Little Mulberry County Park

Given the prediction of rain and snow for Saturday, I decided to get my hike in a day early this week. I left work early in the afternoon (as usual, not nearly as early as I thought), and went to Little Mulberry, a Gwinnett county park. It is one of the newer parks in the county, and certainly the largest at 890 acres. I had read mixed reviews of it, so I decided to check it out in person.

The good news about this park is how well developed it is. The trails are well marked, properly laid out, and cover diverse and interesting terrain.

The bad news is how well developed it is. My knees do not particularly like hiking on packed gravel or concrete/asphalt, and many of my tax dollars were spent on such improvements, along with considerable non-essential stone work.

I started on the West Meadow Trail (1.0 mi, Climb: **, Terrain: **, Interest: **), a wide asphalt trail that circles a large meadow. After a short distance, I turned onto the Ravine Loop Trail (2.2 mi, Climb: ***, Terrain: ***, Interest: ***), a packed gravel trail that runs along a surprisingly high ridge, and then climbs down to a small stream. This trail features a number of stacked rock mounds that are thought to have been put there by native Americans.

After not finding the Beech Tree connector trail, which is obviously a figment of a map maker’s imagination, I found my way back to the West Meadow Trail, which I followed to the East Mulberry Trail (4.75 mi, Climb: ****, Terrain: ***, Interest: ****).

Unlike the other trails in the park, this one is dirt, leaves and rocks. I immediately felt right at home, grateful to be free of asphalt and packed gravel! While this trail included some difficult climbs, it had rewarding views of the surrounding area, and Miller Lake, some distance away.

It occurred to me that it was odd that I had such a strong preference for rocky, challenging trails (Alert – spiritual insight coming), while in life, I always seek the easy, wide, level path. This is particularly poignant with my problems at work. I am experiencing the most difficult time in my 35+ year career (I have never had to lay off three people in the same day before), and yet I am convinced that God wants me where I am. I need to learn to embrace the challenges the same way that I look forward to the challenges of a steep, rocky trail. I can only do this by trusting his plan for my life.

I intersected the East Meadow Trail (1.0 mi, Climb: **, Terrain: **, Interest: ***), yet another asphalt trail circling yet another meadow, and did the Pond Trail (.7 mi, Climb: **, Terrain: **, Interest: **) for good measure.

Overall, this park is a great facility, which I am blessed to have in my backyard. The day was made all the better by dinner with my brother at Five Guys Burgers!