PLEASE NOTE: This event is planned for AOC members who wish to spend at least one night Camping with us (at no charge) in Dahlonega at TrailFest. A Sep 10th Day Trip has also been posted for members who prefer arriving and departing on Saturday. Both events involve gathering at our AOC "Outreach Booth" on the town square, an optional Group Hike on the Appalachian Trail, and the sharing of inexpensive "Trail Magic" items that we each bring to donate. - see below. We intend to go ahead with this event Rain or Shine, esp. since we can so easily find shelter in the event of severe weather.
WHAT IS TRAILFEST? Just 50 miles north of Atlanta, the historic "gold rush" town of Dahlonega is near the southern end of the Appalachian Trail (AT) and is widely known as Georgia's gateway to the legendary 2200-mile-long footpath. Each year this friendly mountain community celebrates hiking, camping and backpacking by hosting on its town square a wonderful free event called "TrailFest," with fascinating outdoor-related presentations, live music, arts & crafts displays, delicious food & refreshments and much more! More than thirty of us from the AOC participated last year and it was a blast! Produced by hardworking local volunteers, the festival especially honors the hundreds of AT thru-hikers each year who begin or end their backpacking quest nearby at Springer Mtn or Amicalola Falls.
Click here to reach the home page for the amazing 2016 festival: http://DahlonegaTrailfest.org/ For festival options and details click keywords in the rectangle on the left side of the home page - e.g., Camping, Activities, etc. Click "Program," etc. for this year's weekend-long schedule of presentations, films, live music performances, etc. (which will continue to have new things added prior to Sep 9th):
AOC WEEKEND PLAN: Trailfest 2016 is again offering up to 3 days and 2 nights of free Camping - this time in the Appalachian Outfitters lovely riverfront group campsite on the Chestatee River, ~2 miles toward Atlanta from the town square. (See more Details & Directions below.) There's no need to bring much in the way of personal food & refreshments for the weekend since there's an amazing variety of restaurants & cafes in Dahlonega at the main TrailFest site, just 2 miles north of the group campsite.
As they did last year our Dahlonega hosts have again offered the AOC free TrailFest booth space on the town square where we'll set up our own AOC "Trail Magic and Outreach" Tent. We hope you can pitch in there from time to time over the weekend and add your own personal touch to our volunteer efforts. We can enjoy the jovial atmosphere of the festival and "spread the gospel" about what a fine Club we have (alongside like-minded partners such as the Len Foote Hike Inn and GA Appalachian Trail Club). Both at our AOC booth and at nearby "Woody Gap" on the AT we intend to build on the AOC tradition being "good-samaritan volunteers" and sharing various tasty goodies, useful small items, etc. with AT thru-hikers and wiith other outdoor enthusiasts whom we'd like to encourage to become AOC members and supporters. (A list of specific suggested "Trail Magic" items appears below in "Recommended Items to Bring" - also will be emailed to all registrants.) Special thanks to Sue Mioduser for providing colorful "Atlanta Outdoor Club" logo stickers to apply to our items at the Outreach Tent so the outdoor enthusiasts we meet will remember us and perhaps become valuable AOC members! Also thanks to my event Co-Leader, Stacey Johnson, for helping with AOC signage and volunteer staffing for the Outreach Tent!
SAT GROUP HIKING OPTIONS: As worked out very well in 2015, on Saturday afternoon we'll offer an optional scenic AT Group Hike, from the GA-60 trailhead at Woody Gap to the spectacular "Preacher's Rock" lookout and back - about a 3-hour total excursion from Dahlonega, with about 2 miles of relatively easy hiking. If you'd like to join us for this, meet us (Charlie and Diana) at the AOC Outreach Tent at 1:00 PM for our carpool caravan (driving about 10 miles north of Dahlonega via GA-60) to the parking lot/trailhead. There at Woody Gap and during the hike we'll share "real-time" Trail Magic with other hikers & backpackers whom we meet, as we greatly enjoyed last year! For those who may prefer a longer and more strenuous hike, I've arranged with AOC Trip Leader Diana Dreeben for her to lead an optional extension beyond Preacher's Rock about 6 more miles to lovely Dockery Lake (at a leisurely pace, via the AT and the Dockery Lake Trail). It's easy to set up a vehicle shuttle for this if you're interested in the extended hike (2 to 3 extra hours with Diana, in lieu of returning from Preacher's Rock to Woody Gap with our main hiking group).
