Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield - Full Loop (Cobb County, Georgia)

Today, I'll be leading a hike around the entire full loop of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield. This is the last of the training hikes that I scheduled on the Meetup group in preparation for the Camino Portugués de la Costa, which I will be starting in a few days. This is a roughly 17.6 mile loop, which I've hiked a couple of times in the past few years. That seems like a really big hike, but considering I hiked over 30 miles last Saturday, this seems like a walk in the park. 

I arrived at the overflow lot a few minutes before my posted start time and after paying the parking fee, made my way to the visitor's center, where I told hikers to meet. When I arrive, I find a man and a woman waiting. After confirming they are here for the hike, I introduce myself and they do the same. I've actually hiked with the gentleman before. We wait until the designated start time, but in the end, we are the only three. It seems the other several people that signed up didn't take the time to remove themselves from the event. Nothing new there. 

After explaining the plan, we quickly hit the trail, which starts with a steep ascent up Big Kennesaw Mountain. I find that I'm really enjoying being in shape right now. We're moving at a good clip up this steep trail, and I'm barely breathing hard. I need to keep myself in this kind of shape from now on. We stop at the upper parking area to enjoy a view of downtown Atlanta in the distance before finishing the trail to the summit. Along the way we pass a few mock cannon installations commemorating the Civil War battle that took place a century-and-a-half ago. I also mentioned the famous soldier carving at the top that states "prepare to meet they god" and we spend a few minutes looking for it. It takes a bit because someone had a bag sitting on it. 

From there, we head down towards the saddle between Big and Little Kennesaw. This part of the trial is a bit rocky and I take it a little slow, as I don't want to injure myself before my trip to Portugal. I do mention that this is pretty much the hardest part of the hike and the vast majority of the rest of our trail will be flat. 

As we come down from Little Kennesaw, the gentleman hiking with me realizes he dropped his hat. We back track about a quarter-mile, but soon find it. I'm actually kind of glad that we did as it gave us a little more distance. We make quick work of the next few miles, which does flatten out dramatically as I had suggested. Along the way, we tell jokes and rib each other pretty heavily. The company is great and I'm really enjoying myself.

Around 12:30, I suggest trying to find a place to eat lunch. A short while later, we cross Cheatham Hill Road and take advantage of some picnic tables just beyond the trailhead parking area. We enjoy some snacks, including walnuts, almonds, fresh blueberries, artichoke hearts, and pretzels. It's good to get some calories in us, but after about 15 minutes rest, we're all ready to go and hit the trail once again.

Now getting into the far southern part of the park, we enter a beautifully lush woodland area and encounter some wildlife. First, I hear a hissing sound just as a black snack scurries off the trail and under the leaves beside it, leaving the very tip of his tail out. I'm not sure what kind it was, but the hiss would lead me to believe it might have been a hog nosed snake. I don't want to disturb him further though and we agree to let him be. Just a mile or so further and we spot six deer in a little grass-covered meadow just few yards off the trail. Luckily, I'm able to snap a couple of pictures of some of the herd. Beautiful animals.

Rounding out the southernmost tip of the park, we make the turn and begin heading north. Before we do though, we take advantage of a water fill station the park service has placed here. While I have plenty of water, on a hot day like today, it's worthwhile to fill up at every opportunity. The others do the same. 

On the way back, we stop at a couple of the Civil War monuments, which are always interesting. Many of them commemorate the regiments that participated in the battle, including the Illinois Monument. We also take a moment to observe a tomb of an unknown soldier buried here a short time after the battle.

As we make our way further north, I feel my legs wanting to move and I push the pace a bit, but my new friends struggle to keep up a bit and so after a mile or so, I stop and wait for them. They're not slow my any means, but I've just been hiking very, very fast for the past couple of months. I think we're all about ready for this hike to be over with though. Finally, we see the open field that lies just east of the visitor's center and know we are essentially done.

Once we arrive, we say our goodbyes and use the restrooms, which are thoughtfully left unlocked until 7:30 pm. I still have another half-mile to go to get back to my car, but once there, I check my GPS track and see we've hiked 18.1 miles, which includes that section we backtracked. Not bad at all. Tough it was very warm today, the great company and long hike made for a wonderful Saturday.

Foxfire Night Hike - Anna Ruby Falls (White County, Georgia)

The past few years living in Georgia, I've discovered a lot of really interesting things in the natural world. Few are as amazing as the foxfire of Anna Ruby Falls. During the spring each year along the walls of this valley, a gnat larvae known as orfelia fultoni glows a dim bluish-gray light to attract prey. I've had the privilege to attend the night hikes at Anna Ruby Falls to witness this phenomena a couple of times in the past, but it's one of those things that's worth seeing many times and so, when my schedule allows, I try to make it up for the natural event.

