Another Saturday with unsettled weather. I wish God would schedule rainy days for Mondays, since they are usually a washout anyway. I had been planning to go to Rabun County, but with the threat of rain, I did not want to waste a lot of driving. As such, I decided to revisit one of my favorite Chattahoochee parks – East Palisades. There are four things in particular I like about this park:
1) The best distant view of the Chattahoochee that one can find.
2) The giant bamboo forest.
3) The chance to walk out into the middle of the Chattahoochee on rocks.
4) The excellent rock climbing opportunity at the North end.
On my first visit, I startled one of the Great Blue Herons that frequent this area as I approached the observation deck. I was hoping on this occasion to get a picture of one. Not long into the hike, as I was walking along a stream the feeds the Chattahoochee, I looked toward the stream, and discovered I was standing not 15 feet from a Heron. Sadly, before I could get my camera out and focused, the bird flew off. Maybe next time. I hope I never get a picture of one in my backyard eating my Koi.
When I got to the North end and started to climb the rocks, I worked up the courage to pass the point that stopped me before, a very narrow ledge right before a cave (drawing inspiration from my nephews C, age 11, and A, age 3, who would have run across without even a thought). I went quite a distance beyond that point, climbed to the top of the hill, and worked my way back along the ridge.
Just to be different, I finished by taking a steep connector trail up to Riverview Road, and followed and Northside Drive back to the parking lot via the main entrance. This was a very surreal experience, given all of the amazing houses, each one larger and a quarter of a Million dollars more than the last.
As I looked at each house, I did not find myself at all envious of the people who live in them. That sort of wealth has too many strings attached. As Luke 12:34 says:
34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I can honestly say that my heart is in serving my Savior, and loving my family. How could I possibly be wealthier?
I had to be in Dalton for a sales presentation, so this not only presented the opportunity for a rare mid-week hike, but also to a location that would otherwise be a long drive. After finishing the presentation and having a quick lunch, I set out for Chickamauga Creek Trail, west of Dalton. As is not unusual for me however, I never got there. As I passed the turn-off, I changed my mind, and drove on to Cloudland Canyon, near the AL state line.
If there is a more beautiful spot in all of Georgia, I would sure like to see it. The park is developed around an 1,800 foot deep canyon carved out over the years by a stream. The result is beautiful views and multiple waterfalls.
I began the hike with a trip to into the canyon to visit both waterfalls, which are not visible from the top. There are well constructed stairs leading to each one, but they are hard on the legs. When I got back to the top, I sat on a bench under a huge rock to catch my breath, feeling a bit old about how much the steps took out of me. Shortly thereafter, a teenager walked up and sat down, more tired than I was. That made me feel better.
After a very brief rest, I started off on the West Rim trail, a 4.8 mile trail that winds back down to the canyon floor, across the stream, and back up to the west rim. Much of the trail is routed right along the rim, affording numerous beautiful views. The trail itself is interesting and challenging, with multiple opportunities for rock climbing. At other points, the trail has been eroded, leaving exposed roots which must be navigated. There are also multiple “wet foot crossings, one of which was a “wet ankle” crossing on this particular day.
As on prior hikes my thoughts turned to the difficult time I am having at work, and how much fear I have experienced over the past few weeks. At the same time, I was again struck by the irony that I could walk to the edge of the canyon, where a slight stumble would take me over to my death, with no fear whatsoever. It became clear that my fear is limited to what can happen to me in this life, and not what is beyond that. The generalities of a scripture verse came to mind which I looked up upon my return:
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
I finished up mi hike after 3 hours, and was afforded one final view of the canyon when returning to my car. It was a truly wonderful afternoon, and a great place to visit.
PS A shout out to my syster-in-law for telling me about Photobucket!
My time was very abbreviated today after pre-Easter rehearsal at church, but I could not resist squeezing in a short hike. I stopped by Vickery Creek in Roswell to hike a couple of sections I had not done. I search for a short cut back to my car serendipitously led me to a covered bridge, an old cotton mill, and a walk through restored historic Roswell. Enjoy.
Well, yet another day of unsettled weather. I figured that if I was to get in a hike at all, I would need to stay in town. As such, I picked the next trail on my Atlanta list – Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield. I had never been excited about doing this park, because I saw it as more history and less hike. I was wrong.
