Sat, Aug 10 2019 - East Palisades--Creek, Figure 8 Loop (Whitewater Creek Entrance) (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Chuck R Participants: Chuck R, Aaron Lee, Neil, John B, Luz Maria, SusanF, Anu Seam, Shelley, Shyamala, Dave S

It was so hot the Hooch had more dogs in it cooling off than people! You really do have to get an early start out there if you are going to make a city hike. Our hike was tolerable considering the heat index conditions. The trail was mostly to ourselves, the woods were dry. It gave me a good advantage in the Bushwhack - I could see signs of foot crushed leaves which kept me in a good direction. It was sad to see another large oak to be blown over recently. We don't have many of them standing on this trail. Again this hike gave me some more new faces that I was so excited to meet. Finally met Susan Ferguson - WOW what a seasoned hiker! She would make a good TL. This group came from the weekday hikers all with good skills. They got it when it came down to team work... watching the rear, spotting the junctions, calling out the approaching trail runners, and keeping distance between hikers, ( no log jamming). We would like to welcome Shelly to the club - she did well with her first AOC hike. I see Anu looking great for more D-4s. Shout out to John and Neil for their help on the inner workings of the trail. They kept the line flowing. We missed Mark and Molly who we hope to see again. Oh also Susan pointed out to me the BAH!! Did not see Mr. Chattahoochee but we did see 2 turtles whom we did not disturb. My conclusion to this hike is a little perplexed? If you have one hiker that's dragging the rear and 99 percent of hikers are all on the heels of the front TL with 28 junction turns, what do you do? ( this was a moderate slow pace) Other D-3 hikes would be fine, for example Kennesaw. Vetting showed a great number of D-2 and D-3s for this hikers history. I felt like this hike did not have the momentum for this group. East Palisades threw me a curve ball. If I did have a qualified sweeper way behind, would they know all the turns? This may consider some careful vetting for this park.