Georgia – Unicoi State Park

After Stone Mountain, we drove north into the mountains to Georgia’s Unicoi State Park. We had a pleasant walk by the lake on our first night there.

The next day Barbara’s friend Melissa joined her for another letterboxing/hiking expedition while Bill drove an hour one-way to buy a new cell phone. With only one rain-free day predicted while Melissa was here, Barbara and Melissa decided to tackle the Smith Creek Hiking Trail.

Barbara’s usual hiking limit is 3 miles. Being a 10-mile round trip with 25 letterboxes and a 1000-foot elevation change, she wasn’t sure she could make it. So we made a plan. Barbara and Melissa would park Melissa’s car at the trailhead parking, hike the trail from there and turn around if necessary. At 3pm, if Bill hadn’t heard otherwise, he would go to the other end at the Anna Ruby Falls Visitor Center parking.

Here is the trail map.

Barbara and Melissa followed clues to letterboxes as they steadily climbed. Here is a graphic of the elevation of the trail.

It was a great hike. The weather was ideal, there were only a handful of people on the trail, and lots of wildflowers dotted the hillside: wild irises, trillium, purple and yellow violets, among others.

At the highest point, the surrounding mountains were visible through the trees and it was more than halfway. So Barbara and Melissa decided to hike to the end. They called Bill, surprisingly getting cell reception, and told him to meet later at the other end.

Some of the hike required scrambling up steep terrain. Barbara was pretty exhausted near the end. It was a welcome sight to spot Bill coming from the opposite direction with a cold bottle of water. We continued on to Anna Ruby Falls where most of the tourists came the easier way.

From there a paved path followed the pretty gurgling stream to the parking lot. Back at camp, Bill made a wonderful meal for the exhausted hikers.

Camped at: Unicoi State Park, Helen, Georgia

Distance from Stone Mountain Park: 1hr 49min

Georgia – Stone Mountain Part 2

The main reason to visit Stone Mountain was for Barbara to letterbox.  Barbara invited her Massachusetts letterboxing friend, Melissa (“Mim”), to join us, so she and her husband, Matt, planned an Atlanta vacation and joined us for our last two days at Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain Park has one of the largest concentrations of letterboxes and has been on Barbara’s “bucket list.” With many difficult boxes, Barbara got advice from several Georgian letterboxers, especially Sandy and Becky (“Hawkeye” and “Buttercup”).

Buttercup and Hawkeye’s signature stamps

They came to our campsite at the mountain after their busy work day. We letterboxed together and exchanged signature stamps, plus they gave us some hints. Later on when we couldn’t find a box, Sandy responded to our texts from the woods and guided us in the right direction.

Stone Mountain has a number of letterboxes that start with just a photo clue. This type is tough for out-of-towners not familiar with the park.

Bill discovered this landmark with a hint from Hawkeye, but we still couldn’t find that particular box. We did find other ones, though.

One unfortunate thing - while looking for a memorial box to a well-loved letterboxer, we got caught in a deluge far from our car and ended up totally soaked. (More on this later.)

Melissa and Matt joined us several days after we arrived. The gals letterboxed, while the guys supported the letterboxers

Bill and Matt meeting Barbara and Melissa after letterboxing

Bill and Matt did a few other things. They hiked to the summit – Bill’s second trip, Matt’s first.

Matt and Bill on Stone Mountain

They also played Frisbee golf twice at a nearby 18-hole course. It’s a favorite hobby of Matt’s; Bill hadn’t played since college.

Wednesday evening we had Melissa, Matt, and another letterboxer, Yvonne, over for dinner at our campsite. Yvonne (“Misplaced Manatee”) lived in Massachusetts but now lives in Atlanta. Bill cooked a yummy dinner!

Yvonne, Barbara and Melissa in front of our trailer

Our last full day at Stone Mountain had two glitches. The first was that Barbara’s cell phone died due to getting wet in the previously mentioned downpour. Bill purchased a replacement phone, but after the usual set up found that the new phone had a hardware issue, so had to return it the next day. The second was that Matt’s 8pm flight was delayed repeatedly and then canceled at 1am. We felt badly for Matt and Melissa. Matt got a flight back the following evening and Bill figured out another option for replacing Barbara’s phone.

