Hike to the Summit of Panola Mountain: A Rare Metro Atlanta Treat!

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REGISTRATION & PAYMENT REQUIRED: Once you've reviewed the event details, and decided you'd like to join us, you MUST sign up at the bottom of this page. This is a paid event with payment managed by the trip leader(s) and NOT the AOC. Please read the event description carefully for payment details and instructions.

Hike to the Summit of Panola Mountain: A Rare Metro Atlanta Treat!

The Basics:

Event Type:

Hike

Event Location:

About 20 miles SE of Downtown Atlanta

Hike: Hike to the Summit of Panola Mountain: A Rare Metro Atlanta Treat!

Date(s) & Time:

Sat, Feb 11 2012 2:15 pm >> Sat, Feb 11 2012 5:45 pm

Registration Opens:

Wed, Feb 8 2012 10:00 pm

Registration Cut Off:

Fri, Feb 10 2012 10:00 pm

Event Duration:

3 Hours 30 Minutes

Difficulty Rating:

D2: Easy to Moderate

Distance:

4 Miles

Pace:

Leisurely

Trip Leader(s):

Charlie Cottingham
Mark

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Member Cost:

$7.00/Person (See Detailed Cost Info Below)

Participant Info:

Who's Invited:

Members Only, 21 And Older Only

Maximum Group Size:

Minimum Group Size:

Number Registered So Far:

14 / 0 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)

Are Dogs Permitted:

Itinerary:

Special Note: If your time permits on Saturday, consider signing up also for our AOC "Panola Walk-on-the-Wild-Side" birding hike which meets at 9:45 AM also in this beautiful State Park, at a slightly different meetup point.

IN a NUTSHELL:  A very well-preserved "sister" of Stone Mountain a few miles to its north, Panola Mountain is a "well kept secret" with relatively few visitors. Just 15 minutes from the east-side I-20/I-285 Interchange, the State Park is an easy drive from anywhere in the metro area. (See detailed directions and GPS coordinates below.)
The exposed-granite mountain within the State Park is a specially protected conservation area, and hiking to its summit is permitted only in the company of a ranger-naturalist through a special arrangement with the State Park.
The Park charges a reasonable fee for these ranger guided hikes: just $7 per person, payable individually when after we arrive. The fees go toward improvements in the Park's trails and other facilities.
Our AOC group will gather initially at 2:15 PM in the Park Nature Center where we'll greet one another, register with the Nature Center receptionist, and meet the Park ranger-naturalists who will accompany us on the hike.   The hike will be about 4 miles in length with our uphill ascents totalling about 800 feet in elevation gain. We can expect to be back at our vehicles by about 5:30 PM

PANOLA'S UNIQUE GEOLOGY & BIOLOGY:   We'll stop often at scenic spots along the hike to observe and discuss the mountain's amazing geology and its rare flora and fauna.
Like Stone Mountain, Panola is an igneous "monadnock" that took shape about 300 million years ago when huge bubbles of molten magma oozed upward into preexisting rock and earth. After they cooled and hardened, these bubbles slowly became exposed as the softer surrounding layers eroded away, leaving the colossal rock domes that we see today.
Over the eons, a wide variety of plants began to grow on the weathered granite surfaces and their surrounding terrain, creating habitats for rare flora and fauna that are unique to such rare rocky ecosystems. Notable in late winter is the brilliant red "Diamorpha" succulent whose colonies of thousands of tiny plants thrive in flat sandy "solution pits" atop the mountain and produce lovely white blossoms each spring.

WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS:    It is unlikely that this event will be canceled due to bad weather, but please be prepared for possible showers, etc. by carrying light emergency raingear and perhaps a small umbrella if the forecast so indicates. If heavy rain or dangerous thundershowers are expected the State Park staff may opt to cancel in which case we will try to notify everyone ASAP prior to the event (by email and phone) and post "Canceled" in the above online event announcement title. We are under no financial obligation to the Park if the hike has to be canceled.

FOR MORE INFO on PANOLA MOUNTAIN: Visit the State Park's official website at the following link and click on "Hiking," etc. under "Activities" for more details:
http://www.gastateparks.org/PanolaMountain
For an interesting account and photos of a visitor's April 2010 experience on a guided hike to the summit go to this link:
http://urbanbaboon.blogspot.com/2010/04/panola-mountain.html

Required Items to Bring:

• Wear comfortable well-broken-in Hiking Boots or Athletic Shoes with coarse tread and preferably synthetic or wool-blend Socks.

• Wear lightweight Clothing layers appropriate for the weather forecast and perhaps a Cap,

• We suggest that you carry a Daypack or Fannie Pack with about 1 Quart of Water (in bottles or in the pack's built-in hydration system). A daypack is convenient for stashing unneeded or extra clothing layers or for keeping emergency raingear, etc.

• If you like bring in your pack a few Snack Items of your choice.

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.

• Trekking Poles if you have a pair and like to use them (or a hiking stick),

• Lightweignt Rain Gear and/or Umbrella if showers are forecast,

• Camera,

• Compass if you have one.

How to Get There:

Event Directions:

PANOLA MOUNTAIN STATE PARK is just 9 miles (about 15 minutes) from the I-20/I-285 interchange on Atlanta's east side. SUGGESTION: Re-zero your odometer at each instruction below and pay close attention to the mileages given and driven.

From the I-20/ I-285 Interchange on Atlanta's east side:

1. Take I-20 East just 1 mile (toward Augusta) and exit to your right at the first opportunity at "Wesley Chapel Road, Exit #68."

2. Turn Right onto Wesley Chapel Road and go just 0.2 mile to the traffic light at Snapfinger Road.

3. Turn Left onto Snapfinger Road and go about 7.0 miles to the "Panola Mountain State Park" entrance on your left. (Snapfinger Rd becomes concurrent with GA-155 en route to the Park.)

4. Turn Left into the State Park, continue to the parking lot about 0.2 mile ahead and park near the Nature Center. (It's just beyond the far end of parking lot on your right). Each driver who doesn't display a valid GA State Parks annual Parking Pass will need to pay the $5.00 daily parking fee in a self-service envelope and hang the tear-off receipt on your rear-view mirror.

5. We'll gather at 2:15 AM inside the Nature Center where we each can pay our $7 fee to the receptionist and sign a State Park hike waiver form.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of NATURE CENTER PARKING LOT. May be useful in conjunction with the above directions as your GPS or with Google Maps:
33.6251,-84.1705

GPS USERS BEWARE! Entering the generic Internet park name, street address or lat/ lon coordinates as your GPS or Google Maps destination may route you to a dead end in the adjoining Golf Course! Note the correct directions above, esp. for the final 2 miles into the Park.

PARK NATURE CENTER Phone Number: 770-389-7801.

Notes:

* We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines while participating in AOC events.

Member Cost:

$7.00/Person

Cost Includes:

Your $7 hike fee (for our Ranger-led hike to Panola's summit) is payable in cash individually to the Nature Center receptionist when we gather there at 2:15 PM.
As mentioned in the Directions above, please also be prepared to pay the cash self-serve $5-per-vehicle parking fee if you don't display a GA State Parks annual pass.

Make a Payment:

Although there is a cost for this event, you do not pay through the AOC. Please review the event details carefully for information about how/where to make your payment.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance: Please review the AOC cancellation policy.