Sun, Apr 4 2021 - Easter Afternoon Hike at Mason Mill Park & Lullwater Preserve at Emory (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Charlie Cottingham Participants: Charlie Cottingham, Dawn B, Jeff B, Susan P, Sarah E, Hailley F., Melina, Gerrilyn

  It was fun getting together for this adventurous outing on such a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon.  The weather was "springtime perfect" - almost 70 degrees with a bright blue sky.  Two fine friendly canine companions enhanced our experience - thanks to Hailley for bringing "Captain" and to Gerrilyn for "Sam"!
  We began the hike on the narrow heavily wooded creekside trail between the Avis Williams Library and DeKalb Tennis Center - then continued from Mason Mill Park to the Emory campus via the PATH spur trail & boardwalk and its convenient Clairmont Road underpass.  In Emory's vast shady "Lullwater Preserve" parklands we first enjoyed the trail surrounding Candler Lake where had fine views of Canada geese and a great blue heron.  After ascending the huge grassy hill to the President's mansion we followed the South Fork Peachtree Creek trail downstream beside the Yerkes Primate Center to Hahn Woods.
   After a scenic creekside loop hike there we headed back upstream and ascended the junglelike hilly terrain below the historic "Houston Mill House."  Just before the hike I had secretly visited that seldom-explored trail and had hidden 3 dozen colorful hollow Easter eggs with chocolate treats inside.  Our hikers got a kick out of finding them one-by-one along the old concrete stairway that surrounds the constantly flowing spring and its huge round water storage cisterns - about 100 yards downhill of the historic home.  Congrats to Susan for finding the "Golden Prize Egg" of the hunt, which required her courage to venture into the dark wet center of the old covered spring house to retrieve it.  Her reward was a home-grown variegated "spider plant" with its hanging mini-plants symbolizing the rebirth theme of Easter.
   After a stop at the "old stone millwheel fountain" in front of the Houston Mill house we took a pretty singletrack trail downhill from the Luce Center through the woods past the Primate Center's entrance gate toward the President's Mansion and were awed by a large grafted camellia bush in full bloom with both red and striped white-red flowers - by an old out-building.   After a leisurely stop at the beautiful waterfall below the President's mansion we took a more scenic route back to Mason Mill Park via the wooded periphery of Emory's Clairmont Campus that overlooks the creek and lake.   - Submitted by Charlie, Monday April 5th