Big Beach Half-Marathon (Baldwin County, Alabama)

The main focus of this trip is the Big Beach Half-Marathon, being held in the gorgeous little town of Gulf Shores, AL. I'm not in shape to run a half, but I need a good kick in the ass and maybe this will be it. The drive from Atlanta to Gulf Shores is roughly six and a half hours. To break that up a little bit, I stopped at a historical fort and Native American mound site along the way. Once I arrived in Gulf Shores though, I got checked into my hotel and then immediately headed out to enjoy what the town has to offer. I've had the pleasure of visiting Gulf Shores once before, many years ago. The parents of one of my best friend's wife own a home along the beach nearby and I was able to spend a few days there kicking back and relaxing. It was a great time and I really enjoyed the area, which made it all the more desirable to return when I saw this half-marathon opportunity. 

From the hotel, I first hit a nearby brewery recommended by my buddy and then walked just a short distance to enjoy some locally caught oysters for dinner. They were delicious along with a Caesar salad. Know that I have to get up early though for the race, I decide to head back to the hotel and turn in pretty early. 

I didn't sleep all that well, but since I had allowed myself plenty of time to sleep, I think I'll be okay. I get up and get ready for the race. Walking out to my car, I fall in love with the cool, but somehow warming, ocean breeze blowing in. It should make for a great day on the race course. There is a high chance of rain later today, but I think I'll be done well before that happens. 

Finding a parking spot just a short distance from the starting line, I walk over and get my bib well in advance of the starting time. The starting corrals are right along the beach and offer a great view of the sunrise. I make use of the provided port-o-potty and finish off a bottle of water, while waiting for the race to start. It looks to be a fairly small race with maybe five-hundred participants. As the start time approaches, the call to line up in the corrals come and I make my way to the three hour section, which is what I'm hoping for. We'll see how that prediction turns out. 

At the appointed time and with no obvious gun shot or horn that I could hear, I see the runners in front of me moving forward as those in front of them move further forward and eventually start running as they pass under the arch. I make my way and begin with a pretty slow pace. The course quickly turns through a section of the town and predictably, my bladder decides to let me know that it's time for another stop. I leave the course and make use of a nearby Hardee's restroom, before returning to my slow paced run.

Soon, the course enters Gulf Shores State park along some paved paths. It's quite pretty here and all of the palms give a sense of the tropics. I can already feel myself getting tired after the first two miles and decide to walk some small up-hills. I'm not feeling bad, but I just don't have the stamina since I haven't been training. The aid stations are plentiful and spaced out at about every mile-and-a-half or so. I alternate between water and gaterade at each of them in an attempt to keep myself well hydrated. The air temperature is just about perfect hovering around sixty degrees.

After about the six-mile mark, the course turns south and then west to run along the southern border of the park. I've been doing a mix of walking and running for the past couple of miles, but maintaining a reasonable pace overall given my current physical condition. Around mile eight though, I feel the first of some shooting pains in my calves. I have felt these before when I hadn't been training regularly and tried to push myself too much. Soon, the pain intensifies and I'm forced to walk even more. It seems that the muscles used for walking don't really irritate the same spot as running does.

The course enters a salt marsh area and our path is now along very long and well-constructed board walks for the next couple of miles. I try to run a bit more at various points, but the pain becomes debilitating and after only a few steps, I'm forced back to a walk. There goes my hopes for a reasonable time. I should have known better than to try and run a half without training. Ah well, I think to myself again how this might be just the kick in the ass that I need.

The final section of the course returns runners to town and eventually along the beach to finish where we started. I cross the finish line at 3:05:18, which is ridiculously slow, but given the pain I'm experiencing in my calves right now, I really don't care about that. I grab a banana and water, as the race volunteers place my finishing medal around my neck. After that, I find a place to sit down for a few minutes. 

I'm hurting, but I need to get back to the hotel, shower, and get on the road towards home. I muster the will power to get all of this accomplished. Just as I pull out of the hotel parking lot, the rains begin and will continue for me all the way home. It was a really great and well-organized race held in a beautiful and fun little town. I just wish I had been in better shape for it and wasn't in so much pain now. I make a promise to myself that I will get back in shape starting as soon as I've recovered from this current situation.

