1st Hike of 2006 - Stone Mountain Hike

Jan 1st, 10:00am

Leader:
Barbara Schlefman at (770)604-3803 (Home), or (678)438-5593 (Cell Phone -use this number only on the day of the hike if the weather is questionable); email dr_barbara@bellsouth.net (underscore between the words "dr" and "barbara").

Have you become a couch potato from all those New Year's Day Football games? Have you eaten too much from all your holiday parties? Now is your chance to get out and enjoy the day after New Years on a beautiful hiking trail around Stone Mountain. We will NOT be on the concrete road but on the Cherokee Trail. Kids are free with an adult. Dogs on a leash are permitted (but be prepared to clean up after your dog!).

Lunch after the hike at the Village Corner, which is walking distance from the school (one block). Check out the menu at http://www.germanrestaurant.com/brunch.html. A section of the restaurant will be reserved for us.

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Meeting Location: 10:00am at Stone Mountain Elementary School. We will walk 5-10 minutes together into the park through the west gate and pass Confederate Hall to avoid the $8.00 parking fee. If you have a parking pass to Stone Mt. Park and prefer, you can meet us at the base of the walk up trail near the bathrooms or you can meet us at the school and we can car pool in from there if we have enough cars. Remember, we are walking around the mountain and NOT up and down.

Directions to Stone Mountain Elementary School: Street address: 6720 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA
Take 285 east and then South to Exit 39B. The first sign introducing the exit will say Stone Mountain Village and Stone Mountain Park, Highway 78 east. The next sign will say Snellville, Athens. It is the same exit. Stay on Stone Mt. Freeway two exits and get off at Exit #4 Mountain Industrial Blvd. Make a right. Go 1.6 miles (by the way Mt. Industrial Blvd. Becomes North Hairston when it crosses over Ponce de Leon Ave.) to the third light and make a left onto Central Drive (you just passed Victory Church on the right). Go .6 miles to a stop sign/dead end and make a Right onto Goldsmith. Immediately you will see a fork. Do not go right….this will put you on Memorial Drive going back to town. Fork left…but do not make a left…Go straight across Memorial Drive. You will actually be on James B. Rivers Memorial Drive. Go 1 mile (straight through the next light, which is at Main Street) and you will see the school on the left. There is parking right on the street. The firehouse is directly across the street from the school. (Last year we parked at Forest Hills Baptist Church about 1/10 mile up the road but they have a tow away zone sign now and I actually had a warning sticker put on my car today). The WEST GATE to Stone Mt. Park is just 1/4 mile up that road. To get to the walkup trail area you would make a right once inside the park and it will be a short distance on the left just past Confederate Hall. (NOTE: If you follow the signs on Stone Mountain Freeway to Stone Mt, and don't get off at Mt Industrial Blvd, the highway will take you to the EAST Gate and you will definitely NOT be in the correct place and will never find us). Trust me on this one.

Meeting Time: 10:00 AM at Stone Mountain Elementary School

Departing Time: 10:15am from Stone Mountain Elementary School and walk 5-10 minutes to the start of the walk up the trail near the bathrooms. 10:30 AM begin the hiking trail inside the park.

Return Time: Approximately 12:30-1:00 PM.

What to Bring: Snack, hiking boots, water, clothing appropriate for the weather (Note: the trail will be wet if it has rained)

Cost: $3 for non-members; $8 for parking per car if you want to park in the park (if you have a car with a parking pass, bring it and meet us at the school).