Stone Mtn + Arabia Mtn + Panola Mtn + Commemorative Prize!

IN A NUTSHELL:  We Atlanta Outdoor Club members who enjoy hiking are honored to have a special invitation to participate in this exciting 3-mountains-in-1-day "hiking challenge."  Each of us who finishes it will be awarded a nice custom-designed "prize-souvenir" by our friends of the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance who are jointly sponsoring this innovative "Monadnock Madness" event with their fellow naturalists at Stone Mountain Park and Panola Mountain State Park.
 This fun and educational event is actually well within the ability of AOC hikers who feel comfortable doing D2- or D3-level AOC hikes (easy to moderate difficulty).  Although we'll hike to the summits of Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Panola Mountain on the same day (Sunday, March 3rd) we'll have at least an hour of "rest and drive" time between Stone Mtn and Arabia and again between Arabia and Panola.  We'll hike as a group to each of the 3 mountain summits and descend together at a leisurely to moderate pace

A FEW DETAILS:  This will be a group endeavor and learning experience - not a race.  Each of our three summit hikes will be guided by park ranger-naturalists who are knowledgable about the unique geology and biological diversity of these three rocky "monadnocks."  At all three parks we'll have free parking and free park entrance.  Along the way participants will learn much about the mountains' fascinating similarities, differences, and human histories.  We'll take time to enjoy our (BYO) picnic lunches at Arabia Mountain and there will be abundant rest periods (+ restroom breaks, etc.) while caravaning from each park to the next.  For the 3 separate hikes combined, our total hiking distance will be only about 8 miles and the estimated total uphill elevation gain only about 1300 feet.  We expect to easily finish our final Panola Mountain "sunset hike" by 7:00 PM, so most of us will likely be home by about 8:00 PM.

WHERE & WHEN?  The order of our three "Monadnock Madness" mountains will be: first Stone Mountain, then Arabia Mtn, and finally Panola Mtn from which we are likely to witness a nice sunset!   We'll meet initially at 10:00 AM at the convenient "Education Annex" parking lot just outside the west entrance of Stone Mountain Park.  Precise directions to this free lot are now included below and also will be emailed to our AOCers who become confirmed for the event.

 After our initial hike to the Stone Mtn summit and back to the cars, we'll next caravan to Arabia Mtn (about 13 mi SE of Stone Mountain).  After a (BYO) picnic lunch there we'll hike to its summit, then caravan finally to Panola Mountain (about 6 mi S of Arabia) to complete the final "piece of the puzzle" at sunset.
 Here is the Arabia Alliance's "target timetable," which allows for our enjoyment of the nice Nature Centers and their surrounding vicinity at both Arabia and Panola between the hikes:

10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon:  Stone Mountain hike
 1:00 PM -  2:40 PM:      Arabia Mountain hike
 4:00 PM -  7:00 PM:      Panola Mountain sunset hike 

MORE EVENT DETAILS:  In addition to our AOC "subgroup" of 15 hikers, the Arabia Mountain Alliance is inviting about 15 other hikers from their own organization, etc. to participate.  Here is some of their nice promotional material for the event:

"Surreal views and a rockin’ good time are in store for the first annual “Monadnock Madness.” This event encourages amateur adventurers to reach the peaks of Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountains, and if you’re “mad” enough you can master all three monoliths in one day!
Each of these granite peaks is considered a “monadnock," a specific type of mountain that juts out of the relatively flat landscape surrounding it. The rich geological history and varied ecosystems of these areas have created some of the best places to hike near Metro Atlanta. A recent Atlanta Trails review notes, “The diverse landscape at Arabia Mountain is so beautiful – and sometimes so foreign – it’s almost surreal. This wild, rugged granite ecosystem is…a testament to the awesome landscape diversity of Georgia.” In just one day you can see vernal pools, pine forests, rivers, and even snorkelwort. You’ll have to join us to see a snorkelwort!
The rare Diamorpha plant should also be in bloom which carpets the granite with bright red flowers. Guided tours and free hikes will allow participants to get up close and personal with each unique site."

If there is any question about our having "conquered" all three mountains, we can submit photos and video clips to our Arabia Alliance hosts.  As discussed above they intend to award a nice commemorative prize to all of us who succeed.

A BIT about MONADNOCK GEOLOGY and BIOLOGY:  The thousands of acres of huge rocky domes and outcrops at Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountain are known to have originally been giant "bubbles" of upwelling molten rock deep inside the earth.  They slowly cooled and hardened to form the dome-shaped "monadnocks" and over the eons have become revealed as miles of softer layers of earth and rock above them eroded away - a process that still continues today.  Geologists estimate that Arabia Mountain first took shape about 400 million years ago.  By comparison the granite of its Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain "siblings" is believed to be relatively young - a "mere" 300 million years old.  All three mountains existed long before the dinosaurs appeared on Earth and all have an amazing diversity of rare plants and creatures that are worthy of our conservation and protection.

DIRECTIONS TO OUR INITIAL "STONE MTN EDUCATION ANNEX" MEETING PLACE from the I-285/I-85 “SPAGHETTI JUNCTION” INTERCHANGE in NE ATLANTA:

This free "Education Annex" parking lot is just 0.1 mile OUTSIDE the “West Gate" entrance of Stone Mountain Park in the Village of Stone Mountain.  (AOC Members can click on the "red Location Teardrop" at the top of this AtlantaOutdoorClub.com article for a zoomable color map of this parking lot entranceway and its surrounding area.)  Please follow these directions carefully:

1.  From "Spaghetti Junction" (the I-285/I-85 interchange in NE Atlanta) take "I-285 East" (actually southward - toward “Augusta”) about 4.7 miles.
2.  Take I-285 Exit #39B (bearing Right off I-285 in a clockwise loop).  Merge onto Stone Mountain Pkwy/US-78 E (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.
3.  Get off the Parkway toward your right at Exit #5 (onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass).  Go only about 0.6 mile and bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.
4.  At the end of the ramp turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Avenue and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light (on the north side of Stone Mtn Village).
5.  Turn Left at the traffic light onto James B. Rivers Memorial Drive (avoiding the sharper left onto “Silver Hill Rd”), go about 0.4 mile, and look for a large parking lot on your left with a sign that says “Education Annex.”  (It's across the street from the GA Forestry Commission office.)
6.  All “Monadnock Madness” hikers will gather in this Parking Lot at 10:00 AM.  We are permitted to park here for free during the Stone Mtn portion lf the event. As pedestrians we’ll also have free admission into the Park via the nearby West Gate.

FOR GPS or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS: The following "dummy" Street Address and Lat/Lon coordinates of the above Parking Lot entrance may be useful (in conjunction with the above directions) as your entered “Destination” for your vehicle’s GPS or for Google.com/maps custom directions, etc.

6820 James B. Rivers Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

33.8128,-84.1641

Our "Monadnock Madness" hikers will caravan or carpool together in our vehicles to the other two parks (at about 12:15 PM from Stone Mtn to Arabia, and at about 2:45 PM from Arabia to Panola).  Detailed written directions will be given to each driver in case any vehicles become separated from the caravan.

Free Event with Free Parking!