Mound at Fort Jackson - Fort Toulouse (Elmore County, Alabama)

I'm headed south to Gulf Shores, AL for the weekend. On the long trip, I had to find at least one little diversion. After surveying the map, I came across a site that held a hodge-podge of history that seemed like the ideal place to stretch my legs a little bit. The historic site known as Fort Toulouse - Fort Jackson was is home to some rich historical sites. 

After parking my car, I walked into the visitor's center, which is house in the Graves House (c. 1825). I collected a site map from the ranger working there and headed out to explore the site on foot. Deciding to follow the timeline, I first headed toward the Mississippian Mound a few hundred yards east of the later sites. The path is well maintained and marked. Arriving, I find a large clearing, which was home to a small Native American village around 1100 CE. In the trees closer to and sitting above the Coosa River, there is an obvious man-made earthen mound. I've seen many of these over the years, having grown up near the most famous of them at Cahokia and in my travels. This one, however, is by far the most overgrown I have ever seen. While the site of the village has been cleared, large trees and bushes grown from all sides and the top of the small mound. I wonder if it's a lack of funding or concern with damaging the structural integrity that has prevented the park from cleaning it off. Either way, it's rather sad to see. 

Returning back towards the main area of the park, I walk around the various incarnations of Fort Toulouse that have been reconstructed. The history is a little confusing here between Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson. Fort Toulouse was built and rebuilt on this site three times between 1717 and 1763, while Fort Jackson was build in 1814 to protect the river during the War of 1812. What's confusing is which ruin/reconstruction is which. The park map doesn't really help much with it's descriptions and labeling. I think this area closer to the mound is Fort Jackson and of it, one of the protective walls lined with sharpened timbers and some living quarters have been rebuilt. It's interesting to think of soldiers living out here on what was then well beyond the frontier. 

From there, I had back to the other reconstructed fort, which I again is confusing, but I believe is Fort Toulouse. This structure was built by the French prior to the American Revolution and much more of it has been reconstructed, including a blacksmithing shop, kitchen/church, and soldier's quarters. The entire area is surrounded by a tall wooden wall. Seeing a this mostly historical reconstruction warms my heart. It's great to see our history preserved like this. I just wish they would take as much care with the nearby mound. 

After wandering around the park for about forty-five minutes and walking roughly a mile, I get back to my car and head on towards the Gulf. This was a nice stop and a great way to stretch my legs after a few hours in the car.

Sawnee Mountain (Forsyth County, Georgia)

 

The forecast is calling for lots of rain this weekend, but I want to get some miles in before it comes. Also, I have a cask ale tasting to attend later this afternoon and so my time is limited. I settled on hiking around the nearby Sawnee Mountain and posted this on the meetup group that I occasionally lead hikes for. Wanting to be a responsible organizer, I arrived at the site about thirty minutes before the hike was scheduled to start (9:00 AM) and waited for others to arrive. Over the next few minutes several people arrived and started gathering. As it turns out, the Atlanta Outdoor Club, another group that I hike with occasionally, is hiking here today also. There is a bit of confusion with some of those that arrive as to which group they are with, but we get it sorted and with a quick round of introductions, we're on our way.

The first mile or so is a pretty intense uphill and I push the pace harder than I had intended. I had advertised the hike as keeping about a 2.7 mph pace, but we were doing nearly 3.5 for that first mile. So, I wait for folks to catch up and make a concerted effort to slow myself down. It was nice to push myself though. The trail very well maintained, but has a lot of rocks and roots through this first section. 

Soon, we're at the first fork which would afford us the opportunity to cross over the mountain to the other side, but would short the distance I'm hoping for today. We continue left to maintain our clockwise loop around the small mountain. As always, the group gets into some great conversations and before we know it, we're back at the starting point. Some of the group, including a couple of guys that I've hiked with before and that occasionally lead their own hikes, ask about doing the other loop and going up to Indian Seats. I explain that my time is limited, but invite anyone interested to join them. Six or seven of our ten member group take them up on it and head up the the other side of the road. As for me, 5.2 miles will have to be enough for the weekend. I'd love to get more miles in, but with other commitments today and lots of rain tomorrow, I can only do so much. Sawnee Mountain is always a nice little workout that's pretty close to home.

