Zen Hike - Jack's River Redux, Again

Today, the Zen Center hosted another of its quarterly hikes, this time up to the Cohutta Wilderness in northwest Georgia along the Beech Bottom Trail to Jacks River Falls.

The hike was actually a repeat of a hike from two years ago, when the Atlanta and Chattanooga sanghas met at the trailhead and shared in the trip down to the river. This year we had a smaller group - four - but no less fun. The weather was beautiful, the trail gentle, the falls full.

The trail is a pleasant four-mile hike (eight miles round-trip) along an old road bed to Jacks River and its dramatic waterfall. Deep rich soils support distinct plant communities lush with ferns in this forest. There are more than 40 species of rare and uncommon plants, and a variety of wild animals, such as black bears, wild boars, turkeys, deer, ruffed grouse and squirrels, abound. Ragged and heavily forested, the Cohuttas are true wilderness.

It may be a testament to planning, but there were no real adventures or misadventures to report. We all arrived at the Zen Center more-or-less on time, carpooled up to the trailhead without incident, hiked to the falls where we ate, sunned and played, sat zazen nearby in the shade, hiked out and drove home. No drama, no comedy, just a nice day.