Great hike on the 'Hooch- Beltline hike planned for July 11th

We had about a dozen people exploring the trails at the Whitewater Creek trailhead in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation area last Saturday. It was steamy, but nice under the shade of all those big leaf magnolias.

Up next- Saturday, July 11th (note: this is the 2nd saturday b/c of July 4th) we'll hike a section of the Beltine from the WestEnd Marta station to Piedmont Hospital. Once again Angel Poventud (Beltline volunteer and former train conductor) will be our fearless leader. It will be HOT, so bring lots of water and a hat... maybe even an umbrella for shade if you want.

Pix from our last hike:


view from the top of the trail



fading blooms of a native azalea



on the "Devil's Race Course" shoals





heading back up the trail



cool shady stream



Gus- our fearless leader

Urban Hiking NPR interview w/John Lemle

Take a listen here:
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-841277.mp3

June 6th- (Sub)Urban hike along the Chattahoochee River

The oppressive heat and humidity of summer is fast approaching and due to overwhelming demand from our urban hikers we will NOT be hiking around the hardscapes of the city, but instead venturing out to the trails of our closest national park- Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area- for a moderate 5-6 mile hike with a stop halfway to dip our toes in the river.

On Saturday, June 6th meet us at Park Grounds in Reynoldstown at 10am as we drink coffee and set up carpools to venture to the WhiteWater Creek trailhead in the East Palisades park unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

We'll meet at 10am and head out by 10:30/10:45 for the river with our carpool caravan. Head to the connector and go north, then directions are as follows:

-Stay on I-75 North
-Take exit 256, Mt. Paran Road.
-Right on Mt. Paran Road to first traffic light (Harris Trail)
-Left on Harris Trail to Whitewater Creek Road
-Right about .4 miles to the unit which is on the left.

If you plan to just meet us at the trailhead, then you can find alternate directions here.

Here's a map of the trail system we'll be exploring:


**Note that there is a $3 fee per car at this site. Also note that dogs are welcome but must stay on leash!

for more info, shoot me an email at urbanhiking@wonderroot.org

See you in June!
~Eli

May historic hike on Ponce de Leon

On Saturday, May 2nd local librarian, artist, historian, and yard sale enthusiast Tom Zarilli led a group of 11 urban hikers on a wonderful historic tour highlighting Ponce de Leon and surrounding neighborhoods. This was another intallment of our themed hikes with guest speakers and was thoroughly enjoyed by all attendants!

Photo-journal of our walk:


Tom, PBA interview, and the crew


steps to nowhere- surviving pieces of a former house along the PATH in Inman Park


Majestic diner

Sculpture honoring Sen. John Lewis's march to Selma



Map of Freedom Parkway at sculpture


Clermont hotel and lounge- G.G. Allin stayed here


Former Sears Building (now City Hall East) where Ponce's natural springs were piped to a waterfountain years ago!


famous Magnolia of center field in the old Crackers/Black Crackers ball field??


large urban Tulip Poplar facing Ponce


streetside bling for sale



End of the hike: Georgian Terrace and Fox Theatre

We all caught Marta back to the Inman/Reynoldstown station and walked the neighborhood streets back to Park Ground for a total time of about 3 hours. It was warm and muggy, but overall a wonderful tour- stay posted for information on June's themed hike- possibly a "Suburban Hike" on the Chattahoochee River!!

~Eli
UrbanHiking web monkey
urbanhiking@wonderroot.org

Urban Hiking Podcast on "Mostly ITP"

Amber and Rusty from the Mostly ITP podcast (GA podcast network) were so interested in our urban hiking adventures that they interviewed me for more info. Check it out here.


Enjoy!
~Eli

5/2 hike- history tour down Ponce!

Our next hike is this Saturday, May 2nd. Local historian and artist Tom
Zarilli will take us on a historical tour down Ponce de Leon with many
interpretive stops along the way.

As usual we will meet at Park Grounds (142 Flat Shoals Ave SE) at 10am for
coffee/breakfast and start hiking by 10:45ish. We will again cross over
the Inman/Reynoldstown Marta, then venture through Freedom Parkway to
Ponce. Plan on bringing water for the hike and saving some room for
doughnuts at Krispy Kreme as well.

As always these hikes are 100% FREE, community inspired, and community led!

www.urbanhikingatlanta.blogspot.com
www.wonderroot.org
urbanhiking@wonderroot.org

April Graffiti Hike

On Saturday, April 11th we embarked on the 4th installment of our urban hikes around Atlanta. Huge thanks to local artists Dosa Kim and Michi for making this one happen.

Once again, this happening seems to be getting more and more popular- we had record attendance with a total of 31 hikers (of course we stole 3 from the planned Beltline tour that was meeting at Park Grounds as well that morning).

I really feel that these tours have filled an important niche in the community as of late. I came up with the idea of "urban hiking" out of necessity. In fall 2008 we were in a gas crisis and I was not able to justify driving to north georgia for my normal monthly hikes on the Appalachian Trail. As a cheap alternative I decided to explore the city more by just putting on a daypack with food and water and trekking across Atlanta. With the help of a few friends and the good people at WonderRoot we were able to expand my initial idea into a community building "happening" that continues to grow.

I continue to be shocked at the positive response from the community. Little or no advertising is necessary on my part- just a few emails, a posting on the WonderRoot website and then a lot of word of mouth amongst friends. We continue to get members of the community to offer their expertise in leading themed hikes as well. If you or anyone you know has an idea or destination for a hike, then please contact me as well- urbanhiking@wonderroot.org.

Here's a brief account of April's Graffiti themed hike:

Local artist Dosa Kim- our leader for the day


Chris from WonderRoot describing the process of organizing dozens of artists to paint the wall along the tracks on Wylie St.





corner of Krog and Wylie



Krog tunnel



lunch at Parish in Inman Park


In total we did around 4 miles in 2 hours. Some folks continued further, but most people rounded out the hike by walking through Inman Park and crossing the tracks at the Inman/Reynoldstown Marta station.

Next month: Historic Tour down Ponce de Leon on Saturday, May 2nd!
Email me with any questions/comments or to get on the email list: urbanhiking@wonderroot.org