trips, rafters see no one else from the time they carry their rafts down to the river’s edge until they cross Lake Tugalo at the end of the trip.

A Section IV trips runs about 7 hours, including instruction time, shuttles to and from the river, the river trip itself and a few stops along the way. Those stops always include a big sandwich buffet on a riverside rock – typically in the shadows of towering Raven Cliffs – and a short walk to see Long Creek Falls, a beautiful waterfall on a Chattooga tributary.

It’s important to note that the Section IV run features 10 rapids of Class IV or higher and varies enormously in character with changing water levels. It is a difficult and potentially dangerous river that is suitable only for highly experienced boaters with proper equipment, taking all precautions. For most people, a commercial rafting trip is the only suitable way to run the river.

Visit Southeastern Expeditionsfor rafting trip details and to make reservations.

One arm of Lake Tugalo backs into the extreme lower reaches of Tallulah Gorge. The other forms the terminus of the Chattooga National Wild & Scenic River. Not surprisingly, this 600-acre Georgia Power impoundment is seriously scenic and provides spectacular opportunities for paddling a canoe or kayak.

Mountains bound Lake Tugalo, which straddles the Georgia/South Carolina border, and up its Tallulah River arm, wooded slopes give way to rocky cliffs. Most creeks enter the lake as waterfalls, and the names of a couple of tributaries – Bad Creek and Worse Creek – tell of the terrain. Zero development and rugged landscapes provide a remote feel, and a 25-horsepower maximum for boat motors limits power boat traffic. A few fishermen run the lake in smaller boats, but you never need to battle the wakes of endless pleasure boaters when you paddle.

Configured like a checkmark, with two narrow arms, Lake Tugalo provides more than 5 miles of lake to paddle. The lake’s only two ramps are both up the Chattooga arm (one on each side), so you can paddle upriver to where the Chattooga’s famous whitewater section ends at the lake or down to the Tallulah River junction. From there, it’s about a 1 ½ miles to the powerhouse rapids in the lower reaches of Tallulah Gorge.

Because of Tugalo’s steep sides and narrow configuration, wind is less frequently a paddler’s enemy than it is on more open lakes. Wind blowing exactly the wrong direction can funnel down the lake, but usually at least one side stays somewhat protected.

Lake Tugalo also offers good fishing for bass, bluegills and other species, and in fact supports one of Georgia’s best walleye populations. Licensing is reciprocal, so a valid Georgia or South Carolina license is good anywhere on the lake. As an angler, I always have a fishing rod or two handy when I visit this lake, but it is a fabulous paddling destination with or without a fishing rod.

One note: Don’t choose Tugalo as a canoe or kayak destination during the first two weekends of April or the first three weeks of November unless you like a lot of company on the water and at the ramp. Those are the Whitewater water-release weekends at Tallulah Gorge, and the daredevils who run the gorge all must cross the lake to pull out their boats. Lake Tugalo is a popular paddling destination through the summer, but use should be tapering off now, with school starting, and in truth, most casual paddlers don’t go more than a mile or so from the ramp.

Georgia access is through Tallulah Gorge State Park, but the road down the ramp is long, winding, steep and rough, and 4WD or AWD is recommended. The road to the South Carolina ramp, though gravel and somewhat steep and rough, is substantially better. For directions, see the “Additional Information” section of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Divisions Lake Tugalo fishing prospects page.

“Another one!” Eli announced with a grin as he pulled yet another bluegill from of the pond. I hadn’t finished rebaiting my own hook, but I sure didn’t mind.

I’d chosen the Family Fishing Pond at the Lake Burton Fish Hatchery so my 9-year-old son could enjoy fast fishing action, and he was doing just that. I scurried to where he was standing to get a picture of his fish and to be there in case he needed help unhooking it.

The Family Fishing Pond, which is on the hatchery property, has provided fun days for five of my six children. Holly, my 6-year-old, will get her turn soon – maybe before the end of summer. The pond has cleared, mowed banks for simple access and holds plenty of channel catfish, bullheads and bluegills. The fish aren’t big, but they are unfailingly cooperative.

I keep the fishing super simple, using light rods and reels, with each line rigged with just a split shot or two and a small hook baited with a little piece of hot dog or a bread ball. We pick a spot on the bank, cast the lines, let the rigs find bottom and wait for the line to take off. The simplicity of the technique allows little ones to do everything on their own.

A hatchery worker told me years ago that hot dog pieces are tough to top for the cats in that pond, and I’ve yet to find anything better. A No. 4 or 6 hook will work for the cats and will also hook some bluegills. To target the bluegills, which have become much more plentiful in the past couple of years, I go with a little smaller hook (No. 8 or 10) and a tiny breadball put right on the hook point. Either way, I like long-shank hooks because they are better for unhooking fish.

Worms also work well for catfish or bluegills, and digging for worms at home adds fun and ownership to the whole experience, so we’ll often bring a cup of freshly dug worms in addition to the fridge bait.

We always release our fish at this pond, but you’re allowed to keep four fish per angler. Facilities also include a nice little pavilion, so you might want to bring a picnic lunch. Also, if the hatchery is open (8-6 daily), be certain to take time to go peek in the raceways. There isn’t a young angler in the world who doesn’t enjoy seeing thousands of trout in all different stages of development. Also, don’t miss the big trout that are on display in one of the rear-left raceways!

The hatchery and pond are right across the creek from Moccasin Creek State Park, which is handy because the park offers additional fishing opportunities, including trout-stocked Moccasin Creek for anglers 11 and younger, and bank access for bigger (but fussier) bluegills, largemouth and spotted bass and an occasional big brown trout at the mouth of the creek and around the Lake Burton cove it feeds.

Finally, the park has a nice playground, and for the age of anglers the Family Fishing Pond is really best suited for, a round of swinging, spinning and sliding after fishing is icing on the cupcake!