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Summer 2011 Day Hikes

November 30th, 2011 Day Hike

Now that it’s winter, we’re catching up on some past-due blog posts. Expect more stories about trips from the spring and summer of 2011 to be posted in the next weeks.

This summer, we led day hikes to Rabun Bald and Emery Creek Falls. Though the weather was hot, we had beautiful views from the peak of Rabun Bald (the second tallest mountain in Georgia) and cool water (including swimming) at Emery Creek. Below are some photos of our hikes (click on each photo to view a larger version):

Hiking Toward Health

April 12th, 2011 Day Hike

The big picture: A mid-April dayhike with three ladies from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta who’ve been getting healthier over the last six months – and the woman who’s been coaching them (dietician Tamara Melton of La Carte Wellness).

The Things We Do For Science: These ladies are part of a pilot program to see how much improved health of employees affects financial stuff companies care about, like the number of days folks take off sick and healthcare costs. (Can you guess the result?)

Firsts: For Cecile, this was her first time hiking – ever! Go Cecile!

If I had to sum up this dayhike in three words they’d be: Inspirational, Steady, and Strong.

And if I could elaborate I’d say… Here are women who’ve been persistently working out, eating intuitively, and encouraging one another for six months. Six months! These women barely stopped on our hike, heading up hills and over tree roots like seasoned pros. I salute you, Carol, Virginia, and Cecile!

Kingfisher October Day Hike

November 29th, 2010 Day Hike,Kingfisher Academy

During the 2010-11 school year, Sure Foot Adventures is again working with students at Kingfisher Academy in Atlanta. Our Explorers Club is going on urban explorations and seeking geocaches. Our Chicken Team is raising chickens on campus. And our High Adventure Club is going on day hikes and backpacking trips.

The High Adventure Club is made up of Kingfisher’s middle school students – ages 10-14. And on a blustery day in October, we went on our first day hike of the year at Mount Arabia in Dekalb County.

There was a tornado watch in Cobb County and we almost canceled the hike as a result. But as always, I had been watching the doppler radar all morning and knew there was a good chance the storms wouldn’t arrive until late afternoon. So, we tentatively set out with the assumption that our hike would be cut short. I even planned a route that would keep us close enough to the bus that we could make a quick exit.

Instead of storms, we were greeted with warm breezes and even some blue sky on the mountain. Though our group hiked 4-5 miles, the students were strong enough hikers that we were able to spend much our time exploring the particularly interesting parts of Arabia-Davidson Park.

We explored an area of the mountain that had been mined for its granite, finding many remnants from the mining operation. We cleaned up an area around a lake, carrying the trash back to the proper receptacle in the parking lot. It was warm enough that the students even took their shoes off and waded in pools at the mountain’s peak. Some of them remembered a trip here last winter when the pools were full of ice. They asked why there was no ice this time and I pointed out that they were wearing short-sleeved shirts!

All morning, I was watching the skies and dreading the coming rain that would surely soak us to the bone. The students were not prepared with proper rain gear and I worried that rain would destroy their enjoyment of the hike. Instead the students told me about how excited they were about hiking in the rain! They wanted to get wet! What a difference from last year when our first day hike was punctuated by rain and the students grumbled and complained. I’m really happy to see them feel more and more comfortable in nature.

Towards the end of our hike, I pulled out my GPS and handed it to the students so they could find two geocaches hidden in the park. Almost immediately after this artificial treasure hunt, one student found and caught a natural treasure: a small lizard. And then another young woman caught a tiny frog. Watching the students hold and study these animals reminded me of Richard Louv’s assertion (in Last Child in the Woods) that the greatest form of education is when we can truly touch, feel, and immerse ourselves in nature without the walls and bars of a zoo or science classroom.

Though I struggle with the question of how long to allow kids to hold lizards (too much handling is bad for the animal), I usual come down on the side of letting them truly connect with the animal. What better way to gain an appreciation for the natural world than to care for a small animal? The students learned to look closely and carefully and to be gentle with creation. I don’t believe it’s possible to take a hike with kids and not become just a little bit more of a conservationist.

As we approached the bus at the end of our day hike, our legs were tired, but everyone had smiles on their faces – until the first rain drops began to fall and I told the students to get in the bus. They wanted to walk further and let the rain soak them!

