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A cold morning as the hikers gathered at Fox Den Cove Parking Lot. Danny Rock led a 6.4 mile hike to the Country Store.

One unusual sight was the completely dry set of old hatchery ponds between mile 2 and 3.

Some years our PMTA moonlight night hike has been more of a drizzle or fog hike and absolutely no moon.

All week before the night hike I saw on the weather reports a clear moon up early, just cool enough night in store.

That is exactly what we got too. The full moon was really due about Tuesday after the hike, but it was bright and full enough on Saturday.

Before the hike, a group of us met at the FDR Park Office picnic area and ate a picnic supper about 6 p.m. Thanks to Jo Myers for the great dessert bars and hot cocoa too.

By 7:10 we were heading on down toward the Country Store parking lot where we were met by hike leader Bill Krysak. Bill was busy making sure all the hikers got their names on his roster before 7:30 .

Bill gave the pre-hike welcome and safety talk then we headed on out with 54 hikers! With several PMTA board members along, we ended up splitting up the hikers into about 3 groups (who of course hiked at different paces.)

We had given most of the younger hikers “light sticks” and they were quite colorful walking along in front of me. With such a bright moon we hardly had to use our flashlights on most of the hike.

We had several hiking on the PMT for the first time like our friends from Calvary Baptist Church ..Anita & Danitza Steele (with Bryan Padilla), Amelia Wiggins, and the Embolas’ (Jon, Arlene with Isabelle, Corine, Miriam & Josephine…who by the way “hitched” a ride on my shoulders for the last 1 ¾ miles.) We had some hikers we had not seen in a while like Michael Evans (who is really growing up.) Michael has been hiking with us since he was a little guy. Mom Beth and Dad Mike Newton were along too for the first hike in a while. Eddie Hall (my younger brother) has dropped a bunch of pounds and thus enjoyed hiking with us for the first time in a long while. We were also glad to see Chris Largent, Sopee Webb, Gene & Christy Wells, Mark Hughes, Richard Daniels, Ricky-Ben & Rick Hood, Judy & Connie Satterfield and Danny Rock back on our hikes. Other hikers included me (Jim Hall) Helen & Jonathan Hall, Jo Myers, Sara Bearden, Vincent Moore, Noah O’shea, Ray Stewart, Jim & Debi Rodgers, Paula Cochran, Dan- Mary & Victoria Parnell, Kyle & Janet Sussenback, Ken-Randi & Taylor Kendricks, Jim Netzel, Harvey Hendricks, Milli & David James and Carl Carlson with grandchildren Jannah Carlson, Conner Carlson & Haley Smulski.

The last of us hikers did not come off the trail till about 10 p.m. , but that was ok. We had stopped several times to rest, snack, listen to wind in the trees and most of all to just gaze up at that beautiful moon lit star filled sky. What a wonderful night hike we had.

If you didn’t make the hike, to say “you missed it” is the understatement of the year for hikes on the PMT.

Finished up on Sunday at Rocky Point, after a visit to the Sparks Creek Campsite to extinguish an abandoned campfire.

Seventeen hikers gathered at Mollyhugger Hill Parking Lot to hike the PMT,
Sawtooth, and Pool trails to the Trading Post. The sun managed to weave in
and out among the clouds which made for reasonable August temperatures
throughout the hike.

Saturday, May 14

This beautiful day brought out 27 hikers, including several youngsters, who enjoyed the hike, even if they were a little tired by the end. Joining hike leader Curtis Lynch were Lynne Lynch, Carl Carlson, Gary Hughes, Austin Poff, Jonathan Parnal, Neil Tirado, the Kirkes (Logan, Heath, Danny and Ellen), Jeff and Mitch Moreland, Scott and Brad Benton, Chris and Christopher Caldwell, the Knights (Alex, Pam and Hailey), Bentlie and Shonna Cox, Jerry Brown, Jon and Katie Nance, and Edie Castro. (and one hiker who caught up with us after we had started!)

photos by Jerry Brown

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(April's hike was cancelled due to inclement weather.)

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Saturday March 19

Our cool clear day of March 19 was just great hiking weather around 10 am. Hike leaders John & Margaret Page (along with Jumper) greeted hikers at the Gardens Country Store Parking Lot. After the shuttle runs to place a few vehicles, John did the pre-hike briefing and then we were off.

With 30 hikers of all ages, we had quite a line along the trail. John & Margaret, Carl Carlson, Jim & Jonathan Hall, Jo Myers, Mike Mongeon, E. Jane Reddy, Jim Andressa, Polly Flannigan (Griffin), John Kamisky, Melody Brown, Virginia Basl, Jennifer Blose along with Rodney and 4 kids, Sanders Moore, Bill Moore (Atlanta), Tony & Taylor Tempesia, Don Wallace, Darryl Horne, Hillary Harolson, Jerry Brown, Barbara Begg (LaGrange), Carol Cox and Gary Hughes (Atlanta & Pine Mountain) were our hikers.

As always, there was lots of fun conversation and fun poked at folks along the way. We were so proud of hike leader John Page for remembering everything this year (inside joke and ask him about the hike two years ago). We missed having Odie trailing Carl (Odie is not up to walking like she used to). I was all ready for some more "Jo Myers secret recipe muffins" but I guess we only get those on workdays! It was especially good to meet some new folks like Bill and Tony and Melody.

The young folks Jennifer brought had a good time, but we gave them some encouragement along the way to keep up the pace with us "older folks".

The highlights of the hike? Well, at a rest stop near the CCC hatchery ponds we saw a lot of fish and frog eggs near the dam, some of the long leaf pines were getting their "white candles", and most surprisingly, Broken Tree Campsite looks really ok. So later that afternoon, it is now officially reopened for campers.

Did our hike seem like 6.2 miles? Not at all. It was over before we knew it. The trees along the way were just beginning to bud out. The blackberry vines are somewhat green and in a couple weeks the mountain will be busting out with all new greenery. Join the PMTA for the next hike and see the changes.

Thanks once again to our hike leaders and Jerry Brown for the great photos as always.

February 12, 2005

A great group turned out for the February hike of the Dowdell Knob Loop. The
sunshine was bright and the company was great as the hikers enjoyed the Pine
Mountain Trail while they hiked around Dowdell Knob, and along Brown Dog
Bluff. The group headed West as they hiked beside Bethel Creek on the Boot
Top Trail and then headed South on the PMT past Castle Rock on their return
to Dowdell Knob. In route, the hikers helped to clear obstacles created by
the late January ice storm.

January 17, 2005 -- MLK Day Hike

Cold air made for a clear day as 11 hardy hikers covered the 7 miles, and
several hills, between Mollyhugger Hill Parking Lot and Rocky Point Parking
Lot. Five of the hikers enjoyed their first PMTA hike as they hiked along
with several PMTA regulars. The group hiked at a brisk pace, covering the
distance in just under 3 hours. Great company and good conversation made the
hike seem even shorter.