Mount Tabor Park (Paulding County, Georgia)

I've been busy the last couple of weeks with the Thanksgiving holiday and then a recertification class that I'm required to take every couple of years, but it's time to get out on the trails again. I decided to join one of the Meetup groups to explore a newer park on the western side of Atlanta, Mount Tabor Park. None of us, including the group's organizer, has ever been to the park and so it should be something of an adventure.

After meeting at the trailhead, we quickly make our way into the woods along the well groomed blue trail. I snapped a picture of the map at the trail head to help us with navigation. According to that map, there are three interconnected loops trails, blue, green, and yellow. As we make our way down the trail, we head off on side trail and quickly hit a private property sign. After turning around and we get back to the trail we started on. There are numbered markers along the way that presumably correlate to numbers on the map. I attempt to plan our route.

Continuing further on, we find ourselves on the green trail, but I never saw the marked junction. I'm beginning to think the maps and markers are inaccurate. Though some of us at the front of the pack have been maintaining a pretty good pace, several new members are falling way behind and we are forced to wait for them occasionally at the many junctions we encounter. Like many parks in region, these trails were designed for mountain bikers and simply twist and turn back on themselves to provide more distance. I can't say I enjoy this type of trail very much. I prefer trails that actually lead somewhere and are not just cut randomly through the woods for the sake of making a trail. That said though, the trails and area are very pretty and it's nice to be outside.

I finally decide to give up on the map, as I conclude it must have been made by a drunken cartographer exploring the Amazon, rather than this park. The markers have zero correlation to the map and landmarks, such as bridges, that are marked on the map are no where to be found in the real world. Regardless, we finally make our way back to the trailhead and several people decide to call it a day. 

Having only hiked about 7 miles though, a few of us decide to re-enter the maze of trails to add a bit more distance. While we fair no better than the first foray, we do manage to add another 2.5 miles or so. When we arrive the trailhead the second time, we've managed to hike a total of about 9.7 miles, which is not a bad day. We say our goodbyes and head home.