With Summer in the Southeast in full swing, hiking during the day can be quite miserable. In order to still get some miles in, I decided to join the Atlanta Outdoor Club early this morning for a pre-sunrise summit of Stone Mountain. The five of us met up near the Confederate Hall promptly at 6:00 AM and after a quick round of introductions, started making our way up the Walk-up Trail to the top of the giant granite monadnock.
As I haven't been doing a lot lately due to the hit and other concerns, I was breathing pretty heavily during the steeper parts of the trail. I also clipped my left foot with a power washer yesterday, which resulted in a friction burn. Though, I put some burn cream and a non-stick bandage over it before putting my sock on, it's still a little uncomfortable to walk on.
There are actually quite a few people on the trail this early morning. I guess this is a pretty popular activity. I chat with my fellow hikers on the way up and eventually, we reach the USGS cap on the top of the mountain. With another fifteen minutes or so before the blazing orange ball of gas bursts above the horizon, we locate a spot to relax and take in the view. When the sun does finally become visible, it is quite glorious. With just a few clouds in the sky near the horizon, it creates a magnificent color palate.
We take in the view for a few minutes and then start making our way back down to our cars. Though this was a very short hike of only about 2.3 miles, the elevation and spectacular scenery made it very worthwhile. And even getting up as early as I did to attend, I have no complaints.
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