Despite the glitches, we had a nice time with friends at Stone Mountain.

Campground: Stone Mountain Park Campground

Georgia – Stone Mountain Part 1

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN

Stone Mountain is an impressive quartz-monzonite monolith outside the city of Atlanta and it is easy to see why it has become a tourist destination. This rock mountain stands out, rising 825 feet above the nearby landscape.

Stone Mountain Park is owned by the State of Georgia. Like your typical state park, it has hiking and biking trails, a lake with boating and fishing, picnic areas, and a campground. Unlike most state parks it has lots of other touristy things – some tasteful and some kitschy.

Perhaps the most notable thing is an enormous carving said to be the largest bas-relief in the world. It depicts Confederate Civil War figures: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis. The carving was started by Gutzon Borglum who left the project to carve Mount Rushmore. Their laser and fireworks show (which we didn’t see) can be viewed for free from the lawn or for a fee from seats on terraces. Each terrace is named for a state in the Confederacy and had a sign about the state and its role in the Civil War.

There’s lots more to the park: hotels, a golf course, shops, restaurants, museums, a 4-D theater, a Dinotorium, and an Antebellum plantation. One can take a ride up a tram to the top getting a close-up view of the sculpture or can ride a train around the base of the mountain. There is a duck boat and a ropes course. We didn’t do any of those things (not really our style), but stumbled upon the quaint gristmill, covered bridge, and carillon.

Some of the mountain was quarried in the past. Unlike the quarries in New England that form a deep hole, this quarry scaled the surface rock. So the evidence is sharp steps in the rock face and quarrying holes. A small exhibit explains the history. 

On our first full day we decided to hike up the mountain on Walk-up Trail. Being close to Atlanta and being close to a holiday weekend (the day after Easter), there were many people who had the same idea. Most of the trail gradually climbed the rock surface and railings lined a small steep section near the top.

Walk-up Trail

Lots of carved names mar the path. The old names end up being viewed as interesting history and the new ones as graffiti.

Looks like Barbara’s former dog was here.

Barbara thought it should be called “Huff and Puff Trail” rather than “Walk-up Trail,” but we made it and had a great view at the top.

Barbara on Stone Mountain with Atlanta in the distance

On the way down we accidentally veered off the trail. There was a couple heading toward us also off the trail. The guy looks straight at us and says, “Bill!” We were surprised to bump into a former colleague of Bill’s from Juniper Networks. He and his family were in Atlanta for Spring break. It was great to meet them and get an update on the company.

Bill and Fred on Stone Mountain

More on Stone Mountain in the next post. 

Campground: Stone Mountain Park Campground

Distance from Kings Mountain: 210miles, 3hr8min

South Carolina - Cowpens

A fitting follow-up to Kings Mountain is visiting Cowpens National Battlefield.

The Patriot victory at Cowpens occurred 3 months after their victory at Kings Mountain, but the battles were quite different. The battle at Kings Mountain was loosely-coordinated American Patriot militias fighting American Loyalist militias with a British commander. The battle at Cowpens was Patriot Continental soldiers and militias executing a preplanned strategy against a significant British army. The terrain varied, too: Kings Mountain was a wooded hill and Cowpens was rolling pasture land hemmed in by woods.

The National Park video was informative and a separate program with a fiber optic map displayed the battle lines. Interestingly the program said that the actual battle lasted only a little longer than the length of the program – less than an hour.

Markers embedded in the walkway to the visitor center commemorate the significant southern battles.

We read the display boards along the 1-mile Battlefield Trail.

This area, known as the Cow Pens (as it had been used to graze livestock), was chosen by the Continental Major trying to head off the British. Although the Patriots were outnumbered, their strategic positioning led them to surround and completely defeat the British.

We also saw the 19^th Century Robert Scruggs pioneer home. It has a bit more square footage than our trailer, but they had 11 children!

We had an informative chat with Ranger Will. The rangers are often a wealth of information.

And we liked the azalea garden next to our parking spot!

Camped at: Walmart, Gaffney SC (The Kings Mountain State Park campground was closed for renovations.)