Stone Mountain - Cherokee and Walk-up Trails (DeKalb County, Georgia)

 I've hiked up and around Stone Mountain many times since moving to the Atlanta area three years ago, but with today being a holiday and Stone Mountain only a short drive from home, I decided to get some more trail miles in with one of the local hiking clubs. The organizer of today's group is the same gentleman that lead the hike yesterday along the Pinhoti Trial. 

After parking my car, I met the group near the base of the walk-up trail. As is customary, we went through a quick round of introductions and then started to make our counter-clockwise around the mountain along the Cherokee Trail. It's always been interesting to me that Stone Mountain Park is as much of a "tourist trap" as it is, while still maintaining some since of the outdoors along these trails. 

There are quite a few people out hiking today, but perhaps not as many as I would have expected. We push a pretty good pace as we continue around the mountain. Past the Washington W. King Covered Bridge and onto the Stone Mountain Grist Mill, where we stop for a short restroom break. I always love seeing these old buildings. 

Quickly, we regroup and continue on to complete the loop, but we end up stopping just shy of the normal walk-up trail to climb what the organizer refers to as the "Side Trail". This is a less-used and pretty steep ascent towards the top of Stone Mountain. I'm actually pretty happy to find this new trail and to get my heart pumping as we make our way up the challenging grade. Along the way, one woman in our group slips and cuts her hand. She assures us that she's okay and only requires a small bandage for the cut. 

Continuing on, we eventually join the normal walk-up trail. The granite is a bit wet in places, and the organizer feels it would be better to go up using the hand rails. Probably a good idea. As always, the climb up this huge chunk of granite gets me breathing pretty hard, but I keep pushing myself until I finally reach the top. The rest of the group arrives within a couple of minutes and we all find a place to sit and take in the view for a few minutes. It's a wonderfully clear day and we can see downtown Atlanta clearly to the west and some of the closer northern Georgia mountains in the distance.

After our short break, we start to head back down the Walk-up Trail and back to our cars. It's a quick jaunt from here. Once we arrive, we say our goodbyes and depart. My app tells me that I've hiked 6.9 miles on today's trip and with the steep climb, I feel I got a pretty decent workout.

Pinhoti Trail - Snake Creek Gap to Pilchers Pond (Walker County, Georgia)

The Pinhoti Trail is a long distance hiking trail spanning 355 miles in Alabama and Georgia. It's one of the trails that has been on my radar, but that I have not yet had a chance to visit. When I saw a posting go up for one of the local hiking clubs and knowing that I need to get my rear in gear to get in shape for some upcoming backpacking trips, it seemed like a great opportunity. We would only be hiking a short section, but I need the exercise. I met up with the other hikers a few miles northwest of Atlanta and we worked out carpooling arrangements. I ended up being one of the two drivers. From there, we drove another 60-ish miles to the Snake Creek Gap Trailhead and met with a few more members of the group. After a quick round of introductions, we hit the trail.

From the large gravel parking lot, the trail immediately crosses the highway and the begins a slow ascent up a high ridge. The trail is well maintained, which is rather surprising given how remote we are and the severity of a couple of storms that came through last week. That said, I don't think we saw a single fallen tree obstructing the trail. The surface conditions are mostly earth and stone, with a blanket of fallen leaves providing us a cacophony of sound as we hike through them. 

The group separates to some extent based on pace. I'm pretty much in the lead group (a gentlemen with a energetic dog is actually a bit ahead) and we get to talking about a wide array of subjects as we make our to the top of the ridge. We walk south along the ridge for about a mile before beginning the descent down the other side. So far, this is a pretty easy hike and it's nice to experience a new area with great company.

After about five total miles, we arrive at Pilcher's Pond. This is a small body of water that according to the trip leader is at the lowest water levels he's ever seen it. We stop here for a few minutes to rest and enjoy a snack. I wander off to find a 'facilitree' and take care of business. With everyone now packed up and our newfound energy pools, we head back the way we came. 

