Saturday, March 22, 2014

Panola Mountain State Park- TAKE A HIKE



Today, I climbed Panola Mountain, the second monadnock on my list for Monadnock Madness!

It was a wonderfully warm Spring day, perfect for a hike through the woods to the mountain and our trek up the mountain.  Panola Mountain can only be climbed as part of a group, with a guide to take you up the mountain. It is a protected area.  Our guide today was Jeff Nix and we had a nice large group for our hike. Thanks, Jeff for leading us today! (AND  I hope I didn't talk your ear off, but I really do love the monadnoacks and all that grow on them!)  Our hike took us three hours! Glad I
could make it! Want to see some photos?  Sure you do!



My husband didn't come on this hike but my son did! That's Christopher holding up the tree on the left!







There's a pretty lake at the base of the mountain, with the plutons (boulders) right at the water's edge.
Christopher is wearing a great shirt here that I bought for him at the gift shop at Panola Mountain.  It says "Take A Hike", and the photo behind the word "hike" was actually taken at sunset from the top of Panola Mountain and you can see the setting sun lighting up the buildings of downtown Atlanta on the horizon..  That is so cool! It was taken during one of the Moonlight hikes, I hope to go on one of those! AND I hope they get more of those shirts, I love the thought of telling someone to TAKE A HIKE! (And I mean it sincerely, but I also like to think of it in a funny way too...you know, like GET LOST!  HA!)
 
 
Resurrection ferns growing on one of those plutons beside the lake, I couldn't believe how thick they were on this rock!
Okay, we have been walking on Panola Mountain for a bit here and there are so many trees that Jeff forgot to tell us to look on the horizon for Stone Mountain...
but look, here is Arabia Mountain!  I zoomed in just so you could see it, it was a bit hazy today, but that is our amazing Arabia Mountain!
 
That's Tracey on the far left, she hugged me at the end of our walk. She reads my blog! She told me she is a friend of mine on Instagram, very nice to meet you, Tracey! And also the nice guy who told me he worked for BT which stands for BRITISH TELECOM!  (Hey, I am Georgia Girl With An English Heart, you know!)   Guys, leave me a comment, if you see this post!
 
Very little foot traffic is allowed on Panola Mountain.  It is thickly covered in lichen and mosses and the different shades and textures are very pleasing to the eye.
 
Yucca!  These will have the most beautiful creamy flowers in the month of April, hope I get to see them!
 
Yellow jasmine are blooming on the mountain, a beautiful shade of yellow!
 
 
Here we are coming down the mountain!  It is much steeper than it looks.  This is called the "butt slide" as some find it easier to come down it, in a crab-like fashion, but Jeff told us he thought all of us could make it down on two feet and all of us did so.  Thanks, Jeff!
The trout lilies were very much in abundance.  I not only love that bright yellow but I love the trout-like leaves too, and look at it against that bright green...is it moss?  I might not know the names of everything but I appreciate the beauty of what I am observing!
 
 
Hey, who left this rock in my way?  Anybody want to kick it off the path?  I DON"T THINK SO!
Today, Panola Mountain...tomorrow, Stone Mountain!
Wish us luck, it's supposed to rain!  And Richard will be with me on that hike.  He takes better photos than I do, but I didn't think these were too bad.  It's hard to take bad photos when you are surrounded by natural beauty such as this.
 Hope you enjoyed this hike as much as I did!

34 comments:

  1. I did enjoy this "virtual" hike...real for you, virtual for me! You have blooming things that make Spring real for you...virtual for me! How fun to be able to see such beauty close to your home. All that lovely moss. My daughter-in-law has a brother-in-law (have I lost you yet?) who has a doctorate in lichen..you know..moss. What does one do with a degree in that? Probably enjoy hiking in mountain areas with lots of it! Have a great hike tomorrow..I'll look forward to the pics!

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    1. Oh! I wish I had someone beside me on these hikes with a doctorate in lichen!! That would be like a dream come true for me, honestly, it would, I wish someone would tell me more about what I am seeing!!
      Happy to have you along on this virtual hike! :-)

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  2. Oh- Don't you just love those huge, lichen covered rocks? Wow! Gorgeous. I must say that Christopher is doing a great job holding up that tree! xo Diana

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    1. YES! I do love these lichen covered rocks and I also think they are gorgeous!! Yes, my son can hold up a tree with the best of them! LOL!!

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  3. I think I enjoy your hike and mountain posts the most. It's so interesting seeing the different fauna you have. Love the jasmine and the trout lillies though I can't get over what a strange name for such a lovely plant! My Dad used to work for BT too though it was the GPO when he started (you'll have to ask Richard if he remembers what that means)! x

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    1. Thanks, Julie! I love to see all the different flowers during the different seasons on these monadnocks!
      OH! And guess what! I didn't say, but Richard worked for British Telecom and also, several members of his family did also! He said it changed from GPO to British Telecom in the 80's.

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  4. GPO - General Post Office - Telephone Boxes with "Press Button A" - That will get you through to your number or "Press Button B" - That will get you your money back if there is no reply. I bet Richard will remember those. I suspect you are too young.

    Lovely pictures - that rock is ginormous!

