Monadnock Madness! Stone Mtn + Arabia + Panola + Prize!

IMPORTANT!  Since this event is likely to "sell out" as it did last year, each of us who wishes to participate needs to go ASAP to the following NON-AOC website link and register and pay your $12.00 fee (+ $1.41 online transaction fee) = $13.41:   http://monadnockmadness.com
To do so click on "Triple Hike Challenge" on that home page, then click "RSVP," and be sure to select the "Sun Mar 16 3:00 PM Moonlight Hike" time slot in the dropdown menu. (If that time slot is sold out, feel free to register for one of the other "Triple Challenge" naturalist-guided time slots.)  Also be sure to register with the AOC at the base of this article which will put you (for no additional charge) on our Club's informal email roster for updates, etc. about the event and give you "AOC Credit" after we complete the "challenge."  Again, to participate in this event you must formally register and pay via the above NON-AOC website link.

IN A NUTSHELL:   We Atlanta Outdoor Club members who enjoy hiking and nature greatly enjoyed this fascinating event last year and are honored to be invited again to participate in this exciting 3-mountain "hiking challenge."  Each of us who finishes it will be awarded a custom-designed commemorative "prize-souvenir" by our friends of the Arabia Mountain Alliance.  They're jointly sponsoring this innovative "Monadnock Madness" event with their fellow naturalists at Stone Mountain Park and Panola Mountain State Park.
Registering and paying online as directed above covers parking at all three parks, the three naturalist-guided summit hikes, + snacks, refreshments and the commemorative prize.  This fun and educational event is actually well within the ability of our members who feel comfortable doing "D3" (moderate difficulty) AOC hikes at a moderate pace.  Although we'll hike to the summits of Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Panola Mountain all on the same afternoon and evening (Sun March 16th) we'll have about a half hour of "rest & drive" time between Stone Mtn and Arabia and again between Arabia and Panola.

We'll hike as a group to each of the 3 mountain summits and descend together at no more than a moderate pace.  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 an alternate "rain date" that is convenient for each of us.

A FEW DETAILS:  This will be a group endeavor and learning experience - not a race.   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 participants will learn much about the mountains' fascinating similarities, differences, and human histories.  A tasty picnic lunch and refreshments will be provided at the Arabia Mountain Nature Center.  For the 3 separate hikes combined, our total hiking distance will be only about 8 miles and the estimated total uphill elevation gain only about 1300 feet.   We expect to finish our final Panola Mountain "sunset and full moon" hike by 9:45 PM.

WHERE & WHEN?  The order of our three "Monadnock Madness" mountains will be:  first Stone Mountain, then Arabia Mtn, and finally Panola Mtn from which we are likely to witness a nice sunset and rising of the full moon!   We'll meet initially at 2:45 PM at the convenient "Education Annex" parking lot just outside the west entrance of Stone Mountain Park.  Precise Directions to this free lot are included below.

 After our initial hike to the Stone Mtn summit and back to the cars, we'll next caravan to Arabia Mtn (about 13 mi SE of Stone Mountain).  After our provided picnic lunch there at Arabia we'll hike to its summit, then caravan finally to Panola Mountain (about 6 mi S of Arabia) to complete the final "piece of the puzzle" at sunset.
 Here is the Arabia Alliance's "target timetable," which allows for brief visits to the nice Nature Centers and their surrounding vicinity at both Arabia and Panola Mtn between the hikes:

3:00 - 4:30 PM:  Stone Mountain hike
5:00 - 6:30 PM:  Arabia Mountain hike
7:00 - 9:30 PM:  Panola Mtn "Sunset + Full Moon"  hike 

MORE EVENT DETAILS:  In addition to our AOC "subgroup" of about 20 hikers, the Arabia Mountain Alliance is inviting others from their own organization and from the general public to participate.  Here are a few more details excerpted from last year's 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. Guided tours and free hikes will allow participants to get up close and personal with each unique site."

If there is any question about our having "conquered" all three mountains, we can submit photos and video clips to our Arabia Alliance hosts.  As discussed above they intend to mail a nice commemorative prize to all of us who succeed.

A BIT about MONADNOCK GEOLOGY and BIOLOGY:  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 TO OUR INITIAL "STONE MTN EDUCATION ANNEX" MEETING PLACE from the I-285/ I-85 “SPAGHETTI JUNCTION” INTERCHANGE in NE ATLANTA:

This free "Education Annex" parking lot is just 0.1 mile OUTSIDE the “West Gate" entrance of Stone Mountain Park in the Village of Stone Mountain.  (AOC Members can click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article for a zoomable color map of this parking lot entranceway and its surrounding area.)  Please follow these directions carefully:

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.  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”), go about 0.4 mile, and look on your left for a long grey fence with an entrance gate in the center that says “Stone Mtn Education Annex.”  (It's just 0.2 mile before you reach the "West Entrance" of Stone Mountain Park.)
6.  All “Moonlight Monadnock Madness” hikers will gather in this Parking Lot at 2:45 PM.  We are permitted to park here for free during the Stone Mtn portion lf the event. As pedestrians we’ll also have free admission into the Park via the nearby West Entrance.

FOR GPS or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS: The following "dummy" Street Address and/or the Lat/Lon coordinates of the above Parking Lot entrance may be useful (in conjunction with the above directions) as your entered “Destination” for your vehicle’s GPS or for Google.com/maps custom directions, etc.
6820 James B. Rivers Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083
33.8128,- 84.1641 

 Our "Monadnock Madness" hikers will caravan or carpool together in our vehicles to the other two parks (at about 4:30 PM from Stone Mtn to Arabia, and at about 6:30 PM from Arabia to Panola).  Detailed written directions will be given to each driver in case any vehicles become separated from the caravan.

- Parking and Park Entrance at Stone Mtn, Arabia Mtn and Panola Mtn,
- Naturalist-guided Hikes at all 3 mountains,
- Snacks & Refreshments,
- Commemorative "Monadnock Madness" Gift that will be mailed to all finishers!

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 convenient alternate "rain dates" for all participants.  The nominal $13.41event fee is offered on a nonprofit basis.  If you are unable to participate (or can join us only for part of the event) please consider your payment to be a donation to the worthy missions of the three parks.