Last week I called off a dayhike due to sunshine, and got my bike out for the first time since February. Did Oak Mountain State Park's Lake trail in both directions, plus their Family trail, and a little rougher section called Rattlesnake Ridge. Enough for a cycling fitness check-sore at the "sit bones". I have a pair of shorts with a padded liner for cycling on the way, but have not tried any protection of that sort to date.
Starting Rattlesnake Ridge.
From the family trail.
Inlet on the lake.
Panaroma from the dam. I'd be either riding my bike around that, or paddling my kayak there right now if I didn't have housework and laundry to catch up on
There's a marina for canoes, paddleboats, and paddleboards that they rent, picnic areas, bathhouses, and a beach section across the way.
This week it got cool enough that I could use more than a sleeping bag liner. I was not high on my Klymit Inertia X-Lite Recon pad when I was primarily back sleeping but also thrashing around a lot last year, but I've been comfortably side sleeping lately, and it's working great for that.
Hiked the Bear Creek Backcountry loop trails at Cloudland Canyon State Park in GA this week. I had not done this section of trails before, and they close it whenever it rains, so I've had several aborted plans to hike there this year.
Hike descends into the gorge...
..to Bear Creek,
which it briefly follows.
There is a cool undercut section of the cliffline where the trail crosses the creek.
Crappy pic, but it has a green-carpeted row of benches you can sit on.
Afterwards, the trail ascends the other side of the gorge, whose depth you will soon have a greater appreciation for
The plateau above is not flat, but more rolling terrain. Just a walk in the woods.
Returning via the "front" side of the loop puts you along the main canyon known as Sitton's Gulch, with the near side of the sideways Y the canyon forms being from Bear Creek. There are actually very few viewpoints due to it being heavily wooded right to the edge of the canyon.
On the return, I stopped by a wildlife viewing area that the trail goes right by. I heard geese earlier in the morning, but by then the only wildlife available for viewing was a preponderance of mosquitoes...
Finished the 9.something mile backcountry loops with the 2 mile loop that I camped on the night before(which has campsites spread along it, and is a nice walk) by 11am, and headed over to the parks main attraction, the Waterfall Trail.
I had barely started it, was actually behind either some rental things or a ranger's residence, when I was almost pounced on by the second most fearsome creature in the South(next to the ALaconda), a ring-tailed bobtiger. Apparently it had recently fed, probably on the previous hiker to come this way, and seemed mostly concerned with rolling around and stretching it's full belly. As I carefully made my way around it, it fixed me with a "I dare you to come back tomorrow when I'm hungry again" glare before I continued on.
