ass hike. We drove one vehicle down to the Coker Creek Falls and then took another down near the Coker Creek campground area
where the trailhead begins. The Coker Creek Trail is only 4 miles long, so we hiked down the John Muir Trail portion of the Benton MacKaye about a h a lf-mile to reach the beautiful overlook high above the Hiwassee River. "Doc" talked to us about how many gallons per minute were rushing down the river and we all s aid how we'd love to be in kayaks charging down the river.As we began hiking back down towards the Coker Creek Trail (CCT), we began to see small flurries of snow drifting their way down to earth. By the time we stopped for lunch around Mile #4, there was already about an inch of snow on the
ground. The boys worked hard to learn how to orient their maps, and repeatedly took bearings on multiple points until their taskmasters (aka Scout Leaders) felt that they were finally learning how to use their compass. The Coker Creek Falls were beautiful, as the river swollen from recent rains cascaded over the rocks below. The scouts hiked way ahead of their leaders, and continued to leave us markers on the trail, like the man from "Journey to the Center of the Earth." As the snow continued to fall, they began writing these directional marks in the snow with humorous notes like "Here Lies Silas" or "Lucas ==>" The scouts had a blast on the trail but were reminded that next time, they should check out the weather before going and make sure that their jackets could truly 
zip up.
