Mason Mill Park near Emory: Sunset Hike celebrating the Last Gasp of DST!

EVENT PLAN:  As you know, our extra hour of evening daylight ends this Saturday night for 2013 as we "fall back" from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard.  Please join us for this "Last Gasp of DST" easy 2-hour sunset hike in NE Atlanta near Emory.  Gorgeous fall weather is expected, in the low 70s at hike time and no cooler than the high 60s when we return to our cars at about 7:45.   
  We'll meet at 5:45 PM by the stone restroom building adjoining the kids' playground near the Mason Mill Park main entrance—see detailed directions below.  After introductions we'll hike together via the pretty trail system to Medlock Park and back, stopping often to regroup and enjoy the scenery.  Our total distance will be about 4 miles with just one or two steep spots.  Feel free to "split" early from the group if you must - it's easy to return to the parking lot.
  Sunset will be at 6:48 PM.  At dusk we should have some nice views of brilliant Venus in the west, setting soon after the sun.  Although we likely won't need them I'll bring a few small headlamps & flashlights to share during this late-twilight end of the hike.
  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he or she is leashed and under your control at all times.

ABOUT the PARKS & TRAILS:  Mason Mill Park and Medlock Park are two pretty DeKalb County parks on the opposite side of Clairmont Road from Emory University and the VA Hospital.  They conveniently connect with one another via a network of shady hiking/biking trails and boardwalks.  The mile-long South Peachtree Creek Trail links them, and like the better known Silver Comet Trail was designed and built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation."  The trail features a half-mile-long raised wooden deck through the forest canopy above the big rocky creek.  Another exciting portion of this trail takes us over the railroad track via a 3-stories-high wooden walkway and deck.  Hikers are treated here to aerial views of the restored ruins of the early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks, and the high deck is also a great spot for viewing sunsets, the moon, stars & planets and meteor showers. 
  Lots of creekside spur trails branch from the PATH trail into the surrounding forest and are fun to explore.  Another adjoining park, Ira Melton Park, can be accessed by fording the creek, and features a half-mile-long white-blazed loop trail. 

FOR a COLOR MAP of SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK TRAIL and its interconnecting DeKalb County parks (Mason Mill, Medlock and Ira Melton) click on this link:  http://pathfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/south-peachtree-creek-trail.pdf

FROM "SPAGHETTI JUNCTION" I-85 / I-285 INTERCHANGE in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the blue & green "Event Location" rectangle near the top of this article.)

1. From "Spaghetti Junction" take I-85 South toward Atlanta about 4 miles and get off at Exit #91 "Clairmont Road."

2. At the end of the exit ramp (assuming you were southbound on I-85) turn Left onto Clairmont Road (toward Decatur) and go about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (It's the next light south of the big Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection, and if you reach the huge VA Hospital you've gone a couple of blocks too far!)

3. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here.)

4. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign into the large free parking lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building near that main entrance adjoining the children's playground.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Mason Mill Park spot where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment my above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination.)
  33.8080,-84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!