in an effort to meet some local outdoorsy folk, and maybe learn about some cool local-ish hikes, i recently joined a local hiking group. it took a minute for my schedule to allow me to register for a group hike, but i was finally able to join them on a trip to stone mountain.
as you might know, stone mountain is one of my favorite places, and i’ve been there a bunch of times. for most of the hikes, i have just done the 4.5 mile loop. and on my last trip, i added some extra miles by taking on some new trails off the main loop.
this hike clocked in around 10 or 11 miles, starting at a parking lot i’ve never been to, and along several new to me trails. the day started off absolutely beautiful, if not slightly warm.
it great to get to meet some other hiking enthusiasts, and our guide was exceptionally enthusiastic. he grew up coming to stone mountain and is now an environmental educator, so it was sort of like going on a ranger led national park hike. he knew so much history and some top secret spots off the trail. one such spot was “house rock” where a family apparently lived for many years during a war. (i forget, sorry).
we stopped to have lunch at the waterfall, where the place was teeming with hikers and waterfall frolickers. our hike guide guy took us up to a pretty cool rock that overlooks the falls, a new perspective for me. 🙂
as we were leaving the waterfall area (after carefully rock hopping to stay dry), we felt a rain drop. and then a few more. and then the sky just opened up. all the way up. so, we trudged along for several miles. miserable. wet. heads down. hoods up. sloshing through puddles. it was not super great fun. but still outside.
eventually the rains subsided, for the most part. there were still some moments. and we tried to time the passing across open rock faces with non-lightning-y times. i thought this view of stone mountain from cedar rock (?) was super cool. i’ve never seen it before.
it was weird to be on a hike with a bunch of strangers. like. if i was with people i knew i would ask for photos. and if i was alone, i would be cool with lots of selfies and the tripod. but i didn’t want to be super weird, or *gasp* ask a new potential friend to take a narcissist pic of me. but after 9 or 10 miles, and surviving monsoon like rains, i finally asked a guy i had chatted with some if he would take a pic for me. and, guess what? he obliged.
lastly, allow me to present to you some of the wildlife we encountered. first, a very cool bright orange newt. a fun mushroom. and toward the end of the hike, we passed this turtle on the trail. just munching on a mushroom. giving us the side eye.
it was a great day and i can’t wait to go on more hikes with this group. some folks met for a drink at a watering hole in elkin on the way home, so i was able to get to know them a little better. so fun. and so cool to see stone mountain through a new lens.