Back to the Bend…Again

I’ve been needing to get outside. Badly. Life has been a bit crazy lately. I didn’t realize how badly I needed to go outside and play until I mentioned the possibility of going hiking this weekend to ConnieLou and her response was “You should, it would do you good.” That’s ConnieLou-speak for “I know your stress meter is just about maxed out and you need to do something to blow off some steam before you bust.” She knows me well.

I sent a text to my buddy Tom to see if he wanted to get out and go hiking somewhere. I wanted to go over to Sweetwater Creek State Park but had some errands to run early and dinner plans for the evening so we decided to head down to Chattahoochee Bend.

We decided to walk the same route that Jenna and I walked about this time a year ago but in reverse. We started off on the Wild Turkey Trail at the Visitor’s Center then picked up the Brown Thrasher Trail after half a mile or so. The portions of the trails in lower areas were fairly muddy but that wasn’t exactly unexpected given the amount of rain we’ve had lately but the upland portion of the trail were in good shape.

We stopped at Trailhead 1 to eat some lunch. Normally I wouldn’t bother with lunch on a short hike but I have a new stove and cook pot that I haven’t had a chance to play with in the woods so we stopped, boiled some water and we each rehydrated a freeze-dried meal. I’ve got to admit, a hot lunch and a cup of hot chocolate hit the spot on a cool day.

After lunch we crossed the road over to the Flat Rock Trail which crosses the large pavement outcrops in the upland portions of the park. Some of the blazes that were painted on the rock surface a few years ago are starting to fade but other hikers have built small cairns to mark the trail.

Random fungus

(as opposed to regular fungus)

Once back on the Wild Turkey Trail, the trail passed between the split trunks of a fallen tree…

By the time we made it back to the truck we’d walked about five miles…OK, between 4 ½ and 5 miles, depending on whose smartphone tracking app that you want to believe.

To check out my blog entry from last year’s hike at Chattahoochee Bend with Jenna click the following link:

Back to the Bend

And for a video of this trip…yeah, you got it…click the link:

Back to the Bend…Again