Continuing my tour of the National Mall this afternoon, I walk along the Reflecting Pool from the towering Washington Monument toward the somber Lincoln Memorial. A thin layer of ice has formed over the waters of the reflecting pool this morning, but it adds character to my pictures. As I approach the steps of the Greek-styled monument, I can't help but think of Dr. King's speech from these steps some 57 years ago, in which he described his great dream for our nation and for a coming together of the peoples in it. He chose the right spot to speak those words to the masses. For Lincoln was the strength of the abolitionist movement and saw slavery's final defeat in the American Civil War. Dr. King was logical next step and I hope that one day we can realize his dream.
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated to the memory the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. From humble roots, Lincoln rose to prominence due to his great oratory ability, his courage, and his recognition of right. Having grown up in southern Illinois, the history around Lincoln, was force-fed to me as a child since this is the state where he made his name. Perhaps his greatest accomplishments were the Emancipation Proclamation, putting an end to the slavery of millions of African Americans, and his steadfastness in holding together our great nation through the Civil War that surrounded the issue. For these acts he is rightfully remembered as one of our country's greatest leaders.
On the southern wall of the open interior of the monument, Lincoln's most famous 271 words are etched. The Gettysburg Address speaks of the great cause and the sacrifices made in support of it. Those words have always touched me, but here in this temple, I don't think anyone could remain unmoved by the power of the speech. As I depart and head for my hotel a few blocks away, my patriotism is renewed.
While our country digs in for what is sure to be a political drama in the Senate, I take time to reflect upon some of the noble and rich history that our nation's capital commemorates. I'm in D.C. today for a wine tasting, but since that doesn't begin until this evening, I have plenty of time to wander the National Mall this afternoon. And while I have been here before and walked the length of it from the United States Capital Building in the east to the Lincoln Memorial in the west, I did not get the opportunity to ride the elevator up into the great obelisk dedicated to our first president. Having reserved a spot in advance, I will remedy that today.
It's a blustery 28 degrees as I jump out of my cap and begin the walk up to the base of the monument. Having recently moved from the high desert of Reno, NV to the humid-rich south near Atlanta, GA, I'm only just becoming reacquainted with the concept of wind-chill. It certainly can have a bone-chilling effect.
Looking up at the 555 ft. monument and reading some of the informational signs, I learn a few things that I was unaware of. This monument to George Washington was intended more to celebrate his military position as the Commander and Chief of the Continental Armies during the Revolutionary War than his presidency. I also didn't realize that it is the tallest stone structure (without a metal frame) in the world, and was in fact, the tallest man-made structure in the world from 1884 to 1889 when the Eiffel Tower claimed that title.
After making my way around the white obelisk, I head inside and through the National Park Service's security checkpoint before boarding the elevator to the top. It's a short 90 second ride that is accompanied by a short video to pass the time and inform visitors of some of the history.
Arriving at the top, I'm treated to magnificent views of Washington D.C. I take a few minutes to look out upon the capital. To the east, the United States Capital stands like watchdog over the union. To the south, the Jefferson Memorial sits alongside the Potomac River. To the west, the Lincoln Memorial rises and brings memories of glorious speeches in hope in days past. To the North, the White House, now embroiled in an impeachment trial, stand vigilant.
For all of the comings and goings of our modern politics, this monument is a testimony to the greatness of one of our Founding Fathers. I have read several biographies of President Washington, and while certainly not a perfect man, he was a just man and his courage and leadership gave birth to our great nation. Upon hearing that General Washington intended to lay down his command of the Continental Armies and retire to a quiet life after his victory in the Revolutionary War, the defeated King George III thought Washington the greatest character of the age, since he had the ability and political power to make himself "King of America", but chose, instead, to return power to the Continental Congress. Truly a great man.
Two of my favorite things are hiking and craft beer, REI occasionally offers events that combine both into a short afternoon adventure. While I hiked around Stone Mountain a few weeks ago, I didn't hike to the summit of the granite dome, but today's organized hike with REI will allow me to do just that and finish it off with a cold beer. Additionally, I'm in talks to possibly work part time with REI guiding tours of this kind in the near future. Seems like it would be a fun part-time gig.
