Stone Mountain Midday Adventure Hike: Meet OUTSIDE Park.

IN a NUTSHELL:   The weather is shaping up nicely for this Thursday afternoon - partly cloudy with a high about 70.  Should be perfect conditions for this Stone Mountain midday "Adventure Hike."
  Perhaps too often we Georgians "take Stone Mountain for granite!" :-)  It rivals almost any other natural area in the country with its spectacular rock formations, beautiful lakes, rare native plants, and abundant birds & wildlife. The mountain has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic memorial carving is but one part.
  On this partly-off-trail hike hike we'll explore a few of the Park's little-known scenic spots.  Visiting some of these "wilder" places on the mountain can be fun for those who have hiked thus far only on the most popular and well known marked trails.  This event is esp. suitable for experienced hikers who feel comfortable on rugged and steeply inclined rocky surfaces.
  We'll plan to take a moderate pace, stopping often to regroup and to observe and photograph the craggy scenery, wild critters and flowering plants.  Despite the casual pace we'll still at times get in a good aerobic workout on the uphill climbs.  Although I don't consider the hike to be particularly dangerous or strenuous, there may be a few climbs over large boulders and other steep spots along the way where a slip could potentially result in injury. I classify the hike as a "D5" event because of these "special considerations" that may affect our individual safety, and prefer that if you sign up for this event you have a good deal of previous experience climbing and descending in a variety of rocky terrain.

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather at 12:00 Noon in the parking lot beside the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center, OUTSIDE THE PARK! in the Village of Stone Mountain.  We'll have FREE parking (detailed directions below) and FREE entrance into the Park via the quarter-mile "PATH" entrance Trail, similar to the Silver Comet.

HIKE PLAN:  After introducing one another we’ll hike into the Park (from the Red Caboose) at about 12:15 PM —initially eastward via the half-mile paved "PATH" spur trail. Our expected total hike distance will be about 5 miles, with elevation gains in our uphill portions totaling perhaps 800 vertical feet.
  On our itinerary will be the spectacular moonlike shoulders of the mountain that face Atlanta and Snellville, a rugged old granite quarrying area, and the Park's retired antique wood-burning locomotive.
   Along the way we intend to avoid disturbing the flora or fauna and to leave the mountain and its surrounding terrain in even better shape than we find it by picking up and carrying out some of the bits of trash left by previous hikers.  I'll bring a few small bags along for this worthy AOC "spruce-up" effort.
   We'll target getting back to our vehicles at the "Caboose" by 3:30 PM.

2010 PHOTOS of our similar AOC Stone Mountain "Adventure Hike":  For Marcus Kubota's nice photo album of our November "Stone Mtn Scramble" (including the above "promo" shot) use this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=303112&id=648793487&l=00a69951aa
 

FOR MORE on STONE MOUNTAIN, here are three more links that might be of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/faq/#Recreation
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/images/maps/hiking/smp_map_hiking_map.gif
 

DIRECTIONS TO OUR 5:45 PM MEETING PLACE:
"RED CABOOSE" WELCOME CENTER OUTSIDE the PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain:

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 E (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.

3. At Exit #5 bear Right onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass, and go only about 0.6 mile—then bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.

4. Turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Ave. and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light.

5. Continue straight ahead at the light onto Main Street and go southward here for about 0.5 mile (through Stone Mtn village) to the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center and parking lot on your Left, just beyond the RR track crossing and traffic light at Mimosa Drive.
   
6.  Free parking is available there by the Caboose, where we'll gather for the hike. In the unlikely event that all these spaces are filled there's usually plenty of free parking space 30 or 40 yards north of the Caboose in Stone Mtn Village.

NEED MAP or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS? If you'd like a map or directions from your specific point of departure, go to Google.com/maps and in the "Search Maps" window enter:

   891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Then click on "Search Maps," "Get Directions," enter your personal "Start Address, and click the grey "Get Directions" box.

As a destination for your vehicle's GPS system use the above address or the following  Latitude/Longitude Coordinates of our "Red Caboose" parking lot meeting point and trailhead:

33.8053,-84.1700

Free Event with Free Parking!