Last weekend, the entire family was feeling cooped up. Trapped in the monotony of social distancing. Don’t get me wrong, over the past months we have managed to escape to a few hiking trails and even took a back country camping trip (we assume that is about as socially distanced as you can get!)
However, as we sat down at our breakfast table to determine our next adventure, we quickly realized how few options remained. With many of our favorite trail heads closed in the Georgia section of the Appalachians, we had limited options available for a day trip. In hopes of something new, I opened my REI Trail Run Project App https://www.trailrunproject.com/, which is my first stop when I am looking to find new running trails and hiking trails across the world. (There is also an REI Hiking Project version https://www.hikingproject.com/ which shares the same database of information).
As the kid’s restless energy continued to grow, we meandered south on the app’s map, still looking for a trail that was far away from civilization. A “featured” hike popped up in the suggested list which had a waterfall, a few miles of forested trails, and cliffs. It sounded perfect, but we were surprised that we have never heard of it. Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.
As I clicked on the hike, it loaded a trail map which looked like it was Inside The Perimeter highway of Atlanta (known as ITP – if you are from the Atlanta area). I immediately thought that my uncoordinated thumb clicked the wrong trail since nothing like this is inside Atlanta City Limits. After a bit more investigation, I convinced myself that it was a real place and it really was nestled in urban Atlanta.
We made the trip into the city limits to find a small parking lot and a well-maintained trail. We began our trek and quickly came to the cascading falls. For a moment, I forgot about the drone of traffic passing over the bridge that spanned the origin of the falls. Naturally, our boys enthusiastically climbed their way up the cascade. Once we neared the top, Briley (our 9-year-old) asked me if the cars driving over the bridge knew this waterfall was under them. With the dense canopy cover and the high barrier on the side of the bridge, they likely had no idea that this natural gem was under their tires. However, his question seemed deeper to me. How many of us walk or drive by nature’s gifts completely unaware of the wonders that lay in our very own neighborhoods and towns? Clearly, I did.
After some time exploring the cascades (and our 7-year old having a meltdown), we decided to explore the rest of the trail. The forest was a wonderful reprieve from the city that laid around us. With its steep terrain, it felt nearly as remote as being in the north Georgia mountains. We only saw a few people on the single-track path. I assume most people who explore this spot decide to visit the falls and hastily return to the parking lot. However, our diligence in pursuing the remainder of the trail was not in vain. Unexpectedly, we discovered massive boulder field littering the top of a ridge. Our boys immediately began climbing and jumping from boulder to boulder. Perhaps, it was the lack of a crowds, the thrill of exploring, or being able to unabashedly burn off energy, but we spent more time here than we did at the namesake cascade.
After the couple mile hike, we returned to the car and in a unanimous fashion we all agreed that this would make our family’s favorite hikes list. It wasn’t the largest fall we have seen. It wasn’t the most remote place we have been. They weren’t even the largest boulders we have climbed. But, there was something uniquely special about finding serenity and wild within the notoriously chaotic city limits. Maybe, it was simply knowing that beautiful locations, like this, exist in places where people need them most.
If you want to explore new places and trails, start by downloading a hiking app. You might find an urban gem right around the corner. Admittedly, we are ready to get back to some of our favorite backcountry hiking spots but this experience also convinced us to do a little more urban adventuring, too. Get out and find a place to Chase your Wild.
As a side note: Admittedly, I am a trail app junkie with 3 apps on my phone for trails 1) REI Trail Run/Hiking Project 2) View Ranger 3)Trail Connect. All are good but each has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps, a review of trail apps will be coming…
Comments
We’ll written. Makes me want to do that trail and download a trail app. What’s a good one for Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indian?
Author
Hi Ray! You actually live a few steps away from the famous Buckeye Trail! 1,179 mile loop around Ohio. It is a lot of road but you can pick up some beautiful sections of trails inside East Fork State Park, which is close to you.
What a good post! I am about to download a trail app now!
Author
The REI Hiking Project is a good app to start with and see what is around. It looks like there are some fun ones not too far away from you!
David, love this – I like to explore all the trails and parks around here, city through national. I always liked to “wander around outside” by myself to unwind and refresh while growing up on my parents’ farm. I still do that when I go home, but now there are neighbors much closer and the woods are overgrown because Dad no longer has livestock. Living in the DC metro area, I can still wander for miles through wild, wooded areas – and I don’t have to pay to own the land to enjoy all that space! Really started to use public lands and trails more while living in Maryland because… daughter and I played Pokemon Go together and the trails were “nests” to get many of one type of Pokemon. 🙂
Author
It is funny how life changes our view of where and how we enjoy nature. Regardless if it is Pokemon Go , exercise or just unwinding- it feels good to know there are places to go within the city. I haven’t spent time in D.C.’s parks so Millie and I might ask for a tour of your favorite spots when we come up that way!