Leaving my house immediately after work and grabbing some food on the road, I arrived at the entrance to the park about 10 minutes before the designated meeting time. After checking in and parking my car, I took advantage of the restrooms while everyone gathered. It seems that we'll have a pretty good crowd this evening. At the appointed time, one of the organizers begins a safety talk and covers our agenda for the evening. Afterwards, he points in the direction of the waterfall and we're off. With darkness not quite settling in just yet, I wanted to get a couple of pictures of the waterfall and Smith Creek which forms from the confluence of the twin waterfall. I'm in excellent shape right now and I reach the observation deck at the top of the trail a good ten minutes before anyone else (and I'm not even breathing hard). 

I take a few minutes to take in the natural beauty of this place and snap a few pictures, while the others start to arrive and we wait for darkness together. The foxfire is very feint and only really visible once the sun has fully set. Around 9:15 pm, we begin hiking back down the paved trail the way we came using red-lensed flashlights to help ensure we don't walk off into the creek. That said, some people make far too much use of them and it makes it challenging to see the foxfire. I do spot a few examples though. Our guide mentions that an area just above the parking lot where we started is the most densely packed and before long we're there. 

*Note: Photo courtesy of Google

After getting ahead of the group a little bit and only flash my red lamp for a couple of seconds every twenty or so feet, I see exactly what he means. A section of rock here which marks a natural spring that flows into Smith Creek is covered with hundreds of the larvae. They form a sort of arc from the ground and up the rock some fifteen or twenty feet. It's breathtaking! I wish the camera on my phone could do them justice, but they are so feint it would take several minutes of perfectly still exposure to capture them. Still, my eyes were able to appreciate the site.

Now back at the parking lot, I thank our guide for the organizing the event and head back to my car. From past hikes up to the falls, I know this out and back is about 0.9 miles, but I didn't track it today. I also noted the very limited number of blue ghosts fireflies we spotted along the way. They also love this environment and in years past, I've seen many of them in this valley, while only a couple this evening. It has been a little cooler than normal for this time of year, I'm sure that's playing into their biological calendars.

Mammoth March South Carolina - Kings Mountain (York County, South Carolina)

 

Last spring, I participated in the Alabama Mammoth March, which is a 20-mile hike supported much like a trail race would be with aid stations along the way. It was fun, though perhaps a bit overdone. As I'm training for an upcoming trek along the Camino Portuguese, I thought this would be a good apex training hike and so, I signed up for the South Carolina version. However, 20 miles didn't seem challenging enough and since the event offered a 30-mile option, I decided to go for this. While I've done many 20+ mile hikes over the years and even run two full marathons, I think 30 miles will be a personal record for a day hike.

I spent the night in a motel about 20 miles from Kings Mountain State Park, where the event starts. I got up early and drove to the grassy field where they were guiding participants to park. My start time is scheduled for 6:30 am and after checking in and doing some final gear checks, I headed up to the starting arch and prepared to take off. There are a lot of participants and they stagger starts by a few seconds to make a little room on the trail. I had scheduled this as an event on the Meetup and one new friend had signed up. We were messaging back on forth on the app, but with the delay in how it sends them, we struggled to meet before the start of the hike.

After only a couple of minutes and after chatting with other participants in line, I passed under the arch and began my adventure. I've been running, hiking, and dieting for the past few months and I feel like I'm in great shape. My goal is to finish the 30 miles in under 10 hours, which means maintaining an average pace of 3 miles per hour. As I don't stop my tracker for breaks, I will actually have to hike faster than that to allow for a break here and there. I come out of the 'gate' strong pushing over 4 miles per hour over the first couple of miles.

With a pace faster than most of the participants, I was quickly passing many of them and soon came across my friend from the Meetup. I asked if my pace was okay for him and said he would try to keep up. Soon though, we were halted by the first water crossing. A knee-deep creek that doesn't really an option other than getting wet. We both took off our shoes and socks and waded across the rocky creek barefoot. On the other side, I found a spot to dry my feet and put my footwear back on. I think this was a wise decision, as wet socks would have quickly lead to blisters. 

My friend and I hike together for a short time, but after only a mile or two, it's fairly clear that he's not going to be able to keep up. I wish him well and tell him I'll see him at the finish line. From here, I'm on my own as I hike the mostly single track through the park. While pleasant, there's nothing here that's overly scenic. It looks much like any other forest trail in this part of the country. 