“The Fall Colors of Mount Arabia“

2010 Nature Photography Day Hike

November 29th, 2010 Day Hike,Nature Photography

One of my favorite things Sure Foot does is when we partner with an expert in something other than hiking. So when David Foster offered to co-lead a series of Nature Photography Day Hikes with us, we happily agreed.

I’ve seen several of David’s shows during the Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival and his work is stunning. From sunset shots on a South African beach to delicate macro shots of water and flowers to candid portraits of people in the outdoors, David is an outstanding photographer with a keen eye. I had no doubt that a hike with David would be fun and educational.

What I wasn’t sure of was who would be excited to participate in a hike that asked one to carry water, lunch, a snack and heavy camera gear. I was pleasantly surprised by the diverse and talented group of people who joined us on this gorgeous fall day. We had several photography professionals, some people with informal experience, a teenager, and a couple of people just along for the hike. Our group was upbeat and excited about learning new techniques and tricks for finding photographic beauty in nature.

And we couldn’t have had a better day in north Georgia – blue skies, mild temperatures, and low humidity.

David and I decided to start our photography day hikes later in the day in order to catch the late-day sun that is so good for photographs, so we started our hike on the Panther Creek Falls Trail around 1:30 pm. Though we walked a total of 5 miles, David stopped us periodically for mini-lessons (including shooting the underside of a sunlit leaf). He led us to several areas along Panther Creek where we practiced shooting running water and experimented with different ways to capture the fall colors.

Though I’m only an amateur photographer with a point-and-shoot, I came away with new ideas on how to frame shots and where to look in nature for interesting subjects.

If you’d like to view a few photos by participants on this hike, you can visit our Flikr Group.

To view more photos I took of the participants, visit our Facebook page.

And please join us on one of our next Nature Photography Day Hikes with David Foster!

Rabun Bald Day Hike

September 27th, 2010 Day Hike

Sure Foot day hikes are as much about meeting new people and building community as they are about physical exercise and experiencing the natural beauty of north Georgia.

Though I did not know any of the hikers who had signed up for this trip, when I arrived at our meetup location at the Days Inn in Clayton, GA, I began to realize what an unusual and outstanding group of hikers I would be spending my day with.

Somehow I had not realized that Gary’s son was not an adult. But after I shook Gary’s hand and I met Zach, a 10-year-old who was playing his Nintendo DS and sitting in the trunk. Gary assured me that Zach loved the mountains and was a strong hiker.

Two other hikers met us at the Days Inn. Mitch is a recent retiree who used to lead scout outings. Tracy is a sci-fi buff and excellent photographer who had actually messaged our Meetup group before the trip to ask if we though she would be fit enough to do the hike. Of course we encouraged her to come!

We all piled into cars and drove to the trailhead, where we met up with Corey and Katie. And from the start, we found that our 10-year-old, Zach, would easily be our strongest hiker. In fact, on the way down the mountain, he and Tracy led our group, discussing their mutual love of Star Wars the whole way down.

Rabun Bald is billed as the most difficult day hike that Sure Foot offers, and I found that our participants signed up for this one because they were looking for a challenge. Corey and Katie even told me that they wanted to get “their money’s worth” so they signed up for the longest hike available.

As our group wound our way up the Bartram Trail towards Rabun Bald’s summit, we admired the lush greenery, tunnels of rhododendron, and views of the valley. We learned about Mitch’s career with Kroger and Tracy’s adventures at Dragon Con, Gary & Zach’s hikes in the Adirondacks, and Corey’s t-shirt business.

With sweat running down our backs, we finally reached the stone observation deck on top of the mountain. Skies were blue and we sat on top of tower admiring views of Standing Indian Mountain, Scaly Mountain, and the small towns of the mountain valleys. What a reward for our hard work hiking the 4 miles and 1500 vertical feet up the mountain!

After an hour of relaxation at the mountain peak, we started down. Zach and I found a geocache hidden near the peak, and our group then settled into a rhythm of walking and conversation that soon brought us back to our vehicles. Tired, but proud and invigorated by our accomplishment, we drove back to the city with good memories, new friends, and beautiful photos.

What we did on our summer vacation…

September 13th, 2010 Camping,Chickens,Day Hike,Family Camping Trip

In homage to the inevitable first writing project assigned once school starts, we thought we’d write the story of our summer here at Sure Foot Adventures.