    Looking forward to your hike up "our" Stone Mountain. Is the "tourist trap" still at the bottom? Just keep climbing the climb - wonderful being an armchair tourist although I would love to do the climb in person - probably with an oxygen cylinder and a paramedic on standby!! xx

    PS. Snowing here this morning - that is what you get in spring up here. It will probably be T-shirt weather this afternoon!!

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    1. I asked Richard and he certainly knows the Press Button A and the Press Button B, but I don't know about it at all! Not because I am too young, it is just because I am too AMERICAN! HA!! (No wait...it is because I am too young, that's it exactly! HA!)
      Oh yes, Stone Mountain...look out for that post!!
      Hey, who cares about your weather, you always have a beach, don't you? xx

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  5. Your pictures are very good, Kay, but of course it would have still been nice if Richard had been able to come along on this hike, too.
    Well, you'll be hiking again today, so I hope the weather won't be too averse. If you post about it, I'll only read it next week, since I'll be away from my computer (and regular internet access) until Saturday.

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    1. Dear Meike,
      Thanks, but I just know that Richard would have taken some great shots AND he could have talked to the gentlemen who works for a British company (he was American, but they could have chatted quite happily about England, I should think!).
      OH! I will do a post about Stone Mountain, and you can read it when you get back home. Hope you will have a fun and rewarding time while you are away on your job!

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  6. Your photos are good, and like you, i don't know the names of the plants but i love looking at them.

    Good luck on Stone Mountain!

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    1. Thank you!
      And I do love flowers and plant life very, very much even if I cannot put names to all of them!

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  7. what beautiful area to hike, the view was amazing, I love moss and lichens and ferns, oh gosh I love it all!

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    1. As an artist, you would be in heaven on this monadnocks! So much to see and it all looks so different depending on the season and the time of day!
      Thanks very much for your comment! So happy to SEE it here! ;-)

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  8. I love seeing your photos of Panola Mountain. I'm glad it's both being protected and being opened to let some people enjoy its beauty. Trout lilies are lovely and I haven't seen one for far too long. I think I know where I will be able to see some this spring which is on its way despite the lazy snow flakes I'm watching outside my window.

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    1. Oh! if you are able to see trout lilies, take some photos and put them on your blog, would you? We could have our fan club for them, I like that idea!! Hope your Spring comes very soon for you!

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  9. Looks like a fantastic place to hike. I know I would enjoy it there.

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    1. I know you would enjoy it, especially in the Fall, Winter and Spring...the summer is a bit of bummer, so very HOT!!!

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  10. Beautiful...now I feel like going on a hike! The only hiking I'm doing today is from my washing machine out to the clothes' line!

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    1. Ha! I know what you mean! When I need to be doing housework, I am walking up a mountain instead!
      My mother-in-law in England hangs out her washing on a line, and there is an art to it really, it's not as easy as it looks!!

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  11. I love your monadnock photos, Kay! I love how you share your beautiful mountains! I visited your friend Kay's travelerswife blog, left a message about your sending me there, and followed it! I hope it doesn't rain on your hike tomorrow! *hugs*

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    1. Thanks, Louise!! I tried to look at her blog but she doesn't have a search engine on there, I wanted to find where her nephew worked so I could just tell you myself!!! So frustrating!!
      I love her blog by the way, as much as I love yours!!!!

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  12. Nice of you to take it easy on Christopher with only a 3 hour mountain hike, Kay. Haha. Please send some of that spring weather my way--we have another week of cold, rain and snow on the menu...

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    1. Hey! We are hardy Americans, a 3 hour hike, NO PROBLEM!!
      I think you are sending us your winter weather, it is supposed to be in the 20's tonight!! BRRRR!!!

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  13. Super fotos! Super hike! Glad that was fun.

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  14. Beautiful, beautiful! I relish seeing pictures like these and experiencing the places vicariously -- they are digging up everything out back and we have to bear the miserable sounds of cranes and tractors.

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    1. OH, cranes and tractors, I know just what you mean. Hopefully, you can get into some nature and away from the EARTH destroyers!! xx

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  15. Kay, what an awesome hike! Looks so fun. I love the Butt Slide part! And those yellow jasmine are really, really gorgeous!!! :-)

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    1. Oh yes, you would have LOVED this, Audrey!! And I know you would have giggled at the butt slide, just like me!!
      You have yellow jasmine too, I am sure, look out for it! xx

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  16. Oh my goodness--my son was just out at Panola this weekend. Ya'll must have passed each other. He hadn't been there since he was a little boy and went to watch the meteor shower.

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    1. Oh! Was he there on Saturday? If he hiked the mountain, then he must have been in that group of folks in my first photo! If not, he might have been one of those either walking or biking on one of the other trails!
      Neato! (Sorry, I grew up in the 60's!)

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  17. Lovely photos as always. Seems like you had a wonderful day. I hope your Stone Mountain hike was just as enjoyable. My kids really loved their hike up Stone Mountain a few years ago. Fingers crossed you escaped the rain.

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    1. Oh yes, I remember your photos when you visited Georgia, I loved them!
      I wish I could have seen you when you here at Stone Mountain! Please let me know if you are ever in this neck of the woods again, and I will buy you a coffee, maybe even an Irish one!! :-)

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