Fri, Sep 27 2013 - Hiking, Paddling & Camping Weekend at Beautiful Dauset Trails + Optional Mtn Biking (View Original Event Details)
|
Let’s hear it for Dauset Trails Nature Center! Our friendly and fun-loving group of AOCers had a blast and newcomers were quick to agree what a marvelous place it is, just an easy 1-hour drive from Atlanta.
The fall weather all weekend was “crystal-clear perfect!” Stargazing from the beach near our campfire was amazing, and we even had naked-eye views of the 2-million-light-years-distant Andromeda Galaxy.
Lorri and Laura pointed out a huge osprey that had just caught a fish in the lake by our campsite & boathouse - something that the Dauset Trails manager and his rangers say they've never seen at Dauset Trails before! Almost all us had nice views of the osprey flying around our lake at one time or other over the weekend.
Many of us enjoyed hiking or biking the beautiful 3-mile lakeside trail that now conveniently connects Dauset Trails with Indian Springs State Park and its quaint adjoining village. The delightful ice cream shop and “whimsical botanical garden” by its eastern trailhead in Indian Springs are equally accessible by a 10-minute car caravan, which about 15 of us enjoyed Sat afternoon.
Thanks to all for your enthusiastic participation in our group hikes, wildlife trail & museum visit, mountain bike rides, canoeing & kayaking floats on the lake, shared “potluck” meals at the pavilion, and campfires both nights. I was wowed by everyone's bountiful contributions to our delicious meals, snacks and refreshments all weekend. Everyone pitched in impressively with food prep, serving & cleanup, and with making sure that we left our dining, camping and lakefront area even cleaner than we had found it. Special thanks to Jerry Kelley who did a great job as my co-leader for this trip and helped our newcomers enjoy our nice fleet of kayaks and canoes - also to Larry Cooper for his expertise in helping supervise the cooking and serving of our group meals - also to David Duffey for his usual great support with our campfire building and charcoal grilling!
Some have accused me of “bringing everything but the kitchen sink” on my “carside camping” trips, so this time I decided to surprise everyone by bringing my new portable 2-sink dishwashing stand. Thankfully it turned out to be a big hit with our volunteer “scullery crews.”
We jointly took hundreds of fantastic photos over the weekend including shots of the amazing wild critters. I'll be glad to post links to our online albums below as I receive them so if you were on the trip please email those links to me at Cott4Treks@aol.com. I also welcome individual humorous (or otherwise?) trip anecdotes which I'll be glad to add to this archival event writeup. Note that you can retrieve our original event announcement article by clicking on "View Original Trip Details" above this archive.
I look forward to our next AOC weekend at Dauset Trails, May 2-4, 2014. I’ve again reserved their lakeside camping area, dining pavilion and boats exclusively for the Club's use. Mark your calendars and expect to see my online article about the trip posted by early April. - Submitted by Charlie, Oct 3, 2013
Thanks to Lorri Meyer for sharing the following link with us to her beautiful photo album of the trip! The first several shots were taken in nearby High Falls State Park which is a fabulous place to do some extra hiking and sightseeing when visiting Dauset Trails.
https://picasaweb.google.com/115116507155383750859/DausetSept2013?authkey=Gv1sRgCPa_w5PGj8CKaA&noredirect=1
Calendar of Events
Event Places