Stone Mountain Pics

Until my recent move, walking was my main form of exercise. My new neighborhood isn't as friendly for walking as Winnona Park near downtown Decatur, GA, so most of my workouts are spent planted on a stationary bike while watching NetFlix. I much prefer getting outside to exercise, so it's a treat when I have a free day and can head over to my favorite hiking spot, Stone Mountain. The most popular trail is the Walkup Trail, which as you might guess, takes you straight up the mountain. The Walkup Trail is just over a mile. It starts out pretty easy at first, but the higher you go, the steeper it gets.

As popular as the Walkup Trail is, I'm surprised more people don't walk the other trails surrounding Stone Mountain. According to the brochure, there are about 15 miles of trails in the park, and while they don't all present the physical challenge of a steep, uphill mile, there are enough ups and downs to get your heart pumping and muscles working.

My favorite route is a 5 mile loop around Stone Mountain. I hiked 15 miles today and took pictures from my favorite parts of my favorite trails.

The start of the trail doesn't
look like much of a trail.

So you have to follow the
orange hash marks.

Into the woods after a quarter
mile of following the dotted line.

On an earlier walk, this deer tolerated me
long enough to pose for a photo.

My favorite water crossing. I find this
spot very peaceful.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.
I took the white one.

I saw several ducks today.
Here are four of them.

Ah, water. I could be happy with just a
cabin and a canoe. Oh, and a paddle.

Covered bridge.

Some useful information about covered
bridges. Watch out for robbers!

No robbers here.

The water wheel. Another of my
favorite spots.

Close up of the water wheel.

Near the Labyrinth.

On a hot summer day, this shallow spot
is usually filled with splashing children.

This section always reminds me of the
hobbits walking out of The Shire.
I am a nerd.

Met a box turtle today.

I never thought of climbing the mountain
in this area until I saw this sign.

Fire and dry leaves. What could go wrong?
Actually, there was a minor fire today!

Not something you see every day
on the trail.

A most glorious sight after a long hike:
the public restrooms!

Skink Day

Stone Mountain has become like a gigantic gym for me with a $35 a year membership fee (parking pass). Once a week (twice if my schedule is free), I like to go to Stone Mountain and tromp around. There are two different kinds of hikes that I enjoy. The main attraction for hikers seems to be the Walk Up Trail, which is a one mile hike straight up Stone Mountain. There are also plenty of trails that go around Stone Mountain. Sometimes I enjoy the physical challenge of the Walk Up Trail, and sometimes I enjoy a longer hike through the woods.

Today I took a longer hike. I walked five miles around Stone Mountain, mostly sticking to the Cherokee Trail. After one circumnavigation, I turned around and retraced my steps for a total of 10 miles. It was an eventful walk, with plenty of nature moments.

It began to rain during the first section of the hike. It was so steamy that my glasses soon fogged up. I'm extremely nearsighted, but I was better off carrying my glasses. I'm glad I was familiar with this trail, because it a blurry two miles before the sun came out and evaporated the moisture from my glasses. Oddly enough, it didn't appear to have rained at all on the north side of the mountain. That ground was bone dry.

After the sun came out, the rocks were steaming, and I started to see five-lined skinks all over the place. I think there must have been a skink convention, because they were everywhere! I'm sure those skinks have been there all along, but this was the first time I started to notice them. After I became aware of them, I saw them wherever I looked. I've only been walking the trails at Stone Mountain for a couple weeks now. I'm looking forward to seeing more wildlife as my city eyes get used to looking for critters on the trail.

On the return trip, I came across a rather large deer. We stared at each other for a few seconds before she bounded away. After reaching the south side of the mountain, I got rained on again…twice. At least it wasn't enough to fog up my glasses again. Aside from the annoyance of foggy glasses, I didn't mind the rain. In face, it felt wonderful, like I was walking through a lawn sprinkler on a hot day.

Aside from my nature moments, I'm also thrilled that I appear to be able to run again. For now, I'm sticking mainly with walking the trails, with an occasional stretch of running (well, trotting). The trail is much easier on my knees than the hard road, and the tricky footing helps keep me from over striding. I've read that running on tricky terrain is also a good way to strengthen the ankles and all the other joints that support running and walking. I'll eventually increase the percentage of time I spend running versus walking, but, to play it smart, I plan to mix running with walking from now on.