Fri, Nov 25 2016 - #OptOutside Hike and Meditation (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Lisa Participants: Larry Cooper, Lisa, Smitha, Norm Melton, Jennifer Miles, Anthony, Sandra a.k.a (Hellraiser), John aka Comrade, Sunae, Cindy, Ryan, Eric M, Babbie

Herd of deer? Sure, we've heard of deer... and we also saw some. Lots of them! After brief introductions and a few words about our favorite dishes of yesterday's Thanksgiving, we set off along the river. Right away, we spotted a couple of cormorants sunning their wings, and then a lanky heron on the river's edge. Turning inland and uphill, we climbed steadily until reaching a junction. Then... our first deer sighting of the day! The big buck noticed by the back half of the group didn't cooperate for photos, however. Shedding layers and sipping water, we did a quick out 'n back to "tap the yellow line" before retracing our steps. 

We enjoyed a succession of deer passing very close by on the trail; it seems we startled several who alerted us to their presence by the heavy rustling in the dry leaves. "That was definitely not a squirrel!" we'd think to ourselves, then look up to see antlers on the move. We glimpsed about 10 big deer in all, some alone, others in pairs. One was lying down, and we watched him pull himself to his feet and trot away. 

We shared murmured conversation as we hiked along, passing just a few other small groups of people, some with dogs, also opting to play outside on Black Friday. We returned to the riverbank and followed the water until stopping near a clearing with a big fallen tree. We gathered to sit on the log for a little guided meditation. We opened our senses to the forest around us, and each of us saw (and heard, touched, smelled, and tasted) our own leaf in a different light. One last quick stop to watch the geese on the Chattahoochee, then back to the visitor center and our cars. We packed out some mindfulness with us, along with sunny memories of a fun morning.