March Monadnock Madness! Stone Mountain + Arabia + Panola + Prizes!

IMPORTANT MEETUP SPOT CORRECTION for CONFIRMEES! Our Initial Meetup Spot in Stone Mtn Park will NOT be at Confederate Hall (as previously announced) but rather at the following "Walking Trails" parking lot, about 0.2 mile EAST of Confederate Hall.  Per Kimberly's Directions: After you go through the West Gate make a LEFT. Drive just 0.2 mile via Robt. E. Lee Blvd. and turn LEFT into what is known as the "Walking Trails" parking lot. We'll all gather at 2:00 PM at the "Monadnock Madness" sign by a large rock.  GPS USERS: Enter these coordinates as your destination address for this "Walking Trails" lot entrance: 33.8128,-84.1586

FINAL WEATHER UPDATE as of SAT AM MAR 19th:  We're definitely still ON for today's "Triple Challenge" despite the possibility of a shower or two.  The Weather Forecast predicts very comfortable afternoon & evening hiking temperatures in the 60s and high 50s.  Although the expected "probability of precip" at 2:00 PM is fairly high, it's expected to drop rapidly.  The Nat'l Weather Service predicts no more than about one-tenth of an inch of potential accumulation between 2:00 and 9:00.  If we dress accordingly (no HEAVY clothing needed) and carry a little lightweight emergency rain gear, I'm sure we'll all have a blast as we did in each of the past three years! -Charlie

IMPORTANT NOTES added Feb 22nd: The Park Naturalists who manage this big annual event have notified us that it is indeed now OFFICIALLY "SOLD OUT" for the MAR 19 "Triple Challenge" suggested for the AOC in this article.  (If you didn't succeed in registering you still may wish to sign up on your own for one of the other dates.)  They have also announced a minor schedule change:  The official MAR 19 MEETUP TIME is now 2:00 PM (not 2:15 as I had originally announced.)  - Charlie

ORIGINAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Since this event is likely to sell out, each AOC member who wishes to participate must go (ASAP) to the following NON-AOC linked webpage:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2492696  First click the "down arrow" (beside "Mar 1") and select instead the "Sat Mar 19, 2016 2:30 PM" event.  Then enter your personal info (as an "Adult") and pay your $15.00 fee (+ $1.52 online transaction fee) = $16.52.   No need to enter an additional "Donation" unless you so choose.  Enter "N/A" in the "Meal" box and select "Will-Call" since there's no need to bring a pre-printed "ticket" to the event.  Also please register with the AOC at the base of this article which will put you (for no additional charge) on our Club's email list to receive event updates (e.g. the "Free Parking Code") and give you "AOC Credit" for completing this 3-mountain "challenge."  Again, to participate you MUST ALSO formally register and pay via the above-linked NON-AOC "brownpapertickets.com" webpage. 

IN A NUTSHELL:  You AOCers who feel comfortable doing our "moderate-difficulty" Club dayhikes are sure to enjoy this "alternate form of March Madness" that has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with hiking & nature!  The fascinating event is organized each March by my friends, the ranger-naturalists of Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain and Panola Mountain.  In each of our first three annual "Monadnock Madnesses" (2013-2015) we AOCers helped them prove that it's easy to have a good time climbing together up and down all three beautiful "monadnocks" on a single day.  Registering and paying online as directed above covers parking and naturalist-guided summit hikes at all 3 mountains plus snacks & refreshments. To cap off our final climb at Panola we'll also enjoy a festive lakeside campfire & s'mores roast and the awarding of commemorative "prize-souvenirs."  We intend to go ahead with the event rain or shine.