The next several miles are uneventful, but I'm able to maintain a pace somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles per hour, which is promising for hitting my goal time. I notice that my GPS is showing more mileage than the event signs posted along the way. It seems I'm gaining about 0.1 miles every mile and so, by the ten mile mark, I'm showing more like 11 miles. I chat with other hikers and everyone seems to be seeing the same thing. Ah well, perhaps I'll have more than 30 miles when I finish. 

While there is a water refill every three to four miles, the first major aid station comes at about mile 11 (according to the event markers). Here volunteers offer up a variety of snacks, a water refill, tables and chairs to rest, and port-a-potties. As I'm well ahead of schedule, I decide to enjoy a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I also decided to put on some dry socks. I brought a couple of extra pair fully intending to change them out occasionally and hopefully, save my feet from blisters. I chat with a few other hikers while relaxing, but after 10-15 minutes, I decide it's time to get moving again.

Through this next section, I hike with a pair of ladies who are traveling right at my pace. We chat a little bit as we move through the trail. At one point, I commented on the lack of poison ivy, which I've been very watchful for. After a few miles of this though, I get distracted by the ruins of an old Civilian Conservation Corps structure. The ladies continue on while I stop for a couple of pictures and to read the informational signs. 

Around mile 18, we move from Kings Mountain State Park into Kings Mountain National Military Park, where in 1780 a battel took place between British Loyalists and the militia of the fledgling new nation. I didn't really know much about this battle until reading up on it, but it seems this is considered a major turning point for the Americans in this struggle for independence, as they routed the loyalists forces.

This is a nice facility run by the National Park Service and our trail follows the rubber-coated pavement for a couple of miles as we pass through the visitors center and surrounding area. At one point, we hike up a moderate hill with two large monuments. The first is a tall obelisk commemorating the the battle. Further up the hill at the apex, a shorter monument in the shape of a tower further commemorates the American victory. I stop for a short time to read some of the informational signs. While I'm mostly here for the mileage today, I can't let history like this remain unknown.

Eventually, we leave the rubberized pavement and re-enter the woods. Small red flags have been placed by the Mammoth March organizers to show us the way. From there, I hike another couple of miles west until reaching somewhat confusing signage. After taking a moment to consider though, I realize that this point starts a short spur trail that we must travel out and back. Unfortunately, this section will prove to be the steepest and most challenging as we climb to the summit of Brown Mountain. Our reward though at the turn around near the bottom of the mountain is the second full aid station. 

With about 21 miles complete, I decide take another short break here and enjoy a cold diet coke and another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The station is staffed by volunteers, who are very nice and enjoy chatting with the participants. I ask about further water crossings, but unfortunately, they don't have any information on this. After about 20 minutes, I throw my day pack back on and head out. 

Over these last miles, I have been playing 'hop scotch' with a lady and we've chatted along the way. She left the aid station a few minutes before me, but said she would see me on the uphill. As expected the climb back to the summit of Brown Mountain is pretty brutal. It wouldn't be normally, but as I've already hiked over 20 miles today, it's a good test. I pass the test with flying colors as I continue my fast pace and chew through the terrain. I do eventually catch up with the hop-scotch lady and mention that I'll probably see her at the next aid station as I pass her. As I finish the spur trail and get back to the main trail, I also pass my friend from the Meetup. He asks if we can get a quick picture, which I'm agreeable to. It seems he's doing well and is just a couple of miles behind me

I mentioned earlier that I was glad to see a lack of poison ivy along the trails. That held true for the first few miles, but the last several miles do seem to have a little bit hugging the trail. I pull my socks up to help keep from brushing past the vile vine. I can feel my feet and legs getting a little tired and my pace does slow a little bit, but I'm still pushing well over 3 miles per hour.

Finally, we get back to Apple Road where we started and I can see the parking area. Curious though, the 20-mile course rejoined us a while back at the last water station. The 19-mile mark for those participants comes about a quarter-mile before the 29-mile mark for me and the other crazy people. This is odd since we will apparently finish together. Anyway, I finish the last little bit with hop scotch lady. Her husband meets us a the gate and walks the final quarter-mile or so with us. 

As we pass under the finishers arch, the volunteers congratulate us and hand us our medals. I check my GPS and final distance for me was about 30.7 miles. While my track had gotten ahead of their marks, they fixed some of it here at the end with this short final mile on the 30-mile course. Hop scotch lady thanks me for my encouragement along they way and I wish her well. After grabbing a Monster energy drink and a bottle of water, I find a chair to relax in for a few minutes. My final time was 9:50:09, which includes my breaks along the way. That's even better than I was expecting. I'm pretty exhausted, but surprisingly my feet and legs are not totally destroyed. Tired - yes, but destroyed - no. I now have a three hour drive home, lets see how stiff they get sitting in the car. 

