Blogs from Dahlonega, Georgia, United States, North America

Our shuttle arrived about 12:30 for the run down to Springer Mtn. The ride down was scenic and restful with someone else driving. Stopped in Blairsville, Ga for a late lunch/early supper. Then it was off to the trail. We headed up the trail .9mi to reach the Summit of Springer and the official start North, this was 6:45PM. We made that distance in 30 minutes and CC looked to the sky then at me. "The sun is still fairly high, let's quit wasting time and walk." Off we went. We hiked until 8PM covering 2.5 miles ending up at the Stover Creek Shelter. There was no need for cooking, so the tent went up and we did a bit of socializing. "Phexen" a young man had his tent near ours and he came out ... read more

Posted By: Onaxthiel: And now, a day to cover three states. Leaving Raleigh from A's place was easy enough, being a Sunday morning on highways. We made one more stop off at E's place in Fayetteville to see if he wanted to go shooting, but he had a sizable hangover and wasn't up for loud banging sounds. After a brief stop, we moved on to the long, indirect route down towards Dahlonega, Georgia. There really isn't much to tell about the drive to the mountains. I got pulled over and ticketed by a Georgia State Trooper. I was smiling and polite the entire time, since I was in a pretty good mood up until the light appeared in the rear view, and still got ticketed. Next time I will have to try belligerence. The next day ... read more

For Memorial Day weekend, we packed up ourselves, our pooches, and our gear and headed north to a 'women only' campground near Dahlonega, GA called Swiftwaters Womanspace. The owners of this private creek-side property have operated a very cool camping experience for women since 1979. Sadly, we were not very good about taking pictures, but I managed to grab a few of Shay and Emma G. The weather was nice. Low 90's and pretty humid, with a few episodes of thunder and lightening in the distance. We endured one brief shower, but didn't even need to put the rainfly on the tent. The creek was nice and cold and just deep enough to wade in and cool off or take a float on an innertube. As we drove back home late this morning, I decided that ... read more

This is my first entry for Africa '05. It's nearly dark and the weather is perfect. Dad is flipping the channels in the rugged living room and mom is in the bedroom mulling over Africa. Chris and his roommate, Joe, are in the garage trying to cajole Sunshine the cat into taking food from their hands. I, as I have been for what seems months, am on the verge of shattering my nerves. Nearly every moment of mine and mom’s day is involved in some way with Africa. The realization that (God willing) in less than 24 hours we’ll be on a plane heading for London, then Nairobi and finally Lilongwe, Africa is enough to make my feet tap the floor, my hands shake with nerves and my eyes to roll blindly around the room. Africa ... read more