Meeting up with the group of nine hikers, and our guide, Mark, who I bikepacked Cumberland Island with a few weeks ago, we quickly talk about the plan for the day and then set off for Stone Mountain Park, which is just a short walk from the Village Corner German Restaurant, where we will enjoy our post-hike beverage.
Once we make a quick restroom break, we start making our way up the Walk-up Trail towards the summit. This is a really popular hike among locals and the trail is pretty busy this clear, but brisk morning. On the way up, I make a couple of new friends within the group and we talk about all kinds of topics from other hikes we've done to podcasts and a myriad of other subjects. While the trail is fairly steep and is along solid granite, it's not terribly difficult, but we do reach one point where railings have been installed to help visitors climb a steep section. This area is actually somewhat reminiscent of the cables on Half Dome in Yosemite Valley. While not as steep and certainly not as long, it has as similar feel and visual.
Arriving at the top, the cold January winds blow with ferocity up here, some eight-hundred feet above the surrounding area. A visitor's center, snack bar, and cable car landing have been installed up here to give this place a much more touristy feel than it's central California counterpart, but it's still a nice hike. Downtown Atlanta can been seen in the distance, as well as the beginning of the Blue Ridge to the distant north.
After a short stay on the top, we begin to make our way down the way we came. Arriving back at the Village Corner, I note that we hiked just about 3.6 miles and now it's time to enjoy the other part of the adventure. Mark orders a round of giant German pretzels for us, and we each provide our drink order to the bartender in turn. I opt for a flight of the beers made by the Stone Mountain Brewery, which is part of the restaurant. A coupe of the beers are pretty nice, but a couple leave a bit to be desired. That's the beer snob in me coming out, but this place is obviously geared towards tourists. Ah well, I enjoy the pretzel and the company for a while before heading home. Perhaps soon, I'll be getting paid to lead hikes like this.
The ancient peoples east of the Mississippi River were noted for their mound building. Cities, villages, ceremonial centers and burial mounds can be found all over the united states. Since moving to Atlanta a couple of months ago, I've visited a coupe of the sites in this state, but today, I'm heading to a couple of unique ones that are in the form of bird effigies, and could reasonably be called geoglyphs.
The first is known as Rock Eagle Effigy Mound and is protected by the University of Georgia. I arrived early enough to find the parking lot empty. The approach to the ancient monument has been paved with a cobblestone walkway, leading to a stone observation tower that was built in the 1930's to provide visitors with aerial view of the figure. The mound itself is made of quartzite stones piled up some ten feet or so above the ground to form the unmistakable shape of a bird in flight. The figure is protected by a tall fence surrounding and the cobblestone walkway surrounds the fence allowing visitors to walk all the way around the site. I take some time to climb up the tower, which has a wooden staircase and is four stories tall, but open to cold morning air. It does provide an outstanding view of the figure though.
The second effigy mound, Rock Hawk, is about fifteen miles away and sites near Lake Oconee. There seem to be a number of trails in and around this site which is owned by the Georgia Power company, but opens it up to the public. This site also has an observation tower to provide a bird's eye view of the effigy, but this one is open air and made in a much more modern style. Looking down on the Rock Hawk mounds, the similarity is obvious and archaeological research seems to indicate a common history. Unfortunately, this second site is in not in as good of condition as the first. While it is protected by a fence just like Rock Eagle, past visitors and perhaps time itself have not been as kind. The general shape is obviously that of a bird though.
After reading a bit further on these sites, it seems there were early reports in the mid-nineteenth century of two more mounds, one in the form of a third avian and another in the shape if a snake, but modern research has been unable to confirm the existence of these other two and they may have been destroyed as the lands that held them were settled and farmed. It's a shame to have lost such treasures, but I'm glad the remaining two will be protected going forward.
