Len Foote Hike Inn – Day 2

Saturday morning….

I’d been awake and waiting for others to start moving around.  At the first rustle and the glow of an i-phone showing over the edge of the top bunk – I knew it was time!  I get so excited about morning and especially this morning cuz we were going to hike again!

There’s a ritual at the Inn.  Just before sunrise, they walk by all the rooms gently beating on a drum.  It’s really a nice mellow sound.  This is to let everyone know that the “show” is about to begin and if you want a front row seat, then you better get moving …

And what seats we had!!

Nothing like morning faces for early morning pictures,

and a flash doesn’t help either 🙂

Lauren and I were reminiscing about her Senior trip to Maine and the morning we were up at 4am to hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.   At 1532 feet, it’s the highest point along the N. Atlantic seaboard.

I love watching the transformation of all the beautiful mountains and…

…within minutes, the scenery changes.

Amazing….

So soul quenching….

We began to take guesses as to where the sun would first peek into this new day.

Right smack in the middle of those two mountains!

The colors were phenomenal!

The hues on the horizon changed so quickly…

The illumination spilled over into the valley….

Good morning, Dahlonega!

The experience of watching such an incredible sunrise is truly indescribable…

Watching the landscape and the ever changing shadows…

As the sunlight seeps into all the nooks and crannies….

Stretching her light to the heavens….

It was absolutely breathtaking…

 

And we were so grateful to be able to share this moment with one another.

When the sun was well on her way to her zenith, the breakfast bell rang!

Megan got creative in identifying her mug 🙂

After a breakfast of biscuits, garlic grits, scrambled eggs and sausage, we headed back to our room to get ready for the hike back to civilization.

First, we had to strip our linens and put them and our towels in the hamper on the porch.

Let me explain these canvas bags….I thought  it was a brilliant idea.

When we checked in, they handed each of us a canvas bag and inside was a set of sheets, bath towel, and washcloth.  It was great for use when we needed to go to the bathhouse and didn’t want to carry our whole back pack or fumble around trying to contain in our arms all the various items we would need to use.

And they got washed right along with the rest of the sheets and towels.

When all the housekeeping had been taken care of, it was time to get ourselves ready to head out.

Lolo had started to get a blister before our hike.

So I had gotten special band-aides for blisters.  These had a gel-like pouch on them which went over the blister.  The heat from the body helped it to form over the blister and kept it from anymore friction.

And just to be sure, we added some extra protection.

Time to hit the trail!

Another glorious day in the woods….

Even overnight, the trees seemed to have changed, a little bit brighter.

Lolo and I commented how different the trail seemed going the other way.

We talked about all the hiking we did together when the kids were small, laughing at some of our favorite memories.

Lolo and I ended up hiking together and we had the most wonderful conversations!

In the quiet and peacefulness of the woods, we shared our hearts without any disruption from people or cell phones.

It was a perfect day for hiking, the perfect place for quality time with my daughter, and the perfect moment to tell her how much I loved her…

Precious time together which happens less frequently as they grow older.

As we continued walking, I found myself slowing down to enjoy all the subtle sights…

The colors of the leaves were just too difficult to ignore!

All the creeks were filled with leaves, making the water hard to see.

Some of the leaves decided to hitch a ride 🙂

And just when I thought I could restrain myself from taking another picture….

I’d find another leaf…

And I just had to stop….

I never worried about losing my way.  The green blazes were everywhere

and so were the people who were headed up the mountain.  We met quite a few people who were going to hang out with the trees and the colored leaves.

And in way too short a time, we began to hear the voices from crowds of people and motorized vehicles.

Admittedly, we were tempted to turn around and quickly head back into the woods.

Our time on the way back out?  2.5 hours in 5 miles, slowed by a camera-happy, picture-snapping hiker.

See the shirts the girls are wearing??  You can only purchase them from the Len Foote Hike Inn!

So next time you see someone wearing a shirt from Len Foote, ask them how they enjoyed their hike!

…or where the Goodwill is where they shop 🙂

We were just a little ready for lunch by the time we reached the bottom and by the time we took off our packs, we were really hungry!  We decided to brave the crowds and head to Dahlonega to find something to eat.

Did I mention how hungry we were?

We enjoyed a quiet ride home as we chatted about our hike and the fun we had during the last two days.

Conclusion?  We’re going to do this more often.

Next hike?  The day after Thanksgiving!

Len Foote Hike Inn- Day 1

A friend had told me about the Len Foot Hike Inn and I was intrigued.  It sounded like a great hike and my girls were old enough to handle the “moderate” rating of the hike.  I made reservations at the very beginning of April since they recommended 11 months in advance.

Finally, the day arrived and we were so excited!  Lolo helped Mae Mae get her hiking hairdo on…

Everything we needed for the next two days had to be carried in our backpacks.  I’ve since made notes about what I WON’T need the next time…

Before we started on the Len Foote hike, we thought we should see the waterfalls before Saturday came.  With all the gorgeous fall colors, we knew the “peepers” would be filling the Amicalola State Park.