CAMPING DETAILS: Our friends at Appalachian Outfitters have graciously invited our AOC "subgroup" and other TrailFest attendees to set up our tents, hammocks, etc. and camp all weekend on their shady grassy Chestatee River waterfront property. It's conveniently located at their "Tubing Launch Site" just off GA-60, 2 miles toward Atlanta from Dahlonega. Click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon above for a zoomable map and satellite view of of the campsite location - also see below easy precise Directions from metro Atlanta.
Feel free to drive up as early as noon on Friday to claim a personal spot for your vehicle and camping gear. Each camper is welcome to pack up and depart as late as Sunday afternoon. Toilets and potable Water for campers will be available nearby. More details will be emailed to all AOC registrants, and for TrailFest's official "Camping" webpage click here: http://dahlonegatrailfest.org/camping.html
We intend to leave the group campsite in even better condition when we depart than when we arrive - also let's be sure to observe "quiet hours" late at night to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for all TrailFest campers.
By the way, on Sat Oct 10 our Appalachian Outfitters hosts will be having their big ANNUAL FALL SALE of used kayaks, canoes and paddling gear beginning promptly at 9:00 AM and likely selling out in a few minutes.. I feel sure that many of us will want to check this out! For more details click here for their website and feel free to call them: http://www.canoegeorgia.com/
MORE CAMPING DETAILS EMAILED to us by TRAILFEST CHAIRMAN (9/8/20116): Trail Fest camping is available at no cost at our shady campsite on the bank of the Chestatee River, about 1-3/4 mile south of the Dahlonega town square where the festival events will take place. This official campground of the festival is sponsored and managed this year by REI. Share backpacking stories around the fire pit or cook your food on camp cooking equipment provided by REI.
Ample parking adjoins the tentsites. Portajohn toilets are provided. Potable water is available at the nearby Appalachian Outfitters main facility, but not at the campsite, so you may wish to bring your own in jugs, bottles, etc. There are changing rooms, but no showers - swimming is fine in the adjoining river. Tubing will be available during the day on Saturday. The site will be supervised by REI staff who will be camping here too.
LOCAL DAHLONEGA AREA HIKING: In to the Saturday afternoon Woody Gap AT hike options discussed above campers can also make time over the weekend to explore one or more of the pretty trail networks that directly adjoin the town. I (Charlie) enjoyed this personally last year. Here are links to writeups for three such areas that have scenic trails, and each webpage has a link to lots of nice photos:
1. YAHOOLA CREEK PARK (2 mi. E of town): http://www.tripleblaze.com/hiking-trails/Georgia/Yahoola-Creek-Park_2348
2. YAHOOLA CREEK RESERVOIR (2 mi. NE of town): http://www.tripleblaze.com/hiking-trails/Georgia/Yahoola-Creek-Reservoir_1334
3. UNIV. of NORTH GA CAMPUS TRAIL (1 mi. W of town): http://www.tripleblaze.com/hiking-trails/Georgia/NGCSU-Athletic-Complex_2592
SPECIAL THANKS to our friend Tom Lamb, the chief organizer of Dahlonega TrailFest who has invited us to enjoy this excitingly different AOC event. |
Required Items to Bring:
- Comfortable Clothing and Footwear appropriate for the weather forecast.
- Camping Gear of your choice including your Tent (or Hammock System), Sleeping Bag, Camp Chair, etc. (A few of our chairs may also be useful at our AOC "Outreach Tent" on the Town Square over the weekend.)
- Food, Refreshments & Supplies of your choice (keeping in mind that numerous excellent restaurants, cafes, etc. are within about a 10-minute drive from the campsite). REI volunteers will be at the campsite this year and are providing demo camp stoves and cooking gear - available at no charge in lieu of our bringing our own. |  | Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.
- FOOD & DRINK COOLER with your favorite beverages, pre-prepared snacks, plenty of ice, etc.
- "TRAIL MAGIC ITEMS: Small lightweight donated snacks, refreshments and gifts (of your choice) to share with AT Hikers and other Trailfest attendees. This is totally up to you to decide, but below are some suggestions based on what has been popular and appreciated in in past years. Since each of us will presumably bring several things to share there's no need for any one volunteer to bring more than perhaps $5 to $10 worth of stuff. Below are a few specific suggestions, but feel free to be creative and to bring "extras" of anything you may already have on hand at home and consider appropriate (including perhaps a few "gently used" small gear items that you no longer need). Please make sure that anything you bring is PACKAGED APPROPRIATELY. ZipLoc Bags of various sizes are a great idea with the advantage of being resealable and that what's inside can be easily seen! Ideally bring things that you personally enjoy and find useful so you can "sell others on them" etc. Lets all feel free to sample or otherwise share some of the items that we or other AOCers bring - esp. if there's an excess of some items. Here are a few ideas:
TRAIL MAGIC SNACK SUGGESTIONS:
- Homemade Brownies
- Homemade "GORP" (or your favorite commercial brand of Trail Mix) in small ZipLoc Snack bags. It's easy to make "Good Ole Raisins & Peanuts" by combining roasted peanuts, raisins, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, etc.
