Sun, Jun 25 2017 - Key Swap - Wet and Wild - ITP - Full River Crossing (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Lisa, Wynn Participants: Wynn, Lisa, Gena, Mary Beth, Tricia S., Tom Jarosz (Juh'rose), Gary, Marsha, Bob D., Ron Walker, Dairlyn, Linda F, Jeffrey, Larry Cooper, Mary Kay

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Well, the key swap turned into a "Plan B" swap, and five miles turned into eight. The recent heavy rains have produced some nasty Chattahoochee water, so we scrapped our plan to ford the river and play on the shoals and beaches. Warning attendees in advance, we changed our route to include an East-West Palisades loop.

We all started at the Paces Mill parking area, with Team Wynn quickly crossing over to the east bank of the river and heading north through East Palisades. Team Lisa stayed on the left bank, also heading north. The plan was to meet halfway through the loop for lunch.

Let's just say a lot of bushwhacking and bouldering was involved, and somewhere in the woods, the two teams managed to pass like ships in the night. So many side trails, we probably were within 50 feet of each other but couldn't see or hear more than a couple feet through the thick underbrush in some spots. 

So each group enjoyed a snack from the overlook - just a different overlook from each other - and continued along our way. Team Wynn crossed back over the Hooch and headed south through West Pal while Team Lisa hacked through bushes, pulled ourselves up steep slopes, and clung to rock ledges. Both teams did quite a bit of that. The BAH was also conquered.

We all met back at cars and did our "key swap" in the meadow. Many thanks to Ron Walker for his expert trailblazing and for showing us the Richard and Charlie routes.