Our summer started in a exciting way with a camping trip along the Chattooga River with a group of Quakers from the Atlanta and Athens Friends Meetings. If you’ve been in the southeast this summer, you know that this summer has been REALLY hot and punctuated with heavy rain storms. Our Quaker Camping Trip demonstrated that summer was here. Hot and muggy on Saturday, the rain held off and gave us time to swim in the river and relax in the sun. It rained during the night but we were able to have a dry breakfast. It was a great way to start the summer with an intergenerational group of people ranging in age from pre-teen to 70+.

After that camping trip (our fifth in as many weeks), we took a break from overnight trips and put our focus on day programs. Earlier, in the spring, we had started our Sure Foot hikers club. Then, in early June, our day hikes were the featured “Deal of the Day” on livingsocial.com. We spent the whole weekend before honing our website and making sure we had all the correct information posted about our day hikes and overnight trips. The deal offered one of our day hikes for $10 (usually $20/person) and we sold hikes to 272 people! The day of our deal was great fun for us because we received so many calls from new hikers and so many emails from new and old friends telling us how excited they are about our company.

So all summer, we’ve been leading day hikes with lots of people who are new to Sure Foot Adventures. Though (as on any adventure) there have been some misadventures – a missing geocache on our Geocaching Day Hike, a short-lived wrong turn on our Blood Mountain Day Hike, and a bridge out on our Emery Creek Day Hike – the hikes have been great fun. Catie and Jonah, who have led most of the hikes, have really enjoyed meeting lots of new people. We’ve hiked at Amicalola Falls, Emery Creek, Raven Cliff Falls, Blood Mountain, Vogel State Park, and Anna Ruby Falls.

Jonah also led a couple “custom” day hikes – one for a young man named Hunter who celebrated his 17th birthday with a hike and one for a group of Orthodox Jewish young men and women who were doing a summer program at Congregation Ariel in Dunwoody. For both hikes, we visited the East Palisades Trail along the Chattahoochee River. Both groups had special adventures. Jonah and Hunter ended up bushwacking down a cliff and then climbing in a bamboo forest. The group from Congregation Ariel rolled up their pants and happily waded into the river, eventually sitting down and lying down in the water.

But our day programs weren’t just limited to hiking. On July 24 (one of the hottest days of the year), we teamed up with Bicycle Tours of Atlanta and the B*ATL Festival to lead a bicycle tour of the Civil War Battle of Atlanta.We had more than a dozen participants and completed an 8-mile ride, visiting the historic sites of the battle while Sure Foot’s Jonah told the story. We sweated a lot and consumed a great deal of water, but it was nothing compared to how soldiers from both sides must have felt marching endless miles while wearing wool uniforms and poor footwear.

Then, in August, Jonah taught another Raising City Chickens Class & Tour. Ten hopeful chicken owners met Jonah’s chickens (including Spilly the Blind Chicken) and visited four other coops in the Kirkwood neighborhood. We are particularly happy with our chicken classes because so many of our participants have now successfully started their own coops. We’ve designed the class to be practical and hands on and we’re pleased that participants feel so confident afterward that they often order their birds that day!

Finally, we ended the summer with two fun camping trips – the YouthPride Summer Camping Trip and then the Fall Family Camping Trip on Labor Day weekend. Both times, we camped near Dicks Creek Falls, hiked along the Bartram Trail, and were able to spend hours basking in the summer sun along the riverbank.

So, our summer was well-spent, successful, and lots of fun. In all, we welcomed more than 100 participants to Sure Foot programs. Dana took a Adventure-based Counseling class (as part of her masters program), Catie’s been running the Georgia Tech challenge course (her other job) as well as leading Sure Foot day hikes, Nancy has developed a seamless grocery-shopping system for Sure Foot and even joined us on our recent Quaker Camping Trip, and Jonah led lots of Sure Foot programs and was even hired to be a storyteller at a birthday party in his spare time.

So, what awaits us in the fall? More day hikes, camping trips with the Friends School of Atlanta and Arbor Montessori, a custom backpacking trip with the Garrett family, a nature-photography day hike with David Foster, and a new program – Cumberland Island camping trips.

We’ll also be working with schools doing environmental and outdoors education programs. Dana and Catie are developing a Sure Foot Challenge Course, and Jonah is always scouting new locations in the north Georgia for Sure Foot hiking and camping trips.

We hope to see you on an upcoming trip!

Len Foote Hike Inn Day Hike

June 13th, 2010 Day Hike

On Saturday, a group of Sure Foot Hikers met at Amicalola Falls State Park for a Leave No Trace-themed Educational Day Hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn, a LEED-certified green building in the Blue Ridge near Springer Mountain.