Roswell Riverwalk (Fulton County, Georgia)

Originally, I was hoping to drive up to Fort Mountain State Park today and hike the Gahuti Trail, but as family obligations changed, I needed to adjust my plan. I still wanted to get a few miles in, but didn't have time for the long drive. I settled on walking a few miles along the Chattahoochee River on the Roswell Riverwalk Trail. I've walked this area a few times in the past and it's very nice. A combination of pavement and boardwalk, the trail is sandwiched between several roadways and the river itself. It's very popular for walkers, runners, and bikers, but as it is a completely urban trail, I feel comfortable listening to an audio book while I get my miles in. 

After parking and using one of the public restrooms, I start my walk at Don White Memorial Park and head west. I'm in running shoes, which are more comfortable on pavement than my hiking shoes. It's a bit cool today, but that doesn't seem to stop people from getting some exercise. There are a lot of folks out here, which is great to see. As I approach Riverside Park, I note that it is fenced off and lots of largescale landscaping is going on. Apparently, the park is being redesigned and rebuilt with fresh construction. Luckily, the planners route the walking trail around the construction.

From here, I'm right along the river for a ways before hitting the swampy marshlands of the river's overflow. This area is a thriving ecosystem for birds and amphibians of many types. Along my walk, I spot several herons, geese, and even a large snapping turtle all out sunning themselves on this beautiful day. 

Normally, I walk all the way to Willeo park when I walk this trail, but as I'm a little pressed for time, I make my turn at the Chattahoochee Nature Center bridge today, which cuts a mile-and-a-half or so from the total distance. I push my pace pretty hard on the way back and seem to be walking at nearly four miles an hour. At that pace, I'm back at my car pretty quickly having hiked a total of 5.9 miles. It's not much, but it's still nice to stretch my legs a bit.

Sandy Creek Lakeside Trail (Athens-Clarke County, Georgia)

For a while now, I've been wanting to get over towards Athens, GA and check out the Sandy Creek Area, north of town. I've seen pictures of this park and it seems a really nice area, though they do charge a $2 entry fee. After running my fastest 5k in about six years this morning, I thought I would finally make the hour-or-so drive and get a few more trail miles in at this park.

The park is well marked and after paying the entry fee at an entry booth, I asked the best place to hit the Lakeside Trail. The attendant suggested the boat ramp area and gave me directions, though the signage in the park is very good and clearly guided me to the right spot. I parked my car and quickly entered the woods. 

The trails here are marked with white blazes identical to the AT, but as we are many miles from that famous trail, there is no confusion possible. The trail starts out by following the shoreline contours of Lake Chapman, a moderately sized reservoir made by damming Sandy Creek. I'm feeling really good after my 5k this morning and push the pace pretty hard. Also, I need to get home at a reasonable time to make dinner. The park is filled with people, though most are just fishing or picnicking. There are a few hikers on the trail though.

As I wind my way around the northern end of the lake, I spot several turtles huddled on a floating log, though a couple of them flee when they notice me taking their picture. Like most fished lakes this one has the slight odor of dead fish. It's completely unpleasant, but it is noticeable. Continuing on, the trail crosses a long, wide boardwalk over the Sandy Creek drainage. This entire trail system is really well maintained. 

Now headed down the eastern side of the lake and distracted by the scenery and my own thoughts, I almost step on a long black snake stretched across the trail. I gently stomp near him to encourage him to move on. He's slow to react, but eventually slithers into the leafy forest floor just beside the water line of the lake. He was about four feet long and perhaps two-and-a-half inches in diameter at his girthiest point. He had a white chin, but I couldn't notice many other details. He obviously wasn't a viper of any kind, as he didn't have the diamond shaped head of his venomous cousins. Later when I got home, I did a little research and was trying to decide between a North American racer and an eastern ratsnake, which look both pretty similar. I finally decided on the ratsnake. 

Continuing towards the dam at the southern end of the lake, I've been on the lookout for some stone-walled ruins that I've seen pictures of and that I know are somewhere near this trail. Before long, I practically run into them. I expected the remains of this old house to be set back from the trail and therefore the lake a little ways, but instead it sits right no the trail. What would have been the front entrance steps right out onto the trail. The walls of this structure are local stone held together by mortar and opposite the front entrance a brick fireplace remains. The walls are mostly destroyed, but this would have been a fantastic place to live with the proximity to the lake. 

