Lake Chapman (Clarke County, Georgia)

 

Taking another hike with one of the local meetup groups, we visited and hiked around Lake Chapman. As I Iearned from talking to others in the group, the lake is man-made, as are all lakes in the state of Georgia. It's accessible from Sandy Creek Park, which is a popular summer destination just outside of Athens, GA for picnics and swimming.

About thirty of us met at noon at the designated starting point within the park and quickly hit the trail. This group seems to go at a good pace, which I really appreciate. It's also filled with a number of really friendly people that I've started to get to know a bit since moving to Georgia several weeks ago.

The trail itself follows very closely to the lakes shoreline and while there is nothing overly remarkable about the trail itself, it's always nice to get out and put some miles in. One interesting thing we do encounter about midway are the crumbling stone remains of a home. I laugh as I mention the dwelling to one of the ladies I was talking to and learn that she was so caught up in conversation that she completely missed the structure, though we passed within two feet of it. Ah well, some come out here for scenery, while others come out to socialize. To each their own.

As we round the northern end of the lake, the trail crosses over Sandy Creek and the surrounding soft areas on a wooden bridge and boardwalk. It's probably for the best, as much rain as we've had lately, I suspect we would loose someone to the mud if we were on the surface over this section.

As we return to the parking lot, I see that our hike was right at 6.9 miles. I would have liked a little bit more today, especially with the easy nature of the trail, but this will have to do. For now, I'm joining a couple of my new friends to try a Dominican eatery in town and then heading over to one of Athen's more well-known breweries before heading home.