Tales From The Wood Booger: January 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

It is Two For One When You Hike Georgia At Kennesaw Mountain

It was Thursday and this week my Hike Georgia group headed to another place I have been before, Kennesaw Mountain. Unlike last week, most of this hike was new territory. Last year about this time Deb and I hiked up to the summit of Kennesaw Mountain and back down (which I documented here).

Drive down GA 400.

Kennesaw Mountain.

Like my hike last year, we started from the visitor center and headed up the mountain. As I have said before it is a decent climb of 664 feet up the wide trail to the parking area below the overlook (yes, you can drive up to the top).

The visitor center at...

...Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

Information board at...

...the trailhead.

Michiko taking my picture.

One of our regulars John & newcomers Debora & Lindsey

Heading up Kennesaw Mountain.

Trail heading to the parking area near the summit.

One of the most surprising things that greeted us was a very hazy view of Atlanta. When Deb and I went up a year ago the weather was rainy and foggy. Today while not sunny, it was partly cloudy. you would think the view would have been better, but it wasn't. Even with the foggy conditions Atlanta was more visible last year and we could see Stone Mountain, but that wasn't the case when we reached the first viewing area on Thursday. At the summit, the view north was actually better on my this latest visit than back in February of 2014.

The first vista with information marker.

At the first vista.

The foggy view of Atlanta last year...

...& the hazy one this year.

The overlook.

Blackjack Mountain.

One of the summit cannons.

The view of Kennesaw in 2014...

...& 2015.

Panorama of Buckhead & Atlanta.

Summit marker.

Summit of "Big" Kennesaw Mountain.

After enjoying the summit of "Big Kennesaw." it was on to Little Kennesaw Mountain. This is the point where Deb and I turned around, but today, it was on down the trail. At two-tenths the trail crosses Kennesaw Mountain Road and offers the first look at Little Kennesaw Mountain. Before one reaches the mountain the trail heads down through a gap called the Saddle of the Ridge.

Headed down Kennesaw Mtn...

...past a Confederate Picket Post...

...& toward...

...Little Kennesaw Mountain.

On the trail with...

some of my Hike Georgians.

In the Saddle of the Ridge.

In this gap there is a view that offers a good vista of Atlanta. From here it is about a 200 foot climb to to Little Kennesaw Mountain. It was here the group I was with caught up with the others.

Atlanta from a vista spot.

Wasn't a lot of wildlife, but there was this squirrel.

Obstructed view.

We stopped for a break to enjoy the summit area of the mountain. While there are no views like at its big brother, Little Kennesaw had a much less travelled feel. The top of this mountain was the site of Fort McBride, a Confederate stronghold. One thing it shares, with "Big" Kennesaw, is a number of cannons. They sit in spots just like 150 years ago. Like I said earlier, unlike at the big mountain there are no fences around the cannons which gives them a more accessible feel.

With a cannon.

Looking down the barrel.

Fort McBride &...

...one of its cannons.

Miss Lindsey taking a break.

One last look at the cannons of Little Kennesaw.

As we headed down from Little Kennesaw the trail of the same name gets very rocky but has a couple of nice views. It was at one of these that some of the haze lifted and Stone Mountain finally showed its granite self.

Headed down...

the French's Rock Trail...

...back to the Little Kennesaw Trail.

The closest Pine Mountain.

Atlanta panorama.

Finally Stone Mountain makes an appearance.

A cool tree.

This part of the trail seemed like mountains farther north.

Miss Lindsey on the trail.

The egg rock.

Headed down.

We finally came to our first junction. Here at the end of the Little Kennesaw Trail, we had a decision to make. We could take the Kennesaw Cutoff or head down the Pigeon Hill Trail. Both connect to the Camp Brumby Trail, but we chose the Pigeon Hill option, because it added another mile to the hike.

The team at a trail junction.

Our group headed past an old tree.

This boulder was cool.

Where we are headed.

The Camp Brumby Trail was pretty flat as it hooked around the northeast side of the mountain. It also passes right next to a housing subdivision (some big houses). At around the five-mile mark of the hike one comes to the site of the old Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp which shares the name of the trail. There were a number of information markers pointing out where the camp once stood.

The information marker headed toward Pigeon Hill.

Our group meets another hiker.

Small stream.

This marks the line between Park Service land & a subdivision.

They just "keep on truckin."

The first CCC spot, the Forage location.

Spot where Camp Brumby once sat.

Oil House.

Education Building.

Old Tool House.

From here it is about a mile back to the visitor center. There are a couple of junctions and a trip across a meadow with a view of Old Highway 41. Overall this hike came in at around six miles and was, I will say, an enjoyable day out. I then took a few minutes to tour the visitor center again, which is always fun.