Sun, Mar 16 2014 - Monadnock Madness! Stone Mtn + Arabia + Panola + Prize! (View Original Event Details)
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We AOC “madmen & madwomen” had a blast yesterday summiting all three huge granite monadnocks with our friendly naturalist hosts and other nice hikers from the public at large. We lucked out with nary a drop of rain on the “moonlight” version of the event (3pm-9pm) despite the showery weather that had been forecast.
Special thanks to our friendly naturalist hosts who did such a fine job - Brian & Naomi who guided us at Stone Mountain and Robbie & Kimberly at Arabia. Along the way we stopped often to discuss the ancient monoliths’ fascinating geology and the wonders of “outcrop survivors” such as diamorpha, snorkelwort, white-blooming serviceberry, prickly pear cactus and gnarly red cedars.
For our “finale” evening hike at Panola I was honored to be asked to personally guide the group. For the past few years I’ve enjoyed volunteering there and was glad to fill in for my friend Hannah, the Park’s interpretive ranger. Despite our not actually getting to see the hoped-for “sunset & full moonrise” we enjoyed fine panoramic views from several Panola vantage points and marveled at the thriving rare plants and amazing rock features. Kimberly awarded each of us “triple challenge finishers” a gorgeous commemorative bandanna when we reached the lovely and lush summit of Panola Mountain. She, Robbie and I were proud of our 25 or so intrepid hikers for making it safely down again with us despite the rocky descent being slick in spots from the morning showers.
It was fun having Patricia and Tami join me for carpooling from Stone Mountain to the other two parks and back. During our after-dark final leg back to the Confederate Hall parking lot we were treated to TWO close-up sightings of wild deer crossing the roadway - first just as we turned onto Panola Road and again just ten minutes later on Mountain Street in Stone Mtn Village!
Other AOC members are encouraged to check out the cool MonadnackMadness.com” website, and if you like you can still earn the nice commemorative bandanna on your own by hiking to all three summits before the end of March! As you may know each of the three giant monoliths is geologically more than 300 million years old and they boast an amazing diversity of rare plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh conditions of the rocky outcrops.
A final word of thanks to the Davidson-Arabia Alliance's "outreach coordinator" Kimberly Estep who does such a bang-up job planning and coordinating Monadnock Madness! Besides awarding us the lovely bandanna she took photos of our big friendly group atop all 3 summits, and she and Robbie also treated us to a cozy roaring fire and nice free T-shirts & snacks at the Arabia Nature Center.
- Submitted by “O’Charlie”, St. Pat’s mornin' Mon March 17th
p.s. I’m delighted that my good buddy and frequent “AOC partner in crime” Bobby Marie managed to complete the alternate “early edition” of the Triple Challenge yesterday to earn his bandanna as well! I share below his nice e-note:
“Charlie, Hi!
You are still out on your adventure while I have just gotten home from mine. We started out in cats and dogs rain but it stopped and drizzled when we got back down from Stone Mountain. The Arabia walk was excellent and windy but dry and foggy all around. We saw the running water which is a very special thing. It was a great special time to be up there.
The Panola hike was simply spectacular with all the rain. The plants up there are unbelievable when it is wet. I had only seen it with you when it was hot and dry. Wow what a difference.
I got my “do-rag” as reward and it will be very special. Off to the evening, hope it turns out well for you too! -Bobby”
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