Six at Six at Six!

EVENT PLAN:  Calling all AOC "polar bears" and "early birds" to thumb our noses at Old Man Winter!  At SIX o'clock AM tomorrow morning the mercury will have plummeted to about SIX degrees - our "lowest expected low" here in Atlanta in more than a decade.  In the summer there's a limit to how much clothing we can take OFF, but in winter we can be just about as comfortable as we like by wearing enough warm layers and properly insulating our extremities. If we simply dress appropriately it should be fun to CELEBRATE this "historic frigidity" by hiking SIX MILES together beginning at SIX AM at about SIX DEGREES Fahrenheit.  A bonus is that the sky is expected to be clear, so during the pre-dawn first half of our hike we can enjoy views of the stars, Saturn, Mars, and perhaps a few bright meteors - also witness a colorful sunrise together - actually the latest of the entire winter, at 7:43 AM.
  We'll meet a few minutes before 6:00 AM beside the stone restroom building just inside the Mason Mill Park main entrance (by the kids' playground—see detailed directions below).  After introductions we'll hike together to Medlock Park and back, stopping occasionally to regroup and enjoy the scenery.  Our total distance will be about 6 miles with just one or two steep spots.  Feel free to "split" early from the group if you must - it's easy to return to the parking lot.

ABOUT the PARKS & TRAILS:  Mason Mill and Medlock are two pretty DeKalb County parks located just east of Clairmont Road near Emory University and the VA Hospital.  They conveniently connect with one another via a network of hiking/biking paths and boardwalks.  The mile-long South Peachtree Creek Trail is the main trail through this shady corridor, and like the better known Silver Comet Trail it was designed and built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation."  The trail features a half-mile-long raised deck through the forest canopy above the rocky creek.  Another exciting portion of this trail takes us over the railroad track via a 3-stories-high wooden walkway and deck.  Hikers are treated here to aerial views of the restored ruins of the early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks, and the high deck is also a great spot for viewing sunsets, the moon, stars & planets and meteor showers. 
  If our group is up for it we can walk a few blocks beyond Medlock to lovely Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve and include a short "wetlands" loop there before heading back via Medlock to our vehicles at Mason Mill.  Lots of creekside spur trails branch from the PATH trail into the surrounding forest and are fun to explore on the return hike.  By fording Peachtree Creek we can access Ira Melton Park which features a half-mile-long white-blazed loop trail.

FOR a COLOR MAP of SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK TRAIL and its interconnecting DeKalb County parks (Mason Mill, Medlock, Ira Melton & Clyde Shepherd) click on this link:  http://pathfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/south-peachtree-creek-trail.pdf

FROM "SPAGHETTI JUNCTION" I-85 / I-285 INTERCHANGE in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the blue & green "Event Location" rectangle near the top of this article.)

1. From "Spaghetti Junction" take I-85 South toward Atlanta about 4 miles and get off at Exit #91 "Clairmont Road."

2. At the end of the exit ramp (assuming you were southbound on I-85) turn Left onto Clairmont Road (toward Decatur) and go about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (It's the next light south of the big Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection, and if you reach the huge VA Hospital you've gone a couple of blocks too far!)

3. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here.)

4. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign into the large free parking lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building near that main entrance adjoining the children's playground.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Mason Mill Park spot where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment my above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination.)
  33.8080,-84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!