I find myself at the front of the pack for a good portion of the return trip. I'm really trying to push my pace and stretch my legs a bit for the much needed exercise. At one point, I hear voices behind me, which makes me think I'm only a short distance a head. After several minutes though, a group of seven mountain bikers have caught up to me. I ask about my fellow-hikers and I'm told they are roughly a half-mile behind me. 

Arriving back at the parking lot, I open my hatchback and have a seat while I wait for the rest of the group to arrive. With about ten minutes the everyone has completed the trail. We thank the organizer for putting this hike together and say our goodbyes before heading back to the carpool start. Overall, this was pretty standard Georgia trail. We covered about 10.4 miles in total, which felt really good at the pace I was maintaining. Perhaps, I will hike other sections of the trail at some point in time. 

Sope Creek (Cobb County, Georgia)

 

Originally, I had planned to hike with one of the Meetup groups today and explore Sope Creek. The sign-up list grew very large and the group decided to move the event to a different unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area due to parking concerns. Totally understandable, but I was looking forward to revisiting Sope Creek and so, I decided to just hike it on my own. 

I arrived at the parking area just before 9:00 AM and quickly hit the trail system, which is fairly extensive through this as well as the other units of the NPS recreation area. I first headed for the old Marietta Paper Mill ruins. I find the ruins of old buildings quite fascinating. I've visited and hiked here before, but it's been a couple of years and as I want to get some miles in today before the forecasted rains come in, this seemed like a good location.

After only about half-a-mile, I reach the ruins of the Civil War-era paper mill, which sits alongside Sope Creek and used the flowing waters of the creek as a power source during it's operation. I'm able to climb around through the ruins quite a bit, but I'm careful to not damage anything. I enjoy trying to put myself in another time and imagining this factory during it's operational period. I'm guessing it was pretty remote and without the current roadways and hustle and bustle, must have been quite a site sit here in the woods along this pretty little creek.

From there, I head across the bridge and down the trail running parallel to the creek to another site I had noticed on the map. "Cross Creek Mill Ruins" was just mysterious enough that I wanted to check it out. After a short distance, I reach another set large buildings in ruin. I've not visited this area before, but the site is pretty extensive. I believe there are about four large structures here, but it's difficult to know for sure from what I see in front of me. All that remains are portions of the walls. The southernmost is build right up against a tributary creek feeding into Sope Creek, which has washed a deep gorge into the hillside. Without doing some climbing, I won't be able to go any further and so, I turn around and head back the way I came. 

I pass by the paper mill once more and then head up hill and into the forest. The trail is wall maintained and the park service has posted a map at just about every trail junction to help visitors navigate the network. Along the way, I encounter a few other hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers. Everyone is friendly and likely out doing exactly what I'm doing - getting some exercise before the coming storm.

I wind my way around the park trying to maximize the mileage I get, but without connecting to another unit of the park, I don't think I'll be able to get in that many miles today. That's fine - perhaps it's enough to just enjoy the fresh air and scenery. As I get near the parking lot, I pass a gentleman who mentions that a few deer are to the left of the trail just ahead of me. As I approach, a couple of them dart away, but several remain. They stare at me trying to determine whether or not I'm a threat to them. Beautiful creatures. 

Getting back to my car, I check to see that I've only covered about 4.9 miles today, but there is rain moving in soon and it won't be bad to have more time to do other things today. Sope Creek was an interesting tour of history and a great escape on a Sunday morning. 

First Day Hike - Falls to Farm (White County, Georgia)

 

It's New Year's Day and what better way to kick off 2023 than with a good hike. Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites is offering a supported 11-mile hike from the gorgeous Anna Ruby Falls along Smith Creek and ending at the historic Hardman Farm. It seemed like a great way to spend the holiday. 

I tried to pace my sleep the night before accordingly as I needed to be up before midnight PST (3:00 AM for me in EST) in order to reserve some camp sites for a backpacking trip I have planned for late April. After getting the sites taken care of, I laid back down, but still didn't get a great deal of sleep. No matter. I left the house about 6:15 AM in order to arrive at the starting point, Hardman Farm Visitor's Center, in time for the start of the hike at 7:30 AM. Once there, I checked in and shortly afterwards one of the park employees gave us a rundown of the event and facilities along they way. With that out of the way, we loaded onto a shuttle bus and headed for the Anna Ruby Falls parking area a few miles north.

