I had a couple of errands to run in and around Athens, GA and so, when I saw one of the local meetup groups post a hike at the Georgia State Botanical Garden, which is just outside Athens, it seemed a good opportunity to get in a few miles. I hiked some of the trails here when I first moved to Georgia, three years ago. It was a fairly average hike, but I thought the group might offer some new perspective and possibly some new routes.
I met up with the group at the visitor's center and soon we were off on this extremely humid Sunday afternoon. First we meandered through the garden itself, which is full of numerous flowering plants, all quite beautiful. Soon, we found a gate in the fence and left the pavement for the a single track trail into the woods. The trail followed the Middle Oconee River for a while, which offered some nice views.
After a couple of miles, we left the river and headed slightly uphill into a series of shallow ravines. The trail is well maintained and pretty easy, but it's still nice to be outside. When we stopped for lunch beside an old fireplace, its house long since gone, we played a memory game of "name a band who's name starts with the letter __". I'm actually pretty good at these types of games and ended up winning.
Soon we were on the trail again and making our way back towards the parking lot. I ended up leaving the group a little earlier, as I wanted to get my errands done and get home for dinner. I wished them well and made my way back to the parking lot, while the group continued on a different trail across the other side of the parking lot. All in all, I got in 5.8 miles. It was only an average hike, but the conversation was pleasant, as always.
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