The group was composed of first-time hikers, returning hikers, and well-seasoned hikers and was led by Sure Foot’s Catie Beaulieu.

The group began the ascent to the Inn as Catie told the history of Len Foote Hike Inn and explained its application of Leave-No-Trace (LNT) principles.  While LNT was a theme throughout, the hiking group quickly bonded through telling stories, cooling off in the stream crossings, observing snails basking in the sun, and identifying flowers about to bloom.

Pacing and patience were key to our success: pace in our stride and patience in our pride. Despite having never met, we were talking like old friends by the time we reached the Inn. After being welcomed to the Hike Inn with ice cold tea and chocolate, pecan, and peach cobbler pies, we relaxed and ate our lunch. Next we took the sustainability tour at the Inn, which introduced us, first-hand, to the creative and innovative ways the Hike Inn has developed to recycle everything— food, water, energy, and humanure (seriously!)

The hike down from the Inn was peaceful as we were content, happy, and more aware of our surroundings.  We observed several bright green and blue dragonflies flying through the tunnel of rhododendron and butterflies landing on petals right in front of us.

In all, we conquered ten miles in seven hours. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Kingfisher March Day Hike

March 25th, 2010 Day Hike,Kingfisher Academy

Though most of our Kingfisher programs this year have included rain (mainly because it’s been such a wet year in general), our March day hike couldn’t have been better.

A group of seven 7-9 year old, their teacher, Lili, and I took a 4-mile day hike along the Chattahoochee River. This trail is superb in so many ways. It starts out flat along the river, the uphills are only in the middle of the hike, there are several scenic overlooks, there is an awesome bamboo forest and rock ledge overlook at the far end of the loop, and the hike ends with a downhill. Because this was a younger group than I often hike with, it was important to design a hike that would push the kids physically, but that included lots of opportunity for play, exploration, and varied terrain. This trail was exactly that, and the kids had a great time.

Learning on these day hikes comes in several forms. We look at the plants around us and do some identification – hickory trees, trillium flowers about to bloom, river cane.

On another level, we promote the idea that the woods are for exploring, rocks are for climbing, and fallen trees are for balancing on. We facilitate the kids learning to connect to nature on physical level. I believe that physical connection leads to love of nature and good stewardship.

The biggest growth I see is in their confidence. I believe that the ability to walk up a mountain is partly physical, but primarily a question of confidence. During the March hike, this was clearly evident. Several children were struggling to walk up a steep hill, so they decided to trade backpacks (even though no one’s pack was significantly lighter than anyone else’s). Upon switching backpacks, they declared how “light” their packs were, and proceeded to motor up the hill. The smallest girl on the trip even asked to switch backpacks with me. I told her mine was way too heavy (containing first aid kit, extra clothes, extra water, etc.), but she insisted, took my pack, and powered up the hill none-the-less. In learning to be confident in their physical capabilities, the kids gain the strength of knowing that “they can, even when they think they can’t.” It is for this reason that I lead hikes.

On this hike, one young man in particular climbed EVERY rock, tree and dirt pile (left). However, all the students were adventurous. When I asked if they wanted to go the “crazy rock-climbing way” or the trail, guess what they chose? Luckily, I sometimes speak in hyperbole, so there was nothing crazy about it, nor any rock-climbing, just a good off-trail scramble.

Another young man started the hike saying, “I don’t want to go.” Since I knew he had a good sense of directions and could read maps well, I gave him my trail map and asked him to lead. He did a superb job and never took us the wrong way.

On every trip, there are many moments like this one in which a student feeling defeated, tired, grumpy, or scared. But fun, exploration, and contentment seem to regularly prevail!

I’m going to end this post with a series of photos, but you should really check out all the photos on Facebook, as the blue sky and photogenic kids made for lots of good pictures.

Kingfisher Day Hike

February 2nd, 2010 Day Hike,Kingfisher Academy

In January, I got to take a Day Hike with the Komodo Dragons middle school class at Kingfisher Academy. Though almost every outdoors program at Kingfisher has fallen on a rainy day this school year, our day hike was a beautiful blue sky day with temperatures in the 60s!

We decided to go to Kennesaw Mountain for three reasons: (1) It’s only a 25 minute drive from school; (2) The mountain provides a beautiful, difficult, and varied hike; and (3) The Civil War history of the park is particularly relevant to today.

