Pine Log Creek Trail (Bartow County, Georgia)

 

Today, I decided to join one of the Atlanta-area outdoor groups to explore Pine Log Creek, which is a several miles north of Lake Allatoona. I was unaware of this trail system until I saw the event posting, but as the timing worked out and it was a new place to explore, I decided to give it a go. It's a little over an hour drive from my home and I left early enough to account for any traffic. You never know what crazy events you might encounter on the highways around the city. When I arrived at the parking area, I was the first one there. A couple of cars were present, but judging by the frost on their windows, I suspect they had been left there all night. It's cold this morning and I leave my coat on while I await for the others. They arrive soon after and we do a quick introduction before hitting the trail, staring with the western loop.

After a short straight-away, we cross an elevated bridge over Pine Log Creek and drop down on the other side. I took my coat off just before we left and though our pace is pretty slow, I'm already glad I made that choice as I'm starting to warm up just by moving. The leaves have mostly fallen and cover the trail like a blanket, but the indention left by previous trekkers leaves little doubt of the path. As we follow alongside a steep hillside above a feeder creek, I notice and point out a wasp next affixed to two tree branches and suspended far above the ground on the far side of the gully.

The four of us trek on, while getting into discussions on various topics including wine, the pandemic, a brief history of the Jewish people, Roman architectural challenges, and a myriad of other fascinating topics. All the while, we make our way up and around to the highest point of today's trail along a series of large switchbacks. At one point on the way up, I notice a buck in the distance dashing off away from us. He was probably wanting to avoid getting into a conversation about the pandemic.

Dropping back down the far side of the small mountain, we hit the intersection with the eastern loop and begin to head that way. This second loop is much shorter than the first, but takes us to the water-filled pit of a former granite quarry. The waters are an eerie blue and on the far side of the "lake" a giant boulder juts out of the water looking much like the head of a crocodile, complete with an eye. We see a few other hikers in this area as we make our way around to the interesting boulder. Though we cannot traverse around the entire lake, we do go as far as we reasonably can, which includes a fair bit of scrambling.

Turning back, we decide to hike up the far side and around the far side of the quarry to see what is there. It takes us a steep hill that unfortunately offers very little in the way of views, but it was still a good workout. From here, we bushwhack our way back down the hill, shuffling through the fallen leaves until we return to the quarry and head back towards the parking lot on the remaining section of the eastern loop, which later intersects with the lower half of the western loop.

All in all, we managed to cover about 6.1 miles, including our little off-trail adventure. The scenery was quite beautiful and for a hike I had never heard of before a few days ago, this made for a great way to start the morning. As always the company was fantastic and I wish them well as I get in my jeep and drive away.