Downtown ATL... at least we tried

For my hordes of followers, don't worry, I know the last two posts have been about trips to cities. We haven't lost sight of the wilderness though. Winter weather isn't quite gone yet, so before we take our first spring backpacking trip, we're gonna give the weather time to warm up a little bit more. In the meantime, we decided to give Atlanta a try. I've been to Atlanta a handful of times, but those trips all revolved around a single event; a Braves game, a basketball game, my triathlon two years ago, a stop at R.E.I. on the way to the mountains. This time we decided to spend a couple of days being tourists.

We got there Saturday afternoon and after checking in at the hotel we headed down the street to R.E.I. to see about getting Laura a new bicycle. Last year we went to Wal-Mart and spent bare minimum money on mountain bikes for each of us to use to ride around town on, but in the case of her bike, we got what we paid for. The brakes didn't work, the gears were terrible, it just wasn't a good fit. With Christmas and tax-return money still in her pocket, she decided to make the investment in a nice hybrid from R.E.I. Two hours later, after settling on a nice Cannondale, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for a biking trip in downtown on Sunday.

Gabriel woke us up late that night with his stomach bug. We got him back to sleep after cleaning up the mess, and luckily he slept in Sunday morning. When I woke up, however, the stomach bug had claimed a new victim. Laura had been up hugging the toilet during the night. I slept right through it. So she was officially out for our downtown trip. This meant I had to get Gabriel, my bicycle, and a backpack with a day's worth of diapers, wipes and food, onto the MARTA, which I was completely unfamilar with, all by myself.

I succeeded for the most part, but the beginning was a struggle. Gabriel was fully aware that he was riding on a train and loved it, so at least there were no screaming baby fits for that part. We enjoyed our ride around Atlanta's Piedmont Park, and stopped at a few playgrounds along the way. We rode over to a little Mexican grill for some tacos and called it a day.

When we got back, Laura was still feeling down, but the extra rest helped out. That night we had even more Mexican food at Uncle Julio's. This was far and away the best Mexican food I have had outside of Texas. Every single thing was delicious, from the rice to the chicken enchiladas.

Monday was Zoo Day. We headed over to the south side of Atlanta after checking out of the hotel. The zoo was absolutely packed. Even with the crowds, it was still a nice experience. The weather was spot on. Nothing about this zoo was particularly amazing, although the gorilla exhibit was quite impressive. They had more than a dozen gorillas roaming a really large, wide-open space. As with the Greenville Zoo last week, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

After the zoo we headed home. It didn't exactly go the way we planned, but we still had a great time. It's hard to call any weekend where I get to spend 2 hours at R.E.I a disappointment.

A Family Affair

This time last year I finally convinced my folks to take a hike... with me. I told them I would carry almost all the pack weight, all they had to do was walk the trail. I enlisted Greg's help to lighten my load a little. So with great anticipation we headed down the trail to the Three Forks Junction.



Everyone had a great time. So great a time that my parents were ready and anxious to get out there again. This time my mom was excited to bring along my brother JR and his two kids: Dayton (5) and Slade (2). JR wasn't completely convinced, but nonetheless he agreed to go. It should be noted that on our last hike out, we had to pull Momma's reins back a little bit when it came to the packing. She just kept trying to add more and more stuff. Well, on this trip there was a new challenge. Laura, being 9 months pregnant and all, couldn't carry a pack. And the kids couldn't carry packs either. So that left only me and JR to carry Laura's pack, the kids' packs, and any excess not able to fit into Mom and Dad's packs. I made the executive decision to do something drastic. Even though I hate seeing it on the trail, I decided to get a wagon. Yep, one of those red wagons with the big wheels on them. There would be rough spots on the trail, but for the most part we could get it down it. With the two kids' and Laura's packs, not to mention Mom and Dad's extras, me and JR just had no other way to get the gear to the campsite. Normally I would say no way, but I really wanted the kids to experience their first camping trip. Of course, with this new bit of news about the wagon, Momma's face was shining, it meant she could add more stuff. So with all our gear AND our wagon, we headed up to North Georgia to the trailhead.


