Little Mulberry Park - Ravine Trail (Gwinnett County, Georgia)

 

With daylight savings time in full effect, it's time I start trying to get in the occasional evening hike after I finish up with work for the day. Obviously, I'm somewhat limited in my choice of trails in that I'll be dealing with traffic in many cases, but there are plenty of parks and trails that are only a short drive from my home. For the first one, I thought I would revisit Little Mulberry Park, which I hiked a few miles in a month or so ago and really enjoyed. I actually posted this as a Meetup event with very short notice, but with no one showing up, I'm perfectly fine hiking the trails myself. 

I thought I would tackle the Ravine, Woodland Loop, and Beech Tree trails this evening. I had planned to take this hike at a slower pace and make it more friendly for beginners to the group, but since its just me tonight, I should be able to knock those miles out pretty quickly. The trail starts out paved, and as before, the entire park is extremely well maintained. As the large parking lot was nearly full and the trails are packed with people, this is obviously a popular after-work fitness location for a lot of locals.

After taking the turn for the Ravine Trail, I follow the pavement for some time before coming to the junction with the Woodland Loop. I mistakenly continue following the pavement into a local neighbor hood and completely miss the well-worn dirt trail leading deeper into the woods. After realizing my mistake, I turn back and take the correct path only to find the first of the many deer I will encounter on the remainder of my hike. The young lady is cautious, but doesn't seem overly concerned as I pass near where she is grazing on some tasty greenery.

As I finish out the Woodland Loop, the trails starts to parallel a small stream. The water is flowing gently over some low-lying limestone slabs and providing a nice trickle sounds effect to my leisurely stroll. It's quite relaxing. 

My hike continues through the woods and along the Beech Tree Trail, along which a number of medium-sized beech trees have had their trunks horribly scarred by careless people carving their initials into the bark. While this is a fairly common thing, the wounds to the protective covering can provide an opening for microbes to penetrate the trees flesh and cause major damage and even death.

Re-joining the pavement, I hike the remainder of the trail back to my jeep alongside a number of runners, hikers, and bikers. I was able to get in about 4.1 miles on this quick little hike, which is a nice way to cap off a day of work. It's great for relieving the stress of one's job. Hopefully, weather and work will cooperate to allow me to do this more often in the coming months.