Hike Inn Revisited

For the first time in awhile, I work up early on Saturday and felt energetic. As such, I decided an aggressive activity was in order. Although I did not know for sure what I would do until just before I left, I opted for a hike at Amicolola Falls State Park. I had done the Hike Inn loop some time back, and while it is quite strenuous, I liked it the first time around. This loop takes the 5 mile trail to the Hike Inn, and catches the AT approach trail back for a total of close to 11 miles.

This look has two things in particular going for it:

1) The Hike Inn provides a good rest, restrooms, and free food at the half way point.
2) The lodge is close to the end, and has a good buffet and a great view.

I made good time to the Inn, quickly found the restroom, and then the kitchen. The day hiker snack de jour was leftover chocolate pound cake. I assume the Inn was fairly busy, as I ran into a number of people on their way back. After a visit to an unusual granite sculpture, I headed toward the AT approach trail. The last mile from the Inn to the AT is the worst of the entire hike, climbing more than 600 feet in a short distance.

Once I hit the AT, there was still a good bit of climbing to do, after which it was mostly downhill. I actually stopped at the junction, and considered making the 3.4 mile trip to Springer Mountain. At a total of 17 miles however, I was not quite prepared for this.

I have often wondered how food and supplies make their way to the Inn. Not far after reaching the AT, I passed the foundation of an old fire tower, followed by two gravel roads, one of which had fresh tracks. My GPS shows these as active roads, so I guess they have a 4WD that makes the run.

I arrived back at the trail junction after 4.5 hours, and took the short trail to the Inn. I was seated next to the picture window with a panoramic view of the mountains, where I enjoyed my soup and salad.

If I only had a place to plug my fan in, I would do an overnight at the Inn in a heartbeat!

Arabia Mountain Trail

I was looking for a different place to ride my bike today. I had previously hiked at Arabia Mountain, known as the older and smaller sibling of Stone Mountain. I had noticed the greenway trail, and even hiked a bit of it, but did not know much about it otherwise. I did some additional research, and found that it ran from Stone Crest Mall on one end to Panola Mountain State Park on the other end, running around 11 miles one way. The web sites I read about it inidcated that he had much more significant elevation changes than Big Creek or Silver Comet, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I started the trip at the relatively new Polebridge trail head, which is close to the South end. I rode South 2 miles, at which point the trail connects to the Rockdale River Trail, which runs just over a mile to a fishing area in Panola Mountain State park. On the way back from Panola, I was beginning to really appreciate what my niece M. (age 9) goes through in the lasgt week before her monthly transfusion. I had been off my iron supplement for a bit, and with significant hills on this trail, I was really winded. I managed to do a round trip through this section, and make the ascent to Arabia Mountain. As I pressed on, I kept thinking of Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." While it is a bit out of context for a bike ride, it kept me going none the less. I did spend some time thinking about why I manage to push myself through a difficult ride, but have trouble pushing myself through the real race that Hebrews speaks of.

The descent from the mountain was easier, as was the next section, which was built in the right of way of the old quarry trail from the mountain. I reached the mall, and decided to get some lunch. Unfortunately, the trail end at one side of the mall, and all of the restrauants were on the other side. I had to navigate through traffic to get to the other end, but the thought of food kept me going.

After lunch, I reversed course, stopping for a brief hike to the peak of one of the secondary mountains at Arabia. The balance of the trip seemed much easier than the trip out. I has glad to chose this trail, but I am not likely to do it every week.

Exploring Fungus

I had to be in Cumming to deal with an issue at work. I have been missing the AT, and since I so close, I decided to go for it, despite the 95 degree temperature.

I went to Woody Gap along GA 60, and hiked North for an hour and a half. This is one of my favorite secitions because of the outstanding view at a few spots. When I arrived, the temperature had dropped almost 10 degrees.

During the hike, I was struck my the wide variety of wild mushrooms. It was almost like visiting an exhibit at Rock City, except that all of these were real.