Distance from Kings Mountain National Military Park 30mi 35min (32mi 43min via Walmart)

 

South Carolina - Kings Mountain

Before we tell you about Kings Mountain National Military Park, we should tell you what brought us here. Ever since we got in early-retirement mode, we've been thinking about National Park volunteering. In the meantime our friends, Tom and Karen, have volunteered at a number of National Parks. (You can read about our recent visit with them here.) They had a great experience volunteering at Kings Mountain last Fall and recommended it. So we contacted the volunteer coordinator and made arrangements to visit.

We must admit that South Carolina is not the first place we Bostonians think of when it comes to important Revolutionary War battles. But in 1780, the British had established a foothold in the South and planned to sweep north. The Kings Mountain battle was a decisive Patriot victory, eliminating a third of the British southern forces, and came to be viewed as the turning point for the Patriots. Later battles like Cowpens (see our next blog) also contributed to the British defeat in the South.

Kings Mountain National Military Park explains the battle and its pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. The video gave an informative overview. We took the 1.5-mile self-guided Battlefield Trail. We appreciated the feel of this trail made of recycled rubber. Signs line the trail explaining the battle and some monuments line the path as well. Like Gettysburg, seeing the battlefield and terrain helped us understand the battle. Unlike Gettysburg, we were able to read every monument. 

We couldn't have picked a better day to come to Kings Mountain with perfect weather and many spring blooms - like lots of Dogwood.

We also toured their museum with interactive displays. They have one of the few remaining Ferguson breech-loading rifles - a rifle designed by the major who led the British troops at Kings Mountain.

As our friends promised, the staff really make the park special. They were knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to fit our strengths with their tasks.

Caleb explained his job to kids for Junior Ranger Day

It looks like a great place for our first time volunteering in the National Parks, so we agreed to volunteer there from mid-August to mid-November. Now we have some homework. They lent us some books on the Kings Mountain battle, so it's time to brush up on Revolutionary War history.

We saw this sign as we left.

Yes. We plan on it.

Camped at: Walmart, York SC. (The Kings Mountain State Park campground was closed for renovations.)
Distance from Congaree National Park to Kings Mountain 115mi 2h1m (via Walmart York SC 116mi 2h7m)

South Carolina - Congaree

Between our last East Coast Trip and this trip we spent time in Massachusetts, Virginia and Florida seeing family and doing logistics. Now we are off on another adventure! Similar to our last trip we are traveling from Florida to Massachusetts, but with warmer temperatures, we will take the mountain route.

We love to explore areas managed by the National Park Service. There are 417 units in the National Parks system and we like all types (monuments, national seashore, national historic sites, military parks…), but only 59 formally have the designation “National Parks” and few are in the east. Since we were in South Carolina, we decided to go to a new National Park for us - Congaree National Park. Have you heard of it?

Congaree “protects 26,000 acres of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest, the largest such area left in the United States.”* While lumbering stripped most of the forests from South Carolina to Texas, this area stayed preserved due to the difficulty of lumbering in wetlands. Conservationists lobbied to protect the land in the early 1960’s. President Ford declared it a National Monument in 1976. Then in 2003 it became a National Park. It does not have the grandeur or notoriety of some of the National Parks, but it was an interesting place to check out.

We saw the video and looked at some of the display boards. Lucky for us the Mosquito Meter indicated a mild day.

Then we went on a 3-mile hike mostly on boardwalks.

Much of the land has thick mud and standing water in the gullies, so the boardwalks are not only easier for the hiker but also avoid damaging the forest bed. It’s a very different feel than a typical New England forest.

The wet and rich soil is ideal for some tree species, so the park is home to many big trees and numerous “champion” trees (the largest of their species). This loblolly pine is over 150 feet tall.

Keep in mind, Bill has long arms.

Barbara in front of a root ball

These pointy things that poke up from cypress roots are known as “knees.” They don’t really look like knees to us.

We saw a bit of wildlife.

But the main focus is the trees – lots of big old trees and a surprising number of different species. In this picture the moss on the Water tupelo indicates how high the water gets when it floods.

A unique and interesting day!

                                                                                   *Congaree National Park brochure