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Sat, Apr 26 2003 - Amicalola Falls Pioneer Camping (View Original Event Details)

Trip Leader(s): Katherine Martin
Participants:Katherine Martin, , Phil 'Foz' Parkerson, John Weber, , Anuj Girdhar, Chris Jackson, Darcy Chalfin, Jeff Asher, Darren Reid, Robert Morris, Debbie Degner, Matthew Norton, Michael Aubertine, cynthia roach, stephen preston, Michelle Pedersen

Write Up:
What a wonderful, peaceful trip this one was! In spite of the strong storm weather on Friday night, several of us braved the blinding rain and looming clouds and arrived at the campsite late that night. Miraculously, the rain slowly came to a dripping stop just as we were arriving, and the rest of the night was beautiful and clear. We managed to make a great fire even with the soaked wood available for collection in the National Forest, and stayed up late enjoying the beautiful weather. It drizzled on us after midnight, but not for long.

Saturday morning was clear, if chilly and we started a fire with our not quite so wet wood and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. As we waited we surveyed our new spot (our favorite was already taken when we arrived on Friday, believe it or not!). It was beautiful, with a stream running through it in several areas, splitting up the possible campsites into private retreats, with only the sound of the babbling stream in all directions. As people began to arrive, they chose their tent site based on their desires…close to the campsite or close to the stream in a private little haven. We even had one fellow brave enough to sleep in a hammock!

Several of the group took a hike to the Amicalola Falls in the nearby state park, while others enjoyed relaxing near the fire in the site, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature all around us.

After their return, we talked a bit about low impact camping, and had a small class on fire building, then went to work on dinner. Everyone pitched in and we made the best fajitas ever eaten outdoors, with all the fixin’s. After dinner we sat around the campfire, getting to know one another and listening to people play guitar and sing songs. The campfire camaraderie lasted well into the night, and we didn’t extinguish our fire until around 1 or 2 in the morning….perhaps leaving a little party mess about us….

Daylight came quickly for some of us, as we discovered the little thieves of the forest had raided our camp…boldly getting into many of the containers and bags we had so carefully “bear proofed”…..and boldly snatching their findings even after being wildly approached by a half naked yelling human being. It appears that humans aren’t so scary, even when half dressed and dancing about with their arms in the air, yelling at the top of a whisper….one little guy actually looked at our attempts to scare him off, hesitated, then returned to get his treasure, before scampering away….

Sunday was beautiful though, chilly in the morning, then warming to a beautiful sunny day. We spent the morning cooking breakfast, then sat down to listen to seminars on water purification and trail finding, which were very well presented, information and interesting. After the seminars, most of the group went on to try to find the trailhead to the Appalachian Trail using their newfound skills.

We packed up after lunch at the site, leaving our little bit of peace behind to return to our busy city lives. We will all soon return to the wilderness to try to recapture this experience quite soon! (photos to be posted quite soon at http://photos.yahoo.com/atlantaoutdoorclub)
Written By: Katt Martin
Photos From: various