Balinda led this off trail outing at Stone Mountain. We met and began hiking at the Garden Creek Baptist Church which was decked out in holiday attire. After introductions, we crossed the road and followed a two track for a short distance before a slight detour to view the remains of an old vehicle. Close inspection did not reveal its identity.
Industrial sized still
Back on the two track, we climbed a hill and then down to another short detour. This time to the remains of a large still. The site was littered with 55 gallon drums and various other tanks and piping.
Cemetery
We continued to follow the two track and it zig zagged up and up. We were afforded some limited views along here. Lots of Locust trees on the hillside. We encountered an overgrown cemetery with several dozen graves. Almost all were unmarked.
Continuing up, we eventually reached the highest point of the hike. Balinda told a story about the pit we saw near the top. Supposedly, a gold mine pit. I did notice some small pieces of quartz in the vicinity. After a short break here, we began a steep descent toward the backcountry campsites. The descent was a downhill scramble. I was not able to go straight down, so employed a switchback strategy.
After about a 15 minute descent, the campsites appeared. One was quite striking, in a bowl with a spring. We walked up the nearby creek to see some trail damage that had closed off one of the campsites. The obligatory group photo was taken. I'm almost as tall as everyone else when I stand on the fireplace.
On the trail back to the park road, I spotted some oyster mushrooms and shelf fungus growing on a Locust. I understand they can be quite old. A crosscut of the fungus will review growth rings.
Thanks to Balinda for arranging this tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment