After leaving the Etowah Mounds site, I drove the short distance to where I plan to start the hike I'm leading today for the Meetup, Coopers Furnace Recreational Area. I discovered this trail a few years ago and have hiked it several times since then. The owner of the Meetup that I often lead for has been asking me to post this one for a few months as one of the standard Sunday hikes, he normally leads. I tried to do this a couple of months ago, but ended up canceling due to heavy rains. Rescheduling to today, lets see how the others enjoy this hike to the summit of Pine Mountain and beyond.
When I arrive there are already a dozen or so hikers assembling and they wave as I park my car. After circling everyone up, we do our customary round of introductions and I explain the hike a little bit. This is possibly one notch above the normal Sunday hikes in terms of difficult as there is more elevation gain than is normal, but everyone seems to understand and feel up to the challenge. With that, we pass by the actual Coopers Furnace and begin making our way up the gravel road towards the side trail that will take us to the summit.
This trail is a essentially a long straight way leading to a figure-eight system, with the summit of Pine Mountain being near the center of the eight and only requiring a short spur trail to reach. As this is a Sunday hike, I try to keep my pace a little slower, though my legs and feet seem to want to move. We stop and wait for everyone to catch up at each intersection and soon, we're making our way up to the summit.
It's not terribly hot today, but is really, really humid and most of us look like we've been in the swimming pool with our cloths by the time we reach the top. Last time I was up here we were attacked by yellow-jackets, but as there is no sign of the stinging little bastards today, we decide to take a quick lunch break and enjoy the view. Only a couple of years ago, much of the brush was cleared out up here and it allows a much better panoramic view of the area. In the distance, we can see Kennesaw Mountain and nearby Vineyard Mountain and Lake Allatoona.
After a few minutes, we head back to the trail and make our way down the much rockier western loop. I stop a few times as people fall behind. This side is definitely more challenging than the eastern side, but it's necessary to hike it to get the full experience and mileage. Back at the top by the spur trail, we start making our way down completing the final arc of the figure eight and then the straightaway back to the parking area.
As we complete the hike, most of the participants speak of how much they really enjoyed this trail and I think it will likely be added to the normal rotation the Sunday leader usually follows. Our total distance was about 7.4 miles. Some of the folks are going to dinner together, but I want to get a few more miles in before driving home. We say our goodbyes and drive off to our respective destinations.
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