Ridiculous isn't it?

With much anticipation we were finally on the trail. JR and I swapped out hauling the wagon. Hiking with him was an eerie reminder of hiking with Greg, all go - no slow. I found myself giving that same shpiel (shpeal, shpeel, shpele... I don't know) about enjoying the trail and taking your time. So with that, we let him push on ahead and I fell back to see how the kids were doing. Little did I know, Dayton was hopping right along and wanted to stay with his daddy. Slade was back with Momma getting a bigtime kick out of all the puddles.



So far everyone was be-bopping along great, except maybe Daddy, but we all expected that. Before we knew it we were there, ready to cross the river. It had a few scary spots, but nothing life-threatening. We all managed to cross safely and now it was time to start setting up our camp. JR wasted no time starting a fire (it would become a theme for the trip for him). Momma took the kids and the toys (that's right, she packed up toys) and found a spot to play in the dirt. The toys ended up being useless, the kids' favorite game was throwing rocks into the river. I have about 100 pictures of them getting a big hoot out of just throwing rocks.



We spent the evening hanging out around JR's campfire. We cooked up a little supper and got ready to hit the hay. So far it been a great trip. We had a great hike in, a great first day, now it was time for a good night's rest. The kids conked straight out. There was no peep from Momma and Daddy's tent. I noticed JR hanging out solo around the fire. He said it was his quiet time. He probably stayed up for another hour or so. Then it was all quiet in camp. The next morning everyone rolled out of their sacks slowly. We had some hot oatmeal for breakfast and the kids didn't waste any time getting back near the water to play. We spent the day hopping on boulders and, of course, throwing rocks. I pulled JR away from his duty as fire builder (self-appointed by the way) long enough to climb the Big Creek waterfall.



After climbing the waterfall, it was a quick break, then we packed up. This was the portion we had been hoping to somehow avoid. We got the wagon loaded down, the tents were packed up, we crossed the river and started climbing. The kids had been real troopers the whole trip. Dayton never had to be carried. He loved running along the trail. We carried Slade from time to time, but only to keep him from stopping at every puddle.



With a little help from Slade we got the wagon and all members of our party back to the trailhead in one piece. JR swore he would never be a pack mule again. He said next time he goes he is carrying only his stuff. That made me happy because it meant he might get back on the trail! The kids loved it. Hopefully they will remember this and it will be a jump start to a future in the great outdoors for both them. Momma and Daddy had the same great time they did last year. Laura and I had a great time too. We made a lot of memories with our nephews that we don't get to see too often. It gave us a little taste of what it might be like for us in a few years when Gabriel is hopping around the campsite in Huggies! It was a trip we'll all remember for a long time!

Panther Creek Falls

Dennis sent me a text message about two weeks ago. It read, "Man, I wanna go backpacking!" He hadn't been out since back in the fall when I took him to the Golden Corner of South Carolina for his first backpacking trip. (See the "Another Lifer" entry for more details). I had just finished reading Backpacker Magazine's entry on what was voted the best hike in Georgia, Panther Creek Falls (click on the title of this blog for a link to their website's trail description). So we set it up, and Monday after some early morning appointments we both had, we headed off.

We got to the trailhead a little later than I planned. The last thing I wanted to do was finish the hike and set up in the dark. It's just annoying. So, we had 3.6 miles of trail ahead of us and a little less than 2 hours of daylight left. With that in mind, we left the sight-seeing for tomorrow's return hike and kept a steady pace till the falls. We got there in almost exactly an hour. Pretty darn good trail time. We set up and still had a decent amount of sunlight left to soak in the scenery.



Here we all are in front of the tent. Austin is the tan one on the left, then me in the blue, then Star sitting in the middle, then Dennis. The waterfall was so much taller than we expected. The pictures we had seen before didn't make the waterfall appear more than maybe 30 feet high. In actuality the waterfall was all total about 120 feet tall. Even in this picture you can't see the water as it tumbles from around the rock outcrops on the left. At the base of the falls was a really nice sandy area that made for the perfect place to set up camp. The base of the waterfall is a huge breath-taking pool perfect for swimming. No, we didn't swim. It was in the 20's when we got there and got even colder as the night progressed. The creek past the waterfall was littered with car sized boulders. All in all it really was a great spot to set up a tent.