- Fresh (or dried) Apples, Oranges, Bananas, etc.
TRAIL MAGIC BEVERAGE SUGGESTIONS:
- Small Juice Boxes
- Hot Chocolate (in a large thermos, etc. AOC will provide cups.)
- Lemonade (AOC will provide some in a big iced-down cooler + cups.)
TRAIL MAGIC GEAR/ SUPPLIES SUGGESTIONS:
- Small Carabiners
- Small Directional Compasses
- Lip Balm, Small tubes of Sunscreen, etc.
- Assortment of clear ZipLoc Bags (inserted inside one another in various sizes. Useful to hikers for consolidating and waterproofing items in their daypacks, backpacks, etc.) | |
| Event Directions: | | DIRECTIONS to DAHLONEGA TRAILFEST GROUP CAMPING AREA from the GA-400 / I-285 INTERCHANGE on ATLANTA'S NORTH SIDE:
1. From the GA-400/ I-285 Interchange take GA-400 North for about 47 miles to its official end at the GA-60 junction near Dahlonega. (En route note that a convenient meetup spot for "custom carpooling" is the Park & Ride lot at the GA-400 Mansell Rd exit in Roswell/Alpharetta - about 9 miles north of I-285.)
2. Turn Left at the traffic light onto GA-60 toward Dahlonega, stay on it about 4 miles and look for the "Appalachian Outfitters" headquarters facility on your left. (Feel free to stop here and inquire if you have any special needs for camping, etc.)
3 Continue another 0.2 mile ahead on GA-60 (beyond their HQ area) and turn Left at the "Appalachian Outfitters Tubing" sign (onto "Golden Ave," just beyond the GA-60 bridge over the Yahoola Creek).
4. Almost immediately turn Left again into the "Tubing" parking area and group campsite beside the Chestatee River and Yahoola Creek.
5. Don't hesitate to ask for help with parking, setting up your tent, etc. I (Charlie) have volunteered to serve as an "assistant campsite manager" and will be glad to advise and assist you if I'm there when you arrive. Restrooms and potable Water are available nearby. Please be sure to observe the camping rules and guidelines which we'll send all registrants. Please do your part to keep the campsite and neat and clean and help us properly dispose of trash, etc.
FOR a ZOOMABLE MAP or SATELLITE VIEW of the CAMPING AREA click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.
GPS and MAPS.GOOGLE.com USERS: Feel free to augment the above written directions by entering the following Lat/Lon coordinates as your "Destination Address" for the TrailFest group camping area: 34.5094,-83.9762
DRIVING DIRECTIONS from GROUP CAMPING AREA to RECOMMENDED DAHLONEGA TRAILFEST VISITOR PARKING at the UNIV. of NORTH GA:
1. Turn Right out of the Camping Area onto Golden Avenue and go only about 0.1 mile to GA-60.
2. Turn Left onto GA-60 and go about 1.4 mile to the traffic light just beyond the McDonald's Restaurant on your left.
3. Continue straight ahead at the light onto S Chestatee Street and continue about 0.2 mile to the big Univ. of North GA entrance gate on your left.
4. Turn Left through the entrance gate (onto "Georgia Circle") and then turn Right (northward) at your first opportunity into the large parking lot. Ideally park as far northward as possible so as to have the shortest walking distance to the town square. (Here are the approx Lat/Lon coordinates of a suggested ideal parking spot in that lot: 34.5301,-83.9833 ) If no University parking spaces are available you should be able to find a curbside space on one of the nearby city streets.
5. To reach the town square and our AOC Trailfest Outreach Tent, etc. walk about 0.2 mile northward up Chestatee Street (past the Starbucks coffee shop).
ADDITIONAL FREE PARKING LOT 3 BLOCKS NORTH of TOWN SQUARE: This alternate recommended in-town Dahlonega parking is in the old schoolyard where we camped at Trailfest last year. It's at the corner of North Park Street and Jones Street. Enter the following Lat/Lon coordinates as your "Destination Address": 34.53473,-83.98711
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