Little Mulberry Trail (Gwinnett County, Georgia)

 

Not content with only doing a little over five miles on my previous hike and with the timing working out just about right, I decided to join one of the Meetup Groups for a second hike today. This time, I'm heading to Little Mulberry Park, which isn't terribly far from my home and offers a number of terrific trails. I don't generally like to hike in the same place multiple times, but as it has been a while since I've been able to hike with this group, I thought it would be nice to make an appearance and enjoy one of my favorite local parks.

Just as I pull into the parking lot, the group is forming up and Charlie, the organizer, immediately calls on me for his traditional question. Today's is "pick a good name for a trivia team". I often play trivia with Charlie and Sharon at some of the local bars. Unfortunately, I'm stumped having no time to prepare an answer. He gives me a pass and a moment or two later, we hit the trail.

It's great to seem some familiar faces and we make quick work of the trail miles here. Most of these trails, I've hiked before, but one area in particular is new to me. From what appears to be a kayak and canoe launching platform that has been closed off with steel cables, we are offered view of the small island in the middle of Miller Lake. The lake is covered with trees that are starting to turn to their fall colors, but a clearing is visible only from this platform and there, we can see a concrete walkway leading up to the statue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex standing perfectly in the center of the small island. It's actually a pretty big surprise to me, as I thought I knew this park pretty well, but had no idea this was here. 

We continue on around the loop, making good time. As we near the end of the large loop, storms which had been predicted, begin blowing in. The sky to the southeast has turned dark gray and droplets of rain begin to fill the air. It seems we returned to the parking area just in time. As I wish everyone well and get in my jeep, the rain begins to come down. I check my GPS tracker and see that I added an additional 7.8 miles to my day, bringing my total to almost exactly 13 for the day. Not bad and with the storm moving in, it's probably a good time to head home.