After a false start due to forgetting all of my high tech gear, I arrived at the visitor center and began at 9:40. I had noticed before I left home that there was another line of storms in Alabama, and given last night’s tornado, I knew I needed to keep a close eye on it. I pulled the hi res radar image up on my phone, and kept refreshing it (I am not called the high tech hiker for nothing).
The book “60 Hikes in 60 Miles” lists the hike up Kennesaw Mountain as the most strenuous in the book. While I think that is a bit of an exaggeration, the climb of 600 ft in 1 mile will get your attention.
The hike started out on packed gravel, and I was afraid that was what I would have to hike on the whole day. Early on, another hiker, clearly experienced from his gear, asked if this was my first time here. When I said yes, he told me it was one of the nicest and most rugged hikes in the area. Soon after the conversation, it switched from gravel to rugged rock climbing. My kind of trail!
I made it to the top of the mountain, back down a bit, and the up Little Kennesaw Mountain. It was some of the rockiest terrain I have hiked. All around the trail were remnants of the civil war, including mounds and trenches used by the troops for protection. There were also reproduction cannons (I assume) placed on the ridge, in the spot real ones would have been used during the war.
The trail descended to Pigeon Hill and the crossed a road to a large grassy clearing. I continued on the main trail, keeping a wary eye on the weather. When I got to the bridge over Noses Creek, I decided to circle back on the West Trail, and to pickup the East Trail (which does not climb back over the mountain) just to make sure I beat the weather. The section of the West Trail proved to take longer than expected. As soon as I got on the East Trail, I heard the first sign of thunder, even as my phone showed the front a good distance away.
Having lost my map some time back I had no idea what the return trip would take, so I hastened my pace. As I did so, the thunder continued to increase, as did my speed. It was quite some time before the rain actually started, at which point I pulled out my umbrella. I found it somewhat pleasurable to hike in the rain, except for the threat of sever weather.
When the East Trail crossed the access road used by the shuttle to get to the top of the mountain, I took it rather than the trail, just to make sure I made it back in time. Even as the thunder increased, I saw numerous new hikers and joggers just starting out. As I hit the parking lot for the visitor center, the weather sirens began to sound. Just in time! I would later hear of a tornado in the vicinity of where I was, just 30 minutes behind me.
As I put my gear in the car, I began to think about how insignificant my worries about work, the economy, etc were given the fact that I had just toured an area where men fought for a cause larger than themselves under terrible conditions, with many giving their lives. It sort of puts things in perspective…..
I hurt! It all started with last night’s weather report. I had planned a trip to the area near Cloudland Canyon, but with the uncertainty in the weather report, especially in that area, I decided not to risk it. I have always been curious about the Silver Comet trail, a paved multi-use trail that runs from Eastern Cobb County to the Alabama line. While I dislike paved trails and usually pay the price in leg soreness, I decided to go for it.
The Silver Comet trail runs along an abandoned railroad track bed. It gets its name from the 
Silver Comet luxury passenger train which ran from Birmingham to New York, with a spur to the Atlanta airport. Its first run was in 1947, and it succumbed to the increased use of air transportation in 1969. The Georgia DOT bought the right of way for a possible commuter rail system, but permitted the construction of the trail in the interim. It runs for a total of 60 miles, except for a 2 mile segment which is pending completion of a major road widening.
I began at Mavell Road, which is official mile 0 (a connector runs back to Cobb Parkway). While this kind of trail can be a bit monotonous, sometimes beauty is where you find it. There were a number of good views from old trestles, a close-up view of a hawk of some variety, restored ruins of some structure, and a visit to the old depot, which is now occupied by a bike shop.
Despite the weather, I had plenty of company, although not as many folks as would normally be on this section (in good weather, this section can be packed). There was actually some race just finishing as I arrived. The wind chill was a bit uncomfortable to start, but I warmed up quickly.
I prayed at the beginning for God’s guidance, as I always try to do on a long hike. I was not however expecting the in-your face answer I got. My mind quickly turned to work, and I once again examined my role there in light of the many problems we fact. In the early part of CMI’s chapter 11, my company is seems has become a controversy in itself (long story). I began thinking about whether God really wanted me there, and to be honest, was kind of hoping for a message that I should leave. Instead, almost the minute I began to think about it, a song popped into my head. It was not a song on a CD I own, a favorite, or even one I have heard many times. The words resonated in my brain however (Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns):
Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Wow, that seemed like a pretty clear answer. I am definitely facing the largest giants ever at work these days. The words "this is for my glory" kept repeating over and over. I hesitate to draw too much significance from a song popping in my head, but it would be uncannily reinforced at lunch.