While it rained pretty heavily yesterday evening as a thunderstorm passed through, today is turning out to be a beautiful day in the greater Atlanta area. Time to get some trail miles in. As has started to be come a regular Sunday routine, I met up with one of the local hiking groups around noon at Harbins Park, which is only a few miles from my home.
The large group of about thirty hikers assembled, did a quick round of introductions and then hit the trails. I admit to never having heard of this part prior to seeing today's event posted, but I'm up for any trail miles I can get. Before advancing too far into the woods, we explore the perimeter of a nearly abandoned cemetery that the sign indicates is the final resting place of several freed slaves who settled and farmed this area immediately following the civil war. There are a number of little tidbits of history like this all around Georgia, as I'm learning.
The trail system here is relatively flat and easily spotted among the hibernating deciduous trees of central Georgia. Though, as we it twists and turns through the fallen leaves, I begin go question if it was made simply for the sake of building a trail. It seems that is a common element of many of the hikes I have done in and around my new home. I don't mean to imply that there is anything wrong with that, but I tend to enjoy trails more when they have a purpose. A path leading to a lake, the summit of a mountain, or to a hidden waterfall are all more to my liking. It may just be that I need to adjust my thinking about hiking a little bit to accommodate my new surroundings.
As the day proceeds, we find that a small regiment of our troop has finally well behind. The organizer calls one of them that he is very familiar with by telephone and we learn that one of the ladies towards the rear is struggling with the pace we have been keeping. We've been going roughly 3.5 miles per hour with an occasional stop. That is around the pace advertised in the event posting, but some new to hiking don't really know what they are and are not capable of until they get out here.
I and another gentlemen decide to head back to see if we can assist, but unfortunately, we are unable to find them after backtracking a half-mile or so. We return to where we left the main group only to find they have departed again and we are forced to guess at the route the took. We guessed wrong and end up adding a couple of miles to our tally. I'm okay with that. I want the miles, but after a couple of attempts to relocate the main group, we decide to head back to the trail head.
As we near the parking lot, we encounter the two experienced hikers that were caring for the lady that was struggling. It seems they took a completely different route and none of us know exactly where the main group has gone. We join up and head for the parking lot to wait for the main group. After only five minutes or so, the remaining members of our expedition, including the organizer, show up. It was an unfortunate turn of events, but I was still able to get in 8.3 miles at a good pace today. I'm going to have to look more closely at some of these hikes in the future though and ensure they are ones that I want to do. Still, any day that I can get some trail miles in is a good day.
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.
A monadnoke is a small mountain jutting abruptly out of the landscape and often made of granite. The greater Atlanta area has three such granite islands, Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and the site of today's ranger-guided hike, Panola Mountain. While the other two were both quarried at points in the past and have a network of trails in and around them, Panola's granite is not of sufficient quality for construction use and so has remained mostly pristine. So much so, in fact, that the entire mountain and the area around it has been dedicated a preserve. Hike on the mountain itself is only allowed when accompanied by a park ranger. Learning of this, my curiosity was peaked and I registered for the tour.
I arrived at the park's nature center a few minutes before the scheduled start time. After checking in, I walked around the exhibits the museum had to offer, which includes a number of snakes in aquariums and a miniature model of the mountain and surrounding areas. As the start time approached, our guide collected the four of us tour and gave us a quick overview of what to expect, before we headed into the woods.
From her description, it sounds as though the woods surrounding Panola Mountain was once used as cotton fields and grazing lands for dairy cattle, but has, over the last century or so, been reclaimed by nature. Additionally, there are obvious signs that this area was home to moonshiners at various points in the past. Their stills and steel barrels are tangible reminders of the bootleg industry that ran rampant in the hills of Northern Georgia all the way to northern end of the Appalachians.
The trail bobs and weaves through the woods, heads past a man-made swimming pond, before we arrive at the foot of the mountain. From here, we make our way up the side of the mountain that would seem more appropriately placed in the Sierra Nevada than outside of Atlanta, but it is a beautiful site regardless. The ranger warns us to watch our step on the slick rocks. We've had significant rainfall the last couple of days and she further mentions that it is an ideal time to visit, as the mosses and lichens that cover the granite will be at their most colorful. She takes the time to warn us about stepping on the cryptobiotic surface, which is music to my ears as a Leave No Trace trainer.
