Urban Hike #3- Beltline tour

We just finished a wonderful urban hike (the best yet in my opinion) with our guest leaders Angel and Betsy. They took us on a route that began at Stanton park in the Peoplestown/Grant Park area and hike a 6 mile section of the beltline tracks counter-clockwise all the way to Piedmont Park. The weather was amazing- 70 and sunny. I have a good feeling that this won't be the only installment of Beltline hiking that we do this year...

A link to a map of our hike starting at Stanton Park and finishing at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens can be found here:
MAP!


sad, but true


Our fearless leader and former train conductor- Angel


Urban Tree House?


Tracks near Glenwood Park retail area


crossing I-20 on Bill Kennedy Way


Willie- one of 5 canine companions on the hike


we saw a lot of neat graffiti on this hike


Kudzu is dormant this time of year, but you can still see how it can dominate certain areas by growing nearly 1 foot/day in summer


Krog tunnel


MARTA above us- this was an on-street connection where the planned beltline rails don't quite match up


more kudzu


social commentary


shanty house or art project?... not really sure, but it looked inviting


ramp


vampire lips




bridge over Ponce de Leon at City Hall East. What a cook (and entirely different) way to see the city. I must have passed under this bridge 100 times at least, but never got to see this view.




This rail line along the eastern border in Piedmont Park was installed in 1924 apparently


new parking deck at Piedmont Park




urban creek along NE border of Piedmont Park




Amazing old growth section of Storza Woods (Botanical Gardens) and the North Woods of Piedmont Park- some of the largest trees in the city are located here including this monster Tulip Poplar

This was a truly amazing hike and I hope to have a whole Beltline series, though many areas are harder to traverse even in the winter/spring and totally overgrown in the summer. Stay tuned for future hikes and feel free to contact me with any trip ideas you may have as well. As always, these hikes are for the community and by the community!

Contact email: urbanhiking@wonderroot.org

Beltline Hike this Saturday- 3/7/09!!

The weather is looking fantastic for Urban Hike #3 this Saturday as we explore the BeltLine on foot with guest hike leader and local artist Elizabeth Medvedovsky.

We're going to start at Park Grounds (coffee at 10am, hike by 10:30ish), drive to our starting point as car pools and walk towards Piedmont Park. Those who have had enough can drop out at their leisure and those who want more can keep on going to Piedmont Park, after which we'll loop around to ParkGrounds and those who left their cars can drop off the others.



A link to all of the maps of the Beltline can be found here.

See you there!

Urban Hike #2, Piedmont Park

On a bright sunny saturday in February we met once again at Park Grounds to plan our second hike of the year. We were joined by Chris Appleton (one of the founders of WonderRoot) along with many other urban hikers, totalling about 10 people total. Our destination (aka- halfway point) was Piedmont Park. All in all we were out and about for nearly 7 hours and about 8 miles. What a great day too with temperatures near 70 degrees and beautiful sunshine the entire time!

Here's a link to the map of our route (7.94 miles!):
http://www.favoriterun.com/259818


Martin Luther King Historic District en route to the park:


Shotgun homes across from MLK's home site


Happy hikers on Freedom Parkway- nice city view


Trees cannot be contained!


Futuristic (free) toilets at Piedmont Park


Nice rest at the watering hole (Park Tavern)


What a beautiful day to be in the park


Park artwork at Ponce and Freedom Parkway


more artwork- concrete towers at Highland and Freedom Parkway- the towers mimic the Atlanta skyline


nice graffiti work as we return to Park Grounds



All-in-all this was a terrific hike. There's talk of starting themed hikes very soon with the next Hike likely being a "Photography Hike" on Saturday, March 7th. To get on the UrbanHiking email list, drop me a line at eli_dickerson@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Urban Hike #1, Frazier Forest

On a cool misty saturday in January the WonderRoot Urban Hiking club in Atlanta, GA got it's start for the new year. We met at Park Grounds at 10am and after coffee, conversation, and food we embarked on our inaugural trek across the city. The hike totaled roughly 6-7 miles and took about 2.5 hours.

Link to a map of our route:
(coming soon)


our meeting place- Park Grounds: 142 Flat Shoals Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316



crossing the tracks via the Inman Park/Little 5 Points MARTA station



This is a large oak in the Shadyside section of the Olmstead Parks on Ponce De Leon just east of Moreland Ave. Olmstead is the same landscape architect who designed Central Park in NY and the Biltmore Estate in NC.



Mid-point destination: Frazer Center Forest. This is a nice patch of likely second growth or old growth forest on the south side of Ponce de Leon at the intersection of S. Ponce De Leon.



The large leaning tree in the background is a Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) that is just over 15 feet in circumference. This is a very common species in Atlanta with a few giants like this one spread across the city.



This is a large willow oak near Fellini's on McLendon Drive in Candler Park



This tree has two large limbs that have fused together



This was a nice sight on our hike


The next hike is set for Saturday, February 7th. Meet at Park Grounds at 10am for coffee, hike starts by 11am. See you there!

~Urban Hiking WebMonkey