WHERE & WHEN?  Our AOC "subgroup" will meet initially at 2:00 PM (15 minutes earlier than originally announced) on the front steps of Confederate Hall, just inside the west entrance of Stone Mountain Park.  (See precise Directions and parking instructions below.)  Here is a rough timetable for the 3 successive hikes, with about a half hour allotted for each of our two car caravan segments.
2:30 -  4:30 PM:   Stone Mountain hike and 13-mi car caravan SE to Arabia park
5:00 -  6:30 PM:   Arabia Mtn hike and 6-mi car caravan south to Panola park
7:00 -  8:30 PM:   Panola Mtn hike followed by campfire & s'more roast.

MORE EVENT DETAILS:  This is a group endeavor and learning experience - not a race.  It's well within the ability of AOCers who feel comfortable doing our "D3" or higher-difficulty hikes, made easier by our half hour or more of "rest & drive time" between Stone Mtn and Arabia and later in the afternoon between Arabia and Panola.  Each of our three summit hikes will be guided by park ranger-naturalists who are experts in the unique geology, biological diversity and natural history of these rocky "monadnocks."  Along the way we'll discuss the mountains' fascinating similarities, differences, and human histories.  Our total combined hiking distance at the three parks will be only about 7 miles (at a leisurely to moderate pace) and the estimated combined uphill elevation gains will be about 1300 feet.
  Just after our initial hike at Stone Mtn Park we'll organize an AOC "carpooling caravan" to get to the Arabia Mtn Nature Center. If you prefer driving alone you're welcome to follow our caravan.  When we arrive there at Arabia we'll take about a 15-minute break.  Snacks & refreshments will be served prior to beginning that hike.  After the Arabia hike we'll caravan again to a special parking lot just south of the Panola Mtn summit.  Just after that final "sunset hike" we'll enjoy the above-mentioned campfire, s'more roast, and the awarding of commemorative "prize-souvenirs."  If you've ridden with other carpoolers you can expect to be back at your car at Confederate Hall lot by 9:00 PM or so.

MORE MONADNOCK MADNESS INFO & OPTIONS:  Our Arabia Mountain Alliance friends who organize this annual  event have set up more options than ever this year, and as usual, hikers from the general public are welcome to register for any of them without needing to be members of clubs such as the AOC. If this year's advertised AOC date/time (Mar 19 at 2:30 PM) is "sold out" or isn't convenient for you, feel free to register for any of the other options described at "MonadnockMadness.com."  You can do them as "non-AOC" events either with the parks' expert naturalist-guides or even on your own if you prefer. The info below is excerpted from the Alliance's "First Annual" writeup.

"Surreal views and a rockin’ good time are in store for “Monadnock Madness.” This event encourages amateur adventurers to reach the peaks of Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountains, and if you’re “mad” enough you can master all three monoliths in a single day!
Each of these granite peaks is considered a “monadnock" - a specific type of mountain that juts out of the relatively flat landscape surrounding it. The rich geological history and varied ecosystems of these areas have created some of the best places to hike near Metro Atlanta. A recent Atlanta Trails review notes, “The diverse landscape at Arabia Mountain is so beautiful – and sometimes so foreign – it’s almost surreal. This wild, rugged granite ecosystem is…a testament to the awesome landscape diversity of Georgia.” In just one day you can see vernal pools, pine forests, rivers, and even snorkelwort. You’ll have to join us to see a snorkelwort!
The rare Diamorpha plant should also be in bloom which carpets the granite with bright red flowers. Our naturalist-guides will encourage hikers to get up close and personal with such wonders of nature as we explore each unique monadnock."

A BIT about "MONADNOCK" GEOLOGY and NATURAL HISTORY:  The thousands of acres of huge rocky domes and outcrops at Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountain are known to have originally been giant "bubbles" of upwelling molten rock deep inside the earth.  They slowly cooled and hardened to form the dome-shaped "monadnocks" and over the eons have become revealed as miles of softer layers of earth and rock above them eroded away - a process that still continues today.  Geologists estimate that Arabia Mountain first took shape about 400 million years ago.  By comparison the granite of its Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain "siblings" is believed to be relatively young - a "mere" 300 million years old.  All three mountains existed long before the dinosaurs appeared on Earth and all have an amazing diversity of rare plants and creatures that are worthy of our conservation and protection.

