Honorable Mention #1: Mulberry Cove Nature Trail (January 19, 2015) – While this is a short hike (just over a mile) and not the most difficult why this is Honorable Mention is for three reasons, the first the setting. The trail is located behind the Navy Lodge at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and comes out to an overlook on the St. John’s River which was beautiful. Second I got to hike it with Deb and my Dad which was really cool being out with them and the third…Bald Eagles! We got to see a pair of Bald Eagles flying overhead and later Deb spotted them in a tree at the golf course. Overall this was a nice little jaunt.
Honorable Mention 2: Sawnee Mountain Preserve (Various) – This favorite place of mine was an Honorable
Mention on the Top 5: Hikes of the 2014 Fall Outdoor Series. I added it again
on the strengths of its diverse hikes. I had a couple of hikes with Deb, I led an outing with my
Hike Georgia group, went back to the Sawnee Mountain summit, and in the stretch
of a week had an icy and snowy trips on the mountain. It goes to show that you
can find wonders in your own backyard.
Number 5: Hike Georgia @ Panther Creek Falls (February 11, 2015) – This was a hike I have
wanted to do for a while so when Lori from my Hike Georgia group put this one up I
jumped at the chance, and it didn’t disappoint. It is an eight-mile out and
back hike which passes two nice waterfalls before coming to a 75-foot beauty
which, alone, is worth the trek out, The trail has some elevation and a number of tricky spots that
sees a cliff on one side and cable railing on the other.
Number 4: Hike Georgia on The Bartram Trail @ Pinnacle Knob (December
11, 2014) – This was another spot that was on my To-Do-List of hikes. This was the
longest hike of the season at 8.3 miles and had some tough in spots. The Bartram
Trail part while difficult was not even close to the hardest spot, which was
the climb to Pinnacle Knob. The National Geographical Map said it was
rated easy…NOT! It was a steep climb up a gullied, leaf covered trail, but it
does lead to a great view from the cliffs of Pinnacle Knob. Oh, I forgot on the
way up the Bartram Trail there are two waterfalls; Becky Branch and Martin
Creek Falls. This is one amazing hike.
Number 3: Hike Georgia @ Yonah Mountain (February 5, 2015) – This
is a hike I have done before back in August, 2013, but I have wanted to revisit
for some time. So, when we decided to do this as a Hike Georgia outing I was
happy and it was another hike that I led. Let’s say that I forgot the route at
one point (see here), but I did get us to the Main Face of the mountain. When I
was here in 2013 it was cloudy and the view was OK, but today I got to see why
it is one of the best vistas in Georgia…stunning. Overall this is a 5.1-mile
out-and-back with a couple of steep spots (one pretty gullied). The only thing
we didn’t see was the Army Rangers on the mountain.
Number 2: AT Hike Georgia @ Blood Mountain Loop
(December 4, 2014) – There is no place in Georgia that I love hiking too more
than Blood Mountain and this Hike Georgia outing was my fourth time to its
summit. I had been there less than two months before and while that hike
started from Lake Winfield Scott this latest one was from the traditional day
hike starting point of the Byron Reese Memorial. Our hike was the six-mile Blood Mountain Loop,
which I had done before, but this time we were hiking south on the AT up the steep
side of the mountain and then back around on the Freeman Trail. This
challenging hike is worth it for the fabulous views from the summit area of
Blood. Then there is the iconic stone CCC Shelter which is another point of interest
on the summit. So, for a Blood Mountain hike to come in number two the top spot
must be for a special hike…and it was.
Number 1: AT Hike Georgia @ Rocky Mountain (December 18,
2014) – Since I hiked to Tray Mountain in April of 2014 I had wanted to do this
section of the AT which I bypassed on that hike. From what I had read the vista
from Rocky Mountain was best in winter and I also wanted to visit Helen, GA
during Christmas. So, for the first time I scheduled one of the hikes for our
Thursday group. Since I putting up the outing it would also be my first one as hike
leader. The trip up the AT from Unicoi Gap is a steep one, but the vista on
Rock Mountain was nice. We then headed down to Indian Grave Gap (which means I
completed this section of the AT to Tray Mountain) and connected with the Rocky Mountain Trail
which makes for a 5.5-mile lollipop loop. Oh, we met some cool SOBO's. While Rocky Mountain is no Blood for
all the reasons I described this hike takes the top spot for WinterOutdoor ’14-15.
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