alpinista
Active member
It's been way too long since I hit the trails. I've missed it but work and life and other fun (running half marathons, golf, roaming around the streets of NYC and the Deep South) has gotten in the way the past couple of years. The past year alone has been mighty busy between traveling around the South for hurricanes, or heading up to Alaska for the man-made political storm known as Sarah Palin.
From my office on the 24th floor in downtown Atlanta, I can spy the granite dome of Stone Mountain off in the distance. It rises like a giant mound of gray putty on the horizon. It's been beckoning me all these months since I moved to Hotlanta. And while I've gone to the park to do some training runs around its base (a handy 5-mile route that is relatively flat in hilly Atlanta), I'd yet to actually hike up to the top.
Finally, I had some time off with nothing else on the agenda.
Stone Mountain is a mere 1,683 feet. So I'm sure I looked especially odd tricked out in all my gear: backpack, hiking poles, polyester wardrobe. A little overkill for a hike that is a mere 1.3 miles to the tippy-top, a granite trail the entire way.
I set out and immediately got stares from the bevy of people just out in jeans and sneakers and no provisions to speak of. But I was in my glory. I felt my heart pumping. I could smell the spruce trees. I could see the world below. And it brought back the flood of memories of meandering through New England's woods. When I took out my bottle filled with Cytomax energy drink, the smell and taste of it harkened back to much tougher hikes. Ahhhh...
Now Stone Mountain clearly is not the wilderness. Although it's billed as the largest granite stone in the world, it pales in comparison El Capitan in Yosemite. It is not remote. There are signs of mankind all around: a group of giant flag poles, graffiti etched into the stone that expresses love or political statements, and my favorite: a pole where people stick their used gum. From afar, it looks like a mosaic of different colored marbles. But up close: Yuck!
There's a little bit of history to this peak, as well. On the side is a carving, a tribute to the Confederate past: a giant relief (said to be the size of three football fields) of three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
The town of Stone Mountain has its own sordid past as well. It was known as a hotbed of KKK activity back in the day, and home to the Grand Wizard. These days, Stone Mountain is predominantly a black community; so I'm sure those Confederates are rolling around in their graves.
Just some 25 minutes after setting out, I was on the top. The summit boasts a couple of buildings and a tram that brings visitors to the top. Gee, just like Mt. Washington _ but without the bad weather and the smelly, sooty cog!
It was a veritable party up top: kids, grandparents, a guy strumming his guitar and belting out "Hotel California" in a serenade.
It wasn't a 4K but it was nice to be back on the trails. It's a nice tuneup to start thinking about heading up to the North Georgia mountains...
Here are some pix: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569049626tjjOQU
From my office on the 24th floor in downtown Atlanta, I can spy the granite dome of Stone Mountain off in the distance. It rises like a giant mound of gray putty on the horizon. It's been beckoning me all these months since I moved to Hotlanta. And while I've gone to the park to do some training runs around its base (a handy 5-mile route that is relatively flat in hilly Atlanta), I'd yet to actually hike up to the top.
Finally, I had some time off with nothing else on the agenda.
Stone Mountain is a mere 1,683 feet. So I'm sure I looked especially odd tricked out in all my gear: backpack, hiking poles, polyester wardrobe. A little overkill for a hike that is a mere 1.3 miles to the tippy-top, a granite trail the entire way.
I set out and immediately got stares from the bevy of people just out in jeans and sneakers and no provisions to speak of. But I was in my glory. I felt my heart pumping. I could smell the spruce trees. I could see the world below. And it brought back the flood of memories of meandering through New England's woods. When I took out my bottle filled with Cytomax energy drink, the smell and taste of it harkened back to much tougher hikes. Ahhhh...
Now Stone Mountain clearly is not the wilderness. Although it's billed as the largest granite stone in the world, it pales in comparison El Capitan in Yosemite. It is not remote. There are signs of mankind all around: a group of giant flag poles, graffiti etched into the stone that expresses love or political statements, and my favorite: a pole where people stick their used gum. From afar, it looks like a mosaic of different colored marbles. But up close: Yuck!
There's a little bit of history to this peak, as well. On the side is a carving, a tribute to the Confederate past: a giant relief (said to be the size of three football fields) of three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
The town of Stone Mountain has its own sordid past as well. It was known as a hotbed of KKK activity back in the day, and home to the Grand Wizard. These days, Stone Mountain is predominantly a black community; so I'm sure those Confederates are rolling around in their graves.
Just some 25 minutes after setting out, I was on the top. The summit boasts a couple of buildings and a tram that brings visitors to the top. Gee, just like Mt. Washington _ but without the bad weather and the smelly, sooty cog!
It was a veritable party up top: kids, grandparents, a guy strumming his guitar and belting out "Hotel California" in a serenade.
It wasn't a 4K but it was nice to be back on the trails. It's a nice tuneup to start thinking about heading up to the North Georgia mountains...
Here are some pix: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569049626tjjOQU
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