Once again, the area I live is dodging storms, but it seems they are moving south of me today. I'll take advantage and get some trail miles with the Meetup Group. After arriving at the Bowmans Island parking area, I was greeted by several friends before we did our customary round of introductions and hit the trail. Our plan was to hike across the dam, up the stairs and explore several of the peninsulas jutting out into Lake Lanier, but for whatever reason, the park service has the gate to cross over the dam closed and locked.
We quickly shifted our plans and began heading south into the Bowmans Island Unit of the CRNRA (Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area). I've hiked all of this before and for my purposes today, one trail is as good as the other. The trail follows the river for a bit before ducking inland just a bit and then returning to the river and continuing south. Eventually, we reached the Buford Trout Hatchery. This facility is open to the public, but since my last visit they have constructed roofs over the hatchery tanks and applied a chicken-wire fence around them. It still allows folks to see the trout of various ages swimming in the tanks, but presumably protects them from predators (and perhaps degenerate visitors).
Returning to the trail, we began making our way back towards the calls. As always, we enjoyed some great conversations along the way. It was a great way to distract from the overbearing humidity. It's hot today and I'm sweating like a pig. Getting back to the parking area, I see we got in about 7.1 miles. It was great to see friends, but now I need to get my stinky, sweaty butt to my shower.
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