Fri, Apr 27 2018 - Coopers Furnace and Pine Mountain Summit (Secret Trail Down) (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Holt Ward Participants: Holt Ward, Shirley N, Judy, Bob R, Jennifer H., Sharon C., Jay H., mike hirschmann, Suzanne, Doug, Bruce R, Sandra a.k.a (Hellraiser), Becky Douviile, LeeAnn Tieman, Connie C, Bette

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What a glorious day for a hike.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was fantastic.  We started by visiting the overlook above the Lake Allatoona dam.  We were lucky in that they were releasing water which was quite interesting for anyone who has not experienced that.  They we began our hike by taking the Laurel Ridge and Cooper Connector trail to reach the base of Pine Mountain and our 800 foot climb.  The summit was quite busy for this Friday morning but we were able to take a break and take in the beautiful views.  We could make out Sawnee, Sweat, and Kennesaw mountains in the distance.  

The trip down a little known or used trail from the summit was a treat (and challenge) as well.  We descended about 1000 feet all the way to the Etowah river and saw the remnants of a former mining operation.  As we reached the area of the river, we took a side trail which followed the former rail cut that was built in the 1850s to transport goods from the Cooper furnace which we visited next.  After hearing a brief history of the furnace and the town of Etowah, the site of which lies under 100 feet of water behind the dam, we began our last climb of the day back to the Allatoona visitors center and the end of the hike.  

We had three relatively newcomers to the AOC on our hike today.  LeeAnn was on her second AOC event and Jay and Connie were on their very first AOC event.  Welcome to each of you and look forward to seeing you on future events.  ~ Holt