A recent day hike to a popular waterfall in Habersham County turned into a memorable experience for three local hikers, a South Carolina man, his dog and others. The reason why didn’t even involve the picturesque falls.
Bryan Santana, who lives in Greenville, S.C., had brought along his golden retriever, Prince, on a hike to Panther Creek Falls in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest near Tallulah Gorge.
Santana and the dog had been on hikes to the falls before. This time, Prince, age 10, was unable to make the hilly trip back, likely due in part to the summer heat.
“It’s a dirt path, and there’s a lot of exposed roots and rocks. He was fine for the first half, but, on the way back, he just decided he couldn’t do any more,” Santana said.
With the dog unable to bear weight, Santana tried to carry his almost 100-pound pal, at one point on his shoulders. He soon realized that wasn’t going to be possible the whole way back. He fashioned a big sling out of a hammock and some branches, but that didn’t work too well, either.
“As we were hiking back, I had a cramp in both my calves. Fortunately, there were other people there to help the rest of the way,” Santana said.
Three members of local fitness group Stay Active Friends of Ellijay (S.A.F.E.) were also enjoying the falls that day. Cheryl Hite, Trinh Boswell and Beth Hemann were hiking the trail to see if it was a viable future excursion for the group, which includes almost 300 members. They saw Santana, his mom and girlfriend trying to move along with an immobilized dog in tow and asked if they needed help.
“When we first came upon them, they’d just left the falls and were at the beginning of the trail. They could barely get the dog off the ground with what they had rigged up,” said Hite, SAFE’s group leader. “We tried wrapping the hammock around the dog’s waist to see if he could walk a little bit and bear some weight, but it became apparent that he couldn’t.”
Hite said she and Santana made another sling with the hammock using a bigger limb that was better suited to carry Prince. Eventually, the help party grew to 15 people, Hite noted. The presence of another dog, who belonged to one of the hikers, helped keep Prince calm.
“People from different cultures and complete strangers all just joined in. It’s very rugged and rough terrain with what is called boulder scrambles, where you have to get past boulders, and three river crossings. The dog was too heavy, and it was too dangerous to walk (through the crossings), so we made a human chain and passed him across,” Hite said. “There’s one part (of the hike) with an extremely steep drop. You couldn’t walk across the boulders or crawl down (with the dog), so we made a chain again and passed him down.”
Hite said the 4½ mile hike back to the parking area took over two hours. Luckily, the impromptu rescue team made it back before dark.
“We didn’t even start the hike back till 5 p.m.,” she said. “It’s not an easy hike. All the way there it’s pretty much downhill, but going back is pretty much 4½ miles of climbing up and out.”
Santana noted that Prince is doing better now, but may have to limit his hiking in the future, at least on hotter than normal days.
“He was sore and tired, but was eating fine by the time we got back. He’s absolutely fine now,” said Santana, whose heart was warmed by the help received on the trail.
“It’s amazing how people can just rally together and help one another. There’s still good in the world,” he said.
This incident is also a reminder of the importance of being prepared when hiking long distances and how severe heat can limit animals and humans, Hite confirmed.
“A 9-mile hike is a lot. Not just for the dog, but for people, too,” she said.
The local hiking group is called SAFE because it not only promotes group activities in the great outdoors, but also safety in numbers.
“It’s (about) keeping people occupied, but also knowing they’re safe in the process. The purpose of the group is to get people out, but not alone and with someone who knows the terrain and can lead the hike so everyone is safe. We always bring safety equipment and enough water along with us. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Hite said.