DIRECTIONS and FREE PARKING INSTRUCTIONS for our INITIAL STONE MTN PARK MEETUP SPOT (Correction: NOT at CONFEDERATE HALL):

If you formally register and pay as directed atop this article (via "BrownPaperTickets.com) and sign up below for our AOC "informal subgroup" you'll be emailed a special "free-parking code" which you should give the Stone Mtn Park gate attendant as you enter the Park.  Our initial meetup spot for this event is inside the Park in the parking lot described in Step #7 below - about 0.2 mile EAST of Confederate Hall via Robt E. Lee Blvd.  (CAUTION! Although many of our AOC dayhikes begin in the Confederate Hall lot we DO NOT meet there!)  Click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article if you'd like to see a zoomable map/ satellite view of the correct parking lot entrance.)

DIRECTIONS to STONE MTN PARK meetup PARKING LOT from "SPAGHETTI JCN" in NE ATLANTA":
1.  From "Spaghetti Junction"  (the I-285/I-85 interchange in NE Atlanta) take "I-285 East" (actually southward - toward “Augusta”) about 4.7 miles.
2.  Take I-285 Exit #39B (bearing Right off I-285 in a clockwise loop).  Merge onto Stone Mountain Pkwy/ US-78 East (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.
3.  Get off the Parkway toward your right at Exit #5 (onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass).  Go only about 0.6 mile and bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.
4.  At the end of the ramp turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Avenue and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light (on the north side of Stone Mtn Village).
5.  Turn Left at the traffic light onto James B. Rivers Memorial Drive (avoiding the sharper left onto “Silver Hill Rd”) and drive (eastward) about 0.5 mile to the large Stone Mtn Park "West Entrance Gate."
6.  Tell the Gate Attendant that you're there for the "Monadnock Madness" guided hike (which should suffice as their required "gate code" for free Park entrance and parking.
7.  CORRECTION from previously posted directions step! After you go through the West Gate make a LEFT. Drive just 0.2 mile via Robt. E. Lee Blvd. and turn LEFT into what is known as the "Walking Trails" parking lot. We'll all gather at 2:00 PM at the "Monadnock Madness" sign by a large rock.
GPS USERS: Enter these coordinates as your destination address for this "Walking Trails" lot entrance: 33.8128,-84.1586
8. At about 2:30 PM we'll all depart on foot for our first hike, up and down Stone Mountain.

GPS or GOOGLE MAPS USERS: The following Lat/Lon coordinates of the correct meetup parking lot entrance inside Stone Mtn Park may be useful as your entered “Destination Address” in conjunction with the above directions.  33.8129,- 84.1587 

OPTIONAL CARPOOLING from STONE MTN to OTHER TWO PARKS:  AOC "Monadnock Madness" hikers will have the option of carpooling with other participants to the other two parks or driving alone in your own vehicle (caravaning with us or driving independently).  We expect to depart from Stone Mtn Park toward Arabia at about 4:30 PM and from the Arabia Nature Center lot to a special lot at Panola Mtn by about 6:30.  Written directions will be made available so that each driver can reach the Arabia & Panola parking areas even if you don't remain in our caravan.

- Parking and Park Entrance at Stone Mtn, Arabia Mtn and Panola Mtn,
- Naturalist-guided Hikes at all 3 mountains,
- Snacks & Refreshments,
- A Campfire and S'mores at the end of the day,
- A Commemorative Prize-Souvenir

We intend to go ahead with the event rain or shine, but if any portions need to be canceled due to unusually severe weather, etc. we'll do our best to schedule a convenient alternate "rain date" for AOC paricipants.  If you are unable to participate (or can join us only for part of the event) please consider your $16.52 payment to be a nonrefundable tax-deductible donation to the worthy missions of the three parks.