Hikes 4 and 5: Sweetwater Creek State Park

Yesterday, Aaron had to work all day on a Sunday, so after a late breakfast with him, I took myself off to Sweetwater Creek State Park (near I-20 and Thornton Rd.) to hike several of the trails in my Hiking Atlanta's Hidden Forests list. It was so beautiful and the day was so perfectly cool and overcast and foresty, that I ended up extending both the hikes quite a bit.

Miles hiked: about 10
Hours walking: 5
Ounces of water consumed: 175
Deer seen: 4
Bears seen that turned out to be logs: 1

The first trail I hiked was the red trail, and it was beautiful! It follows the banks of Sweetwater Creek in a place with gorgeous rapids. I had to clamber over lots of rocks. The only downside was that it was fairly crowded. Then, I joined the white trail, which led me beside the still waters of the creek and then looped back though beds of ferns, up into dry forests, and out into meadows that used to be a farming community. This trail was much less crowded.

The yellow trail was difficult, much more elevation gain than the others, but almost empty of people and completely forested and dark and cool. I was the only person on the orange trail, as far as I could see, and it was not difficult. Some lovely old trees with mossy trunks were highlights of this part.

The best thing about the hike was the distance. It's a lot of fun to hike short distances, but when I hike long, the walking is like sandpaper on my mind. It's abrasive and not always pleasant, but at the end, my internal landscape is silk and without splinters.

This old mill sits just off the red trail.

This mixed bouquet was growing right out of a tree!

In my hiking so far, I've seen a lot of sycamores beside water. The small sycamores look like the embodiment of youth.