So there are times on Saturday or Sunday when I want to do something but can not be spending money. I also know that the river will be full of people splashing, swimming, rafting and even throwing rocks in the good holes. This past Saturday I slept in and then got up and got the materials to make a sign for some good friends of ours who had a baby Friday night (congratulations Lloyd family). When I got home I was bored which happens if it is nice out side and I am in. Sarah and I were kicking around the idea of a Braves game or hiking up Stone Mountain. After a while we decided to go hike up the rock.
As we pulled up to the west gate the sky which had been dark the entire ride there finally opened up. It was a good ten minute rain storm with lots of wind and big drops. It did pass and so Sarah and I decided to go into the park. At the gate we where handed another decision should we pay ten bucks to park for the afternoon or would we get enough use out of a season pass to make up for the price($35). It was not a long chat about it and not just because we were sitting at the gate with a line forming behind us but because we only needed to come four times to have it paid for. Stone Mountain is fifteen to twenty minutes from our house with little to no traffic, and there is a lot to do there so we are now proud owners of a season pass. The adventure was not just getting there and buying the pass but a whole mess of things that were about to happen.
When we first got to the trail head there were people coming off the mountain soaked to the bone. Sarah snickered a little but I remember giving her a look that said it could be us. So we were hiking at a good clip and talking about a lot of things, it was still overcast and felt nice. We were talking and I remember looking up and seeing a pole that can not be missed because it is covered in old gum, then looking to the shy and noticed it looked darker then when we first set off. Well I was not a boy scout but I do like to come prepared and last minute threw a poncho in my pack because Sarah was bringing her good camera and that thing can NOT get wet.
As we got off a section that is the steepest we felt light rain. I stopped and put my phone and wallet in my waterproof sack, and started to get the poncho out. With the phone and wallet tucked away I put the poncho on Sarah just as the wind wipes up to its full force. It looked like we would be getting to the top of this thing little wet. There was on talking about what to do, we saw no lightning and it was not as bad as the one that we waited out at the gate. So with out saying anything we pressed on up the mountain. We crest the top of the mountain and just then the rain starts to lighten up a little. Sarah and I go from being slightly concerned because Stone Mountain is a big bald piece of granite just north of the city providing no cover on the top, to over joyed we had this grand idea. Once on the top we took shelter under a little pavilion, Sarah got the camera out snapped a couple shots, including one that shows the next leg of the adventure. The one above is what I think was the next small storm that hit us. See the light part on the right? Well the storm is the darker part on the left.
So this passing shower was much much lighter and so we set off down the hill in the rain this time. With the majority of the decent behind us and no major falls, Sarah stopped to snap a shot of steam coming off the lake that surround part of the mountain. The part that is not shown real well in the picture is how dark it was. She took the shot with a tripod and so could soak up a lot of light so much it looks like day time in the picture. Then took one of me with a flash which in this case shows how dark it was. You can also see in the shot that I did not bring anything to keep myself dry.
There is something liberating about climbing a mountain in a storm like that. It makes you feel alive and it makes you feel like you can do a lot of crazy things you probably can not really do. I was ready to tackle Everest, or swim the Atlantic. Those feeling are good to have as long as you do not take them too serious and actually try to do those things with no training or experience.
Now for the fun part. Today after a stressful day at church (yeah why is church stressful?) Sarah wanted to go for a run on the path around the mountain. I decided to tag along and see if maybe I could locate some carp in the ponds and lakes that are scattered around the park. I ended up catching a couple small sunnies and and hiking a short trail from a parking lot to a small pond. Sarah finished her run and took a couple shots of me, trying to get some small bass. Then I wanted her to get a shot of a roll cast and she did but we will work on the shot I really wanted next time we get out. All in all I am really happy we decided to buy the pass and know we will get a ton of use out of it as the fall come. Two days of fun and adventure and now some new waters to explore. I hope to get into some golden bones(carp) in the next couple weeks, and if that does not work out in that time frame to worries because it will be cooling down and trout will be the goal again.
-Bruce