I went approximately 8.3 miles in, and then turned around. The return was very difficult. Because of the repetitive nature of walking on a hard surface, the back of my knees and my shins became extremely sore. I am now walking like an 80 year old. Someone remind me to never do long hikes on a paved trail again!
I sought out Sweet Tomato for lunch, needing a serious carb fix. I opened my current book Waking the Dead by John Eldridge, and found that the bookmark had come out. I flipped through trying to find the place I left off a week ago. I finally found a spot that looked familiar, and began reading. The second page had a quote from a literary work (whose name escapes me for the moment) which was a story similar to David and Goliath (note the song excerpt), and then launched into a serious section about spiritual warfare. I had never considered our problems at work from this perspective, but nobody would dispute the fact that CMI has furthered God’s kingdom (as one caller in particular reminded us this week). There would be over 300 churches not where they are today without CMI. It became pretty clear that Satan would be pleased by its failure. This casts my work issues in a whole new light, and will seriously redirect my prayer efforts and leadership.
Two morals today:
1) Don’t hike more than 10 miles on a hard surface.
2) When you sincerely ask God to speak, don’t be surprised when you get an answer!
With my sinus infection still raging, I did not want to subject my ears to the pressure of a drive to the mountains. As such, I opted for a couple of national parks along with Chattahoochee. I started the day at Sope Creek, in the Sandy Springs area. The park is on Paper Mill road, which should give you an idea of what this area was used for.
The first trail I took runs along Paper Mill road to Sope Creek, which is more of a small river. There are substantial ruins of the old paper mill along the creek. The creek is in a ravine, and you can look up to the top of the hills to the homes that are worth more than everybody I know 
combined. Quite a surreal experience.
I left the creek, and started on the convoluted network of trails that runs through the Chattahoochee parks. If you look at them on the map, they look more like a random spider web. I suspect the reason for this is that the Chattahoochee parks are very narrow (we would not want to encroach on anyone’s $1 MM home, would we). As such, the trail network maximizes the space. This also leads to a certain element of boredom, given the lack of features on the interior trails. After all however, it is about the hike.
I got a bit off course at one point and took a long walk across the creek, until I hit a private gold course. It required a good bit of backtracking, but the creek was particularly interesting on this area.
As I continued walking, I hit a much wider hike/bike trail, which interconnects this part with Cochran Shoals, which runs all the way to I-285. This was not my favorite type of trail, but it is the best way to hit the next park.
The hike/bike trail dead-ends into the extremely popular fitness trail at Cochran Shoals. This trail is wide and flat with a gravel base, and has various fitness stations periodically along one side. It runs for a total of three miles, and was packed on this particular Saturday. For years, I have passed this part on I-285 and seen oceans of cars, I just never knew why until today.
I got to the southern end of the park at Powers Ferry, and crossed the Powers Ferry bridge to get to the small Powers Island park. I used their facilities, and had a brief snack on the small island in the Chattahoochee, and then started back.
Going back, I turned off quickly onto the wildlife viewing loop, which loops for about 1 mile from the fitness trail. This trail is lightly used and poorly maintained. At one point, I thought I would have to turn around because of a fallen tree, but I managed to get over it.
For the balance of the trip back to Sope Creek, I took a variety of interior trails. One near the northern portion of Cochran Shoals has one of the steepest sections I had ever hiked. It went straight up the hill.
Recall what I said at the beginning about the interior trails having a lack of features, because I was about to happen on a major exception. I noticed a reference on the map to Sibley Pond. 
Since it was on one route back to the parking lot anyway, I decided to route myself that way. I was glad I did, as I came upon a beautiful, glassy, large lake. I took the trail around it to get the full view (no water shortage here). It seemed an unusual place for a pond, so I suspect it related to the old paper mill, but it was none the less quite beautiful.
I reached the parking lot shortly thereafter, having managed to turn two small parks into 11 mile hike.