Winding around the final section before the popular park area, I note several campsites in the woods near the lake that appear to have been abandoned. Someone took the trouble to build gravel-containing platforms bordered by lumber and added steel fire rings. I spotted at least five or six of these campsites, but they are very overgrown and covered with the brown leafy debris of the forest floor. I don't think these have been used in a while. I wonder why they were left for the forest to reclaim though. This seems like it would have been a nice spot for families to camp.

Now hitting the beach area, there is quite a crowd enjoying the lake and the park in various forms, be it playing disc golf, grilling, or just swimming in the cool waters of the lake. I pass through and soon end up back at the boat ramp area having completed my loop of the lake. My hike was 6.8 miles and quite enjoyable. I would recommend this little trail to anyone in the area. The combination of scenery and wildlife made it time well spent.

Red Top Mountain - Homestead Trail (Bartow County, Georgia)

Not content with the mileage I just hiked at nearby Pine Mountain, I decided to stop by Red Top Mountain for a few more miles on my own. On the previous hike, I was leading a group and so, had to go a bit slower and stop occasionally for participants to catch up. While I don't mind doing that at all, I really want to stretch my legs a bit and since I'm by myself for this hike, I intend to do just that. 

Parking my car at the visitor's center, I start up the Sweetgum Trail, which leads to the Homestead Trail, which is the primary one I plan to hike. This trial follows the contours of the peninsula and teases views of the bluish-green waters of Lake Allatoona, which was created by damming the Etowah River. The trails here are incredibly well maintained and I'm a little surprised by how little underbrush grows in these pine forests. It's nice though. 

I'm pushing myself to a walk at a 3.75ish mph pace as I wander along this beautiful trail. Along the way, I pass a number of other hikers and I hear a couple of them comment about how fast I'm moving. I just yell back that I'm training, which is actually true. I chew the landscape though at this pace and before long, I'm back at my car. Total distance for this short addition to my hiking day is about 3.7 miles. Not bad - I would have liked more, but I need to get home for dinner with my family.

Pine Mountain via Coopers Furnace (Bartow County, Georgia)

After leaving the Etowah Mounds site, I drove the short distance to where I plan to start the hike I'm leading today for the Meetup, Coopers Furnace Recreational Area. I discovered this trail a few years ago and have hiked it several times since then. The owner of the Meetup that I often lead for has been asking me to post this one for a few months as one of the standard Sunday hikes, he normally leads. I tried to do this a couple of months ago, but ended up canceling due to heavy rains. Rescheduling to today, lets see how the others enjoy this hike to the summit of Pine Mountain and beyond.

When I arrive there are already a dozen or so hikers assembling and they wave as I park my car. After circling everyone up, we do our customary round of introductions and I explain the hike a little bit. This is possibly one notch above the normal Sunday hikes in terms of difficult as there is more elevation gain than is normal, but everyone seems to understand and feel up to the challenge. With that, we pass by the actual Coopers Furnace and begin making our way up the gravel road towards the side trail that will take us to the summit.

This trail is a essentially a long straight way leading to a figure-eight system, with the summit of Pine Mountain being near the center of the eight and only requiring a short spur trail to reach. As this is a Sunday hike, I try to keep my pace a little slower, though my legs and feet seem to want to move. We stop and wait for everyone to catch up at each intersection and soon, we're making our way up to the summit. 

It's not terribly hot today, but is really, really humid and most of us look like we've been in the swimming pool with our cloths by the time we reach the top. Last time I was up here we were attacked by yellow-jackets, but as there is no sign of the stinging little bastards today, we decide to take a quick lunch break and enjoy the view. Only a couple of years ago, much of the brush was cleared out up here and it allows a much better panoramic view of the area. In the distance, we can see Kennesaw Mountain and nearby Vineyard Mountain and Lake Allatoona.

After a few minutes, we head back to the trail and make our way down the much rockier western loop. I stop a few times as people fall behind. This side is definitely more challenging than the eastern side, but it's necessary to hike it to get the full experience and mileage. Back at the top by the spur trail, we start making our way down completing the final arc of the figure eight and then the straightaway back to the parking area.

As we complete the hike, most of the participants speak of how much they really enjoyed this trail and I think it will likely be added to the normal rotation the Sunday leader usually follows. Our total distance was about 7.4 miles. Some of the folks are going to dinner together, but I want to get a few more miles in before driving home. We say our goodbyes and drive off to our respective destinations.