Now, the hike in... well it could have been better. To start, the trailhead was on a busy two-lane road, with room for only three vehicles. When we got there, all three spots were taken. It presented quite the danger opening the hatch of the Jeep and letting the dogs out so close to a busy road (yeah, I forgot their leashes). Right off the bat you have to walk under an overpass while on the trail. Shortly after that you come to a clearing for high rise powerlines, where a huge cable also passes over the creek, protruding from the high creek bank, then disappearing into the other side. There is tons of construction debris from the overpass and trash from passing vehicles. Luckily, you quickly disappear into the thick woods of the Chattahoochee National Forest. The next slight disappointment is that, although the creek rumbled loudly below, you are so far above it and the foliage is so thick, you can't see anything going on in the creek. Finally, after about a mile, you reach the creek's side. By this time the water has calmed down quite a bit. This is when the trail really became enjoyable. There were an alarming number of fallen large timbers, but other than that it was a very scenic trail. There were flat areas for camping all along the bank. A few times the trail rises above the creek, mainly at the numerous sharp bends. During the last mile, the creek begins to give you some hint of what lies ahead. Then finally you start hearing the rumble of Panther Creek Falls. The trail takes you along a rock outcrop that hangs at the very edge above the huge waterfall, where you get a nice view of the camping area below.


Your options once at the campsite are to either continue on the banks of Panther Creek to the eastern terminus at Yonah Camp/Yonah Dam. That is supposed to be another 2 miles or so (I can't verify that because we didn't hike it). Or, of course, backtrack to the main trailhead at the Panther Creek Recreation area. Be prepared for a bit of a climb. 750 feet in all, with most of it coming in that last mile.

Three Forks Junction With My Parents

The Three Forks Junction is a place where three creeks flow together to form the West Fork of the Chattooga River (The river where the movie "Deliverance" was filmed). From the north, Overflow Creek flows in. From the west is Holcomb Creek, losing elevation fast and flowing narrowly between two mountains before reaching the junction. From the east flows Big Creek. Big Creek carries the most water into the junction, and has some amazing waterfalls just upstream. Right in the middle of all this there is just enough flat and soft ground that allow you to set up camp with water flowing in all directions, surrounded by mountains. The amazing scenery combined with a fairly simple, yet rarely undertaken hike makes it my favorite camping spot. I wish everyone I knew had a chance to come and spend a couple nights out here. I had the pleasure of taking my parents on their first backpacking trip here. It was a great experience for all parties involved.


That very trip will be one that I remember for a long time. The biggest skeptic was my dad. We had to wheel and deal to get him out there. Part of the deal was we would find a way to get him an air mattress AND the pump to the camp site. And we would hike in real food, not trail food. Also, his pack had to weigh less than 20 pounds. I recruited Greg for the trip, and me and him stuffed our packs, including the air mattress and pump, so that Daddy's demands would be met. I could see that both my parents were really enjoying the scenery on the way in, even though the trail was in really rough shape. We ended up decending a mountain side completely off the trail at one point because the markings were gone. It ended up being one of the more rugged hikes I've taken. I felt bad about promising my parents an easy hike, then running into all the problems we did, but they laughed about it once we were at the campsite. We set up camp and then began playing around on some of the boulders and waterfalls surrounding the campsite. It was great to see Momma acting like a twelve-year-old, jumping across creeks and playing on big rocks. My mom talks all the time about that trip, and they plan on making another go at it next time they are in Georgia.

Here are some of our photos from the trip we made in December. The weather was nasty, but it was a rare warm weekend in December, so we headed out anyway. Enjoy!

http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/Eldowney7/Three%20Forks%20with%20Mom%20and%20Dad/?action=view¤t=1884453d.pbw