Stepping off of the bus, I can tell it's a bit cool this morning, but it should be great for hiking. Smith Creek rumbles in the background and after a group shot, everyone starts making their way up the paved trail towards the famous waterfall. Actually, a few started as soon as they exited the bus, not realizing the park staff wanted to get a group picture. Anyway, I started pushing my pace immediately. I really need to get myself in shape for a number of reasons and there is no time like the present. 

Smith Creek provides a great hiking partner all the way up to the twin waterfall that feeds it. Anna Ruby Falls was apparently named for one for the daughter of one of the areas early settlers, who also has some history with Hardman Farm. After a short, but steep half mile or so, the roaring waterfalls come into view. The taller plummet for Curtis Creek on the left and the York Creek on the right merge to form Smith Creek, which is a major tributary of the Chattahoochee River in northern Georgia, joining with the famous river just northwest of the German-inspired village of Helen, GA.

I stop at the waterfalls for a couple of pictures and then start up the earthen trail to the right, which is known as the Smith Creek Trail, as it follows the creek all the way down to where it has been dammed to form Unicoi Lake. The trail is fairly easy to follow even with a lot of autumn leaves carpeting it. As we've had a lot of rain over the past week or so, there are some pretty slippery sections and I'm careful to ensure I have good footing. My pace remains fast and I pass I end up catching up to and passing all of the early starters that missed the group photo.

As with most group hikes, the spray of hikers tend to group themselves by pace and after loosing the trail briefly and having to relocate it, a couple of other fast hikers seemed to have caught up with me. One of them, a middle-aged woman is blaring music from her cell phone. I'm patient at first, but eventually become frustrated with it and politely ask her to either use head phones or turn it off, as I want to enjoy the music of the forest. She doesn't put up any argument and immediately turns it off. Afterwards, we actually begin talking and hike together for most of the remainder of the event, along with another gentleman.

When we reach the lake, the park employees are staffing our first supply site. Here, they are offering us sausage or egg biscuits, fruit, granola bars, coffee and water. It's nice to have these options. I quickly munch down a banana and then confirm the next part of the trail before heading out. My companions are close behind. From there, the trail follows the Helen to Unicoi Trail into Helen, Georgia. This is probably a more popular trail and offers less elevation change. It's very serene though and I'm really enjoying the creek crossings and just general atmosphere.

At the end of this section, we enter Helen, GA and will walk the backroads of this small hamlet until we exit the eastern end and continue on to Hardman Farm, just outside of town. Along the way, cross over the mouth of Smith Creek, where it merges with the adolescent Chattahoochee and also the Beer Hall, where the village holds their famous rendition of Oktoberfest. There's also another aid station in town supporting those of us on the hike. Helen is a cool little town and enjoy coming here. 

Finally, we reach the end point of the hike back at the Hardman Farm visitor's center. Other than a young man that treated the hike as a trail run, my companions and I are the first to arrive. The park employees greet us and point us to the food. They have set up a buffet of different varieties of chili and toppings, along with a selection of cookies. I put a bowl of chili together and relax with my fellow hikers, while the park employees explain a bit of the history of Hardman Farm.

This was once a working farm and an early settlement in this part of northern Georgia. The main house was built in 1870, along with several of the supporting buildings (some of which are older). Additionally, it's worth mentioning the Nacoochee Mound in the nearby pasture, which is a Native American mound structure that was spared the fate of others in the area because the family thought it would be a great location for small gazebo, which now sits atop it. The house and farm were donated to the state in 1999 and converted as a state historic site.

I consider taking a tour of the house, but with the minimal amount of sleep that I got last night, I'm pretty exhausted and decide to save that for another time. The hike registered on my GPS tracker at about 10.8 miles and I completed it in just over 3 hours, which is a pretty decent pace. It was an enjoyable event and I may considering doing it again at some point. For now though, my pillow at home is calling my name and I must answer.