An Equinox Hiking, Sunset & Stargazing Celebration: Hidden Jewels of Stone Mountain

IN a NUTSHELL:  The 2013 Autumnal Equinox will be this Sunday September 22 at 4:44 PM EDT.  At that moment which marks this year's official beginning of fall (for the northern hemisphere) the sun lies directly on the extended plane of the equator, and the edge of its circular sunrise/sunset shadow cuts precisely across both poles.  The result is that as the earth spins on that date there's about 12 hours each of day and night at every spot on the planet regardless of how far from the equator it may be.  Similar equal day & night also happens each year on the "Vernal Equinox," about March 20th, when the earth likewise tilts neither toward nor away from the sun.

To welcome perhaps our favorite season for AOC adventures I thought it would be appropriate for a group of us to be together at the moment of the equinox and celebrate the beauty of the earth, the sun, and even the nighttime sky.  And what better place for this than our beautiful nearby Stone Mountain!
The weather is expected to be perfect for such an afternoon outing: mid-70s with virtually no chance of rain.  On this leisurely-paced "D3" Adventure  (which WILL NOT include the top of the mountain, by the way) we'll stop occasionally to observe the scenery and wildlife while hiking portions of at least TEN different trails.  For our "Grand Finale" we'll ascend to a pretty spot on the shoulder of the mountain that has a clear view of the western horizon.  There we can enjoy our picnic items together, watch the sun set, and do a little star and planet gazing before returning to our free parking lot just outside the park.
Perhaps too often we Georgians "take Stone Mountain for granite!"  It rivals almost any other natural area in the country with its spectacular rock formations, beautiful lakes, rare native plants, and abundant birds & wildlife. It has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic Civil War memorial carving is but one part.  Much of our planned route (more below) has only rarely been offered by the AOC, and we'll enjoy some interesting scenic areas not found on the Park map.  Visiting such "hidden jewels" can be fun and exciting for those who have hiked only the Park's most popular and well known marked trails.

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather at 4:00 PM in the FREE parking lot of the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center, just OUTSIDE the Park in the quaint Village of Stone Mountain (detailed directions below).  As pedestrian Park visitors we'll have FREE entrance via the 0.3-mile "PATH" spur trail, similar to NW Atlanta's "Silver Comet."

MORE DETAILS:  I expect that during our ~4-1/2 hours together we'll hike a total distance of about 8 miles with no more than perhaps 600 feet of total uphill elevation gain.  After introductions we’ll walk into the Park together as discussed above.  We'll then pick up the orange-blazed Connector Trail that will take us eastward to the green-blazed Nature Garden Trail.  While in that area we can enjoy the special labeled displays of native GA wildflowers, trees and shrubs.  We'll then take a pretty lakeside trail through the Boy Scout campground that connects to the white-blazed Cherokee Trail.  After a short walk up the shoulder of Stonewall Jackson Drive we'll explore portions of the Songbird Habitat area via its lush Meadow Trail and Woods Trail.  From there we'll hike down a lovely short unmarked creekside trail to a waterfall on the Cherokee Trail.
 After hiking a little further around the mountain we can easily branch off the Cherokee to enjoy various "hidden jewels" such as the lovely island on the far side of the Park's  Covered Bridge, the outdoor Quarry Museum, and the old Train Yard with it's quaint "movie set" buildings and artifacts.
En route back toward the cars we can find a nice overlook spot on the SW shoulder of the mountain for enjoying picnic dinner items from our daypacks and watching the sun set.  All are encouraged to bring a lightweight headlamp or flashlight so we can stay there safely until about a half hour after dark.  It's likely that we'll have good naked-eye and binocular views of Venus, Saturn, various bright fall stars & constellations, and if it's clear enough perhaps even the 2.3-million-light-years-distant Andromeda Galaxy!
Along the way we intend to avoid disturbing the flora or fauna and to leave the mountain and its surrounding terrain in even better shape than we find it by picking up and carrying out some of the bits of trash left by previous hikers.  I'll bring a few small bags along for this worthy AOC "spruce-up" effort.
By about 8:30 PM we expect to be safely back at our vehicles at the "Caboose"  - about 4-1/2 hours after our adventure begins.

FOR PHOTOS from our Nov 2010 AOC Stone Mountain Adventure Hike:  Go to Marcus Kubota's nice photo album by clicking this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=303112&id=648793487&l=00a69951aa

FOR  MORE on STONE MOUNTAIN and its TRAILS: Here are three links that might be useful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/faq/#Recreation
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/images/maps/hiking/smp_map_hiking_map.gif

DIRECTIONS TO OUR SPECIAL MEETING PLACE:
"RED CABOOSE" WELCOME CENTER OUTSIDE the PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain: (For a zoomable color online map & satellite view of our exact meeting spot and its surrounding area click on the rectangular blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

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.   At Exit #5 bear Right onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass, and go only about 0.6 mile—then bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.

4.  Turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Ave. and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light.

5.  Bear slightly rightward at the light onto Main Street and continue southward through Stone Mtn village for about 0.5 mile to the Red Caboose Welcome Center and parking lot on your Left,   (It's just beyond the traffic light at Mimosa Drive and adjoins the Police Station.)

6.  Free parking is normally available near the Caboose, and in the event that these spaces are filled there's more nearby free parking on Main Street and its adjoining side streets in Stone Mtn Village.

GPS or GOOGLE.com/Maps USERS:  To augment the above written directions to our "Caboose Lot" meetup spot, you can enter as your destination either of the following.
Lat/Lon:              33.8053,-84.1700
Street Address:   891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Free Event with Free Parking and the usual Free Park Entrance for pedestrians & cyclists!