The hikes is incredibly easy, even the inclines, but the views are quite stunning. From here we are able to see both Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain in the distance as well as getting a great look at Atlanta's skyline from a distance. The granite itself shows signs of age by the mucky pools carved out by the lichens and now inhabited by a myriad of lower levels of plant life. In time, these small ecosystems will grow into larger wooded areas, but it's quite interesting to see it in these early stages of development.
Returning a slightly different route than the way we came, we end up back at the nature center and we all thank the ranger and her assistance for their time and discussion. It really was a great experience and while the hike was only about 3.6 miles, it was well worth the visit.
Slightly further away, my third stop for the afternoon is DeSoto Falls, which is within the Chattahoochee National Forest. GPS leads me to a wonderful view of the falls from the highway and half-a-mile away with no obvious parking or route down the mountain. After turning around, I quickly find the trailhead and depart for my final waterfall of the day.
After walking through the campground, and crossing Frogtown Creek, the trail splits. To the right and 3/4 of a mile distant is the upper falls and to the left and only a 1/4 mile away, the lower falls. I intend to hike to both while I'm here, but I'll do the upper falls first. The trail is well maintained, but has some incline to it. After a short distance, I climb a wooden staircase to an observation deck overlooking the three tiers of Upper DeSoto Falls. While not quite as amazing as the previous two waterfalls I've visited today, this one is still pretty impressive.
I turn and head back the way I came and then at the fork, continue on to the lower waterfall. This part of the trail is short, but steep as it winds its way up the hillside to finally reveal a much smaller waterfall pouring over an ancient stone slab. Neither of these waterfalls on the on the creek proper, but simply empty in the creek below.
I think I'm done for the day. I return to the jeep after having put in an additional 2.3 miles on this trail. What a wonderful way to kickstart the new year.
Ignoring TLC's advice today, I'm chasing waterfalls. Just a few miles from Anna Ruby Falls is another one of Georgia's most impressive water shows. In my previous post, I commented about the sort of uniqueness of a set of waterfalls at the confluence of two creeks. However, Dukes Creek Falls is the exact same situation. Strange to be contradicted so immediately. The waterfall on Dukes Creek drops about 50 feet into the same pool as the water flowing from Davis Creek, though drop the later drops nearly 150 feet over several cascades. When I planned on hiking to some waterfalls today, I wasn't really expecting this grandeur, but I'm thankful for it. This is a gorgeous setting.
I make my way back up the wooden observation decks, stairs, and three switchbacks in the trail, having hiked just at 2.5 miles total on this second stop. I can only hope that my next stop will be as outstanding.
I always like starting the new year off with a hike. It seems to set the proper tone for the next twelve months. Today, I'm going to explore some of northern Georgia's best waterfalls, starting with Anna Ruby Falls, which is about 75 miles north of my new home and near the quaint little village of Helen, GA. I know this is a very popular area and so, I get an early start and arrive at the site a little before 9:00 AM. To get to Anna Ruby Falls, which has been protected as a National Forest Service Recreation Area, one must pass through Unicoi State Park, which is also quite popular. Luckily, I have both a State Park Pass as well as the National Park Service's America the Beautiful Pass, which save me from paying any additional fees.
The trail itself is paved all the way to the falls and follows the clear waters of Smith Creek as it tumbles down the mountain of a series of small rapids and falls. Anna Ruby Falls itself is quite an impressive site and somewhat unique in my experience. It actually consists of two waterfalls at the confluence of Smith and York Creeks. The Smith Creek Falls is two tiered and drops a total of about 154 feet, while the York Creek Falls is a single waterfall. The two combined waterfalls makes for an awe-inspiring vision as if water is rushing out of the entire mountainside. It's quite a beautiful site. After walking back to my jeep, I check my distance and find that I hiked about 1.2 miles, though I think of it as more of a stroll since it was on pavement.