Let’s start with (3): I thought the students would be intrigued by the query about the battle that I presented: “If the Union had not been able to win the Atlanta Campaign, Lincoln probably wouldn’t have been re-elected; and without Lincoln as President, the Confederacy may not have been defeated; and slavery may not have ended for another 20 or 30 years. How would that affect America today?” Of course, much of this is speculation, but what an intriguing question! Where would race relations be today? Where would our economy be? Would the South still be a separate nation? Could Obama have been elected?

Despite my interest in these questions, the students were more intrigued by the cannons and earthworks on the mountain. Luckily I’m not just a social historian and know a little bit about military history.

On top of the mountain, we were able to see all the way to Stone Mountain, Perimeter Mall, Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown. Buzzards circled in the sky. We even saw a hawk (though another hiker claimed it was an eagle).

One of my favorite aspects of day hikes is watching participants discover new things about themselves. I saw one young woman thrive in the outdoors and lead much of our hike. Another young man actually brought plastic zipper bags to collect “specimens.” He and I walked in the rear of the group much of the time, finding insects, rocks, and even some coyote feces (which I still have sitting on the desk in my office–I have to remember to bring it to school next Tuesday).

We even explored a small cave that we found in the “Pigeon Rocks” area of the park.

Though the group was exuberant and very competent, by the end of our hike, spirits were down and legs were dragging. I see this happen regularly on hikes and often wonder whether I should plan shorter distances. However, I see great merit in helping people learn that they can do more than they thought they could. Nevertheless, it’s always a balance between too “easy” and too “hard” of a hike.

This one was lots of fun, and I look forward to the next time in the woods with these students – ON CUMBERLAND ISLAND!

Kingfisher Academy September Day Hike

September 21st, 2009 Day Hike,Kingfisher Academy

So much about this trip had the possibility of disaster: the forecast was for rain, the school was coordinating with parents, so I had not met or talked to any families, I met many of the students for the first time that day, only 4 out of 13 students brought proper raingear to school, and traffic was so bad that we returned to school several hours late, hungry and wet.

This was the first day of the two weeks of torrential rains that hit Atlanta, causing widespread flooding and destruction. Yet, look at the photos and the smiles! Amazing!

From the moment we left the bus to the time we returned to it, this day hike was lovely, scenic, adventurous, and fun. Though some students were frustrated by the rain (several kids wore jeans) and some of the girls worried about their hair, while we were hiking and playing in the river, I saw nothing but smiles and laughter. It’s amazing how joy can surface in the midst of a damp, mucky day!

Our group was 13 middle school students from Kingfisher Academy, their homeroom teacher and me (their Outdoors Education teacher). Though this school has a long history of outdoors programs, this was the first wilderness day hike for some of the kids.

We began our hike by fording a creek. The moment we opened the bus doors, the kids scattered out and were across the shin-deep creek barefoot or in water shoes before I could even take out the camera. And the rain immediately began falling on us.

You may ask: How does someone lead a day hike in the rain when 9 kids don’t have rain gear? Well, I anticipated this and actually brought nine (lucky guess on the number) rain jackets and fleeces. This at least kept everyone insulated, if not dry.

Though the rain made us sopping wet, our first stop was along the Chattooga River, and the kids made sure to finish the job the rain started–they explored, waded, then dunked, then swam in the water.

Some kids were more adventurous than others, but in the end, all of us waded across the river to a large rock ledge in the center. We braved rapids and deep areas. Standing on the ledge watching the students explore, their teacher remarked to me that this type of exploration is what creates environmentalists. By playing in nature, we truly learn to love and not destroy it.

Though it stopped raining while we ate lunch and played in the Chattooga, the rain started back in full once we recommenced hiking. Though the forest acted as somewhat of a canopy, we got soggier and soggier. At our next stop along the river, several kids and I “swam to South Carolina” (across the river), but the rain and a “snake” scare (I’m quite confident there was no snake, as the water was too cool for a coldblooded animal) convinced us to hike back to the bus.

Because I allowed the students to explore and laugh and play rather than hustle them from stop to stop, we reached the bus 20 minutes after I hoped we would. Then the rain picked up – as did the traffic. As a result, we reached school harried and worried (late for evening activities and frustrated by traffic and uncomfortable). Luckily, I had photos to look back at and remember how enjoyable the time in the woods was. I’m glad to get to share some of these photos with you now. And I can’t wait to be in the woods without rain!