We walked to the bottom of the stream…

And then walked up ALL the stairs…

Till we made it to the beautiful, very tall,  falls!

It’s hard to get perspective with a camera.  See Mae Mae and our friend at the bottom of the picture?

But we did our best to capture this incredible view.

The blue of the sky, the brilliance of the trees – it looked as though Someone had plugged in the day!

After we took all the pictures we wanted, we walked back down ALL those steps and drove over to the top of the falls.

The view was spectacular!

Finally we arrived at the parking lot for the Len Foote Hike Inn.  We visited the restroom, checked our backpacks, and loaded up for the 5 mile hike to the inn.

And we stepped into the quiet solitude of the woods…

After the first mile, tired of listening to our growling stomachs, we stopped for lunch!

Food never tastes as good as it does outside in the woods 🙂

We had a visitor who joined us for lunch…

a Hover Fly.

And to prove his namesake, he hovered so I could snap this photo of him!  It’s funny how he tucks his little legs up beside him and his wings are so fast, you can’t even see them!

The trail was marked with a lime green blaze.  The Appalachian Trail was blazed with blue.

We met some wonderful new friends along the way.  These ladies were from the Atlanta area and headed to the Inn also.  One of the gals had this hike on her “bucket” list and her two friends came for moral support.

The scenery changed constantly.  We loved the “tunnel” feel of this grove of Laurel and Rhododendrons.

Don’t be fooled by that smile on R’s face.  Look at Mae Mae’s face and harken the caution seen there!

The trees’ foliage was spectacular – reminded me so much of New England as we hiked through all these colors!

Noticed this pretty little flower along the pathway.  I believe it’s a Stiff Gentian.

I love being in the woods- exploring, wondering, thinking, listening to all the sounds, watching the way the light from the sun plays among the branches and leaves…

The Sassafras tree was everywhere with it’s funny shaped leaves – the ones that look like mittens are my favorite.

The mountain side undulated up and down as we hiked along, some hills steeper than others.

When the hills were a little more of an incline than we were used to, we stopped for a little rest 🙂

And then when we all were in a really great hiking rhythm, we hiked right into the Inn!

We’d made it!  5 miles of hiking in 2.5 hours!

There was an earned feeling of accomplishment 🙂

After we checked in, we headed to our bunk house.  One set of bunks in each room – we had adjoining rooms.

The accommodations were simple, clean, and a very welcome sight!

First things first after checking out our beds, the bathroom!

Real towels and hairdryers…but the best of all???  HOT SHOWERS!!

And…composting toilets.  The girls wanted me to tell you all that the pictures can’t begin to tell how it “felt” to sit on one of these toilets.  There was a constant cool draft that flowed through the big tube of the compost toilet.

After we took care of all the important tasks, we headed to the dining hall where we were told they had snacks waiting for us.

Corn bread and Sweet Potato Soup – it was wonderful!

What I really wanted was something to drink…

These were our cups the entire time we were at the Inn.

Oh, and another thing…no garbage cans anywhere at the Inn.  What you carried in to the Inn, you carried back out – even your garbage 🙂

We explored the Inn area before the Educational Tour at 5pm.

We learned that all the buildings were built on stilts so as not to disrupt the contour of the land and cause erosion.

And the view – worth every step along that path through the woods!

We took time to chat with some of the other guests who had arrived at the Inn.

Found this hanging in one of the trees…

The educational tour told us all about the formation of the Inn and how they are striving to be eco-friendly.

This is one of their worm bins and it was FULL of Red Worms – impressive!

Before dinner, R taught us all how to play horse shoes….

Such form…

…and finesse!

I like when my girls have an opportunity for a “first.”  Now they can say they’ve “tried” to play horseshoes 🙂

We were really excited when we finally heard the dinner bell ring at 6p.

An amazing meal was set before us – of course, was it so amazing because the cook was that good or because we were famished after our hike??  Umm, yes to both!

We had Black-eyed Peas, Collard Greens, biscuits, Caesar Salad, and Pork Loin with caramelized onions.

The meal was delicious!!!

This picture isn’t very good but I had to show you.

These 2 guys are playing the banjo and guitar and doing the kitchen dance.

Wanna know why?

Remember I said the Inn was eco-friendly?

After each meal, they weigh the scraps that are left on all the plates.

If there are 0 ounces, the kitchen staff does the kitchen dance!

Guess what?  We had 0 waste at our dinner meal 🙂

After dinner, we all went outside to watch the sunset.

While we were waiting, the girls decided to take a closer look at this formidable structure.

This structure took 2 years to be placed in just the right position.

During the Summer Equinox, the sun, as it rises, hits the circle at the top …

…and illuminates this room behind the structure.

There are large rocks placed on the ground around the structure to point out the directions.

Mae Mae is standing on the rock facing East…

…and Lolo is showing us the way to the Northeast!

Afterwards, we decided to check out the Community Room.

And a rousing game of Yahtzee broke out!  NOT!  We were all feeling the effects of hiking all day and we were ready for a hot shower….

And comfy beds!

Sleep well, my beautiful girls, for tomorrow we do the same!