Adventures of David and Paul: August 2025

We decided to take make a 4-day weekend of the July 4th holiday and rent a cabin just over the GA-NC border in Murphy. David planned some activities on the way and some hikes while up in the mountains. We grilled out, watched fireworks, explored some north Georgia and North Carolina mountain towns and generally just relaxed for a few days.

On the way up to the cabin we stopped at Falls Branch Falls. The road from the west was actually a pretty long dirt road, which wasn't great, but it was just a short hike to the waterfall and it was pretty busy with lots of families. On the way to Blue Ridge, GA we made one more stop to hike Long Branch Trail - which was a short couple mile loop trail through the woods nearby.

In Blue Ridge, we wandered around downtown, which is mostly cute but does have the occasional confederate flag loving store (hashtag ruralgeorgia). We got lunch at a little Italian place that doubles as a market then went on a ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. This train makes the journey from Blue Ridge to McCaysville and back a couple times per day. You can go on a longer 4 hour tour that includes time to stop in McCaysville and have lunch, but we opted for the shorter 2 hour ride that just goes out and back. It's a pretty ride, and there are multiple classes of cabin that range from essentially sitting outside to an air conditioned (child free) cabin.

Falls Branch Falls. Stupid name, nice waterfall.

Aww, I see two happy bears! 😉

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway!

Paul's on a train!

Views from the train.

Leaving Blue Ridge, we stopped by the grocery store and headed up to the cabin for the evening. Paul grilled some hamburgers and we just enjoyed the views and relaxed.

Can't beat this view from our cabin!

The main room of our cabin.

Sunset drinks on the balcony.

The next morning (July 4th) we decided to do the big hike of the trip up Chunky Gal trail to Boteler Peak. This hike was a bit of a challenge. We're pretty used to long-ish hikes when we go out west, but aren't as accustomed to them on the east coast. It was pretty warm, very humid and there were a lot of overgrown segments of the trail with thorns. Mid-way up the trail we ran into a man on his way down who warned us about copperheads and thorns. There was also quite a lot of bear scat on the route, which added to the anxiety. When we got to the top, one of the side paths to the north facing viewpoint was so overgrown we didn't bother. We did have some nice views south towards Lake Chatuge. Overall, we'd not recommend this hike in the summer months as it's not well enough maintained due to overgrowth with thorns. Paul was the trailblazer for most of this hike and was pretty scratched up by the time we got down.

Chunky Gal certainly is a unique trail name.

One of the first overgrown parts - it got much worse than this. Thorns and ticks were concerns.

Paul on the trail.

Views while crossing a powerline easement.

Nice view from the top.

David at the top.

After we got back to the car, snake bite free and unmauled by local bears, we drove back down to Georgia to grab lunch in Hiawassee and visit the Bell Mountain overlook. David had seen TikToks about the viewpoint and it did not disappoint. Oddly, people decided to start graffitiing the rocks here which was kinda interesting but also overall a detraction from the natural setting.

Pizza always hits after a long hike.

View from the overlook.

Spray painted rocks.

From Bell Mountain we went back to our cabin to shower and relax. There were some thunderstorms along the way and a huge one blew over the cabin a bit after we arrived - which was pretty cool to watch. After the storm, there was lots of mist coming off the mountains and a thick layer of fog by the next morning. We were also treated to several fireworks displays from residents in nearby communities as well as the city of Murphy's official fireworks display, which was due north of our back porch.

Here comes the rain!

Misty sunset mountains.

Fourth of July display.

The next morning we set off to Leatherwood Falls for a quick hike and look-around. This was a very popular area with lots of people playing in the stream and picnicking, but we had the hike all to ourselves. It was a short loop hike through the woods with some nice stream views. We then drove down to Murphy to explore the little town a bit and grab lunch, before taking a siesta at the cabin. Murphy is a cute town with some nice restaurants and antique shops. There's also a confluence of two rivers and a riverwalk to explore. Just north of the city is a Harrah's casino. We popped in for 15 minutes, lost $60 on the Wheel of Fortune (a family favorite) and then left.

Clouds in the valley in the morning.

People enjoying Leatherwood Falls.

David on the trail.

Quick stop at the casino!

Downtown Murphy.

All I see are three friendly bigfeet enjoying a day out on the town in Murphy.

Beer flight at lunch.

An old rail bridge near downtown Murphy.

A boardwalk part of the confluence trail. The water level was high and we saw quite a few flooded trees.

Did we mention there were a lot of deer near our cabin?

We mean a lot of deer...

Even this majestic specimen.

David booked a nice restaurant for dinner in a nearby 1-stop-light community of Brasstown. The Crown was up on a hill and had great views of the Blue Ridge mountains at sunset. Their cocktails were really good and the food was rural community 5 stars (city 3.5 stars). The setting was a bit odd, and there was a nearby camp or something that gave cult vibes... maybe don't linger too late after dark. 😉

This covered porch is actually a solar pavilion.

Solid cocktail game.

The southern sampler plate.

On our drive home the following day, we decided to route through Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia. We've been here before but never hiked down to the river (which is like 600 steps down). We were actually pretty close to the close-off time due to the heat. After 11am when it's hot they don't let people walk down anymore, and everyone is supposed to be out of the gorge by that time. We luckily got in, made it to the bottom and back up at 10:59am while the ranger was closing it off. Apparently, there is a fine if we were a few minutes later! Interestingly, you can actually get a permit to go further down the river than we did to a place with a natural water slide. Something to keep in mind for the future.