- Joined
- Dec 26, 2008
- Messages
- 611
We got up early Saturday and headed off to the hills. Mrs. Spark, Juniorspark, and his friend Neighborspark joined me for a trip to Amicalola Falls and FT. Mountain State Park.
We drove up to the lodge above the falls and walked down the trail/stairs next to the falls. There are over 600 steps on those stairs! The falls where great. There was not much water due to the drought, but the mist was still very cool and beautiful. There were many more people hiking this area than I expected to see. Once we got to the bottom we found out why. There was a kids fishing rodeo at the reflection pool, and several large groups celebrating one occasion or anther. We took the Appalachian Trail Approach back to the lodge and headed over to FT. Mountain State Park.
Thanks to TTD, I have a new GPS which came in very handy this weekend. We were able to follow our whims and go off route with no hesitation. We just punched in the destination, and let the "RECALCULATING" begin! We stayed off the main roads as much as possible, and saw some real Mountain Country routes and trails.
FT. Mountain was very cool and the views from the area are great. We had to move a little faster than I would have liked due to time constraints, so we'll have to go back and do it again.
This was a really great trip, but due to the restrictions on "Off Trail" use, and the large amounts of people around, we couldn't really get into filming knife pron or setting up shelters or hammocks. I just got my "trek light" hammock and was really wanting to set up a little day camp site and work with the kids on some skills. I guess we'll just have to hike up the Appalachian Trail a ways to get away from these crowds next time we're in the area. On the other hand, the Pygmy Falcon worked out great. I carried it the whole time we weren't driving, and it was very comfortable and it contained everything we needed, including some allergy medicine that saved the day for Mrs. Spark.
Here are a few shots of the area around Amicalola Falls.
These are from FT. Mountain.
We drove up to the lodge above the falls and walked down the trail/stairs next to the falls. There are over 600 steps on those stairs! The falls where great. There was not much water due to the drought, but the mist was still very cool and beautiful. There were many more people hiking this area than I expected to see. Once we got to the bottom we found out why. There was a kids fishing rodeo at the reflection pool, and several large groups celebrating one occasion or anther. We took the Appalachian Trail Approach back to the lodge and headed over to FT. Mountain State Park.
Thanks to TTD, I have a new GPS which came in very handy this weekend. We were able to follow our whims and go off route with no hesitation. We just punched in the destination, and let the "RECALCULATING" begin! We stayed off the main roads as much as possible, and saw some real Mountain Country routes and trails.
FT. Mountain was very cool and the views from the area are great. We had to move a little faster than I would have liked due to time constraints, so we'll have to go back and do it again.
This was a really great trip, but due to the restrictions on "Off Trail" use, and the large amounts of people around, we couldn't really get into filming knife pron or setting up shelters or hammocks. I just got my "trek light" hammock and was really wanting to set up a little day camp site and work with the kids on some skills. I guess we'll just have to hike up the Appalachian Trail a ways to get away from these crowds next time we're in the area. On the other hand, the Pygmy Falcon worked out great. I carried it the whole time we weren't driving, and it was very comfortable and it contained everything we needed, including some allergy medicine that saved the day for Mrs. Spark.
Here are a few shots of the area around Amicalola Falls.
These are from FT. Mountain.
