Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Atlanta - MARCUS WOOLF - Страница 11
ОглавлениеIntroducing the Atlanta Area
Since 2000, the population of the Atlanta metro area has skyrocketed to include more than 5 million residents. This explosive population growth and accompanying urban sprawl have obviously affected the number of natural areas where Atlanta residents can escape the congested world of concrete to walk in peaceful, green corridors. By 2008, 55 acres of land were being developed in the Atlanta area each day, according to the Georgia Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (2008–2013). To their credit, city and state officials recognized that the lack of recreation land posed a serious risk not only to the health of the environment but also to the well-being of Atlantans. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue called for the state to create its first comprehensive land-conservation plan where the state, private sector, and local governments and institutions would work to conserve natural spaces. Unfortunately, the Great Recession has impeded efforts in Georgia to preserve land, create recreation facilities, and even maintain existing recreation sites. In August 2013, the majority of state and local outdoor recreation professionals in Georgia reported that the condition of recreation facilities had stayed the same or declined since 2008. A majority also said they lacked adequate funding to conserve natural resources and support recreation for the population.
Despite these hardships, the state of Georgia and the City of Atlanta have seen some victories in their efforts to create green space for recreation. In 2008, Atlanta introduced the Beltline, a 22-mile greenway where old railroad corridors were transformed into parks and multiuse trails. In 2014, more than 1 million people walked, hiked, and biked on the Beltline trails, and the Beltline project has generated $2.4 billion in private investment in areas adjacent to the trails. While the Beltline has rehabilitated parts of the city and improved the lives of its residents, the greenway has also relieved some pressure from one of Atlanta’s most popular destinations, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (NRA).
Each year, about 3.5 million people visit the Chattahoochee River NRA’s 13 park units that include 4,500 acres along the Chattahoochee River. It includes 50 miles of trails that run through pine and hardwood forest and follow the banks of a 48-mile stretch of the river. A major destination for hikers, birders, anglers, kayakers, and folks out for a midday walk, the river corridor supports a wide range of wildlife, such as foxes and deer, and you have a good chance of seeing a great blue heron soaring over the Chattahoochee.
As the greenways near Atlanta become crowded, more hikers are venturing beyond the metro area to explore Georgia trails. There’s an abundance of forestland, parks, and other quiet woods within a 2-hour drive of Atlanta.
About 50 miles southwest of Atlanta you’ll find one of the state’s newest recreation areas, Chattahoochee Bend State Park, which opened in 2011. Covering more than 2,900 acres, it’s Georgia’s third largest state park and the first US State Park to be certified LEED, which means it’s extremely environmentally friendly. While the park’s campground can fill on peak days and weekends, the place is still relatively unknown, receiving only about 80,000 visitors a year. A real gem of the park is the last free-flowing stretch of the Chattahoochee River, which supports an unusually diverse range of plants and animals. Plus, the park offers unique recreation opportunities, such as the chance to camp on riverside platforms that are accessible only by boat.
An amazing thing about Georgia is the sheer variety of landscapes that can be explored—within a morning’s drive, there are at least a dozen state parks that boast vast lakes, wetlands, forests of wildflowers, and high peaks with inspiring views. Also within reach of Atlanta are fascinating geologic formations, such as the vast granite outcrop at Panola Mountain State Park southeast of the city. As if you are stepping back in time, you can kneel down on the rocky slab to spy tiny plants that represent the earliest stage of forest life.
While the granite slabs at Panola hold almost hidden treasures, you can find grand displays of nature in the mountains of north Georgia. Spanning nearly the entire northern portion of the state, the Chattahoochee National Forest covers 750,000 acres with lofty peaks, deep river ravines, and broad, green valleys. Within the national forest, there are wildlife management areas devoted to conserving habitat, as well as parks that preserve the state’s most impressive features, such as the 2-mile-long and thousand-foot-deep Tallulah Gorge. Of the hundreds of miles of trails in north Georgia, there’s a hike to suit every desire. You can take a brief walk through an exotic forest of rhododendrons and mountain laurels to a roaring waterfall, or shoulder a daypack for a vigorous trek to Georgia’s highest point at 4,784 feet. If you’re new to backpacking, places such as Vogel State Park provide easy access to backcountry trails that are perfect for an overnight trip. The Appalachian Trail (AT) in Georgia has several access points, allowing you to hike a section in a weekend, while experienced hikers can string together a multiday journey along the AT or hike other long trails such as the Benton MacKaye.
A jewel of the Chattahoochee National Forest lies in the northwest section of the state. With 36,977 acres of mountainous terrain, the Cohutta Wilderness is a top choice if you wish to delve more deeply into remote forest. From high ridges of hardwoods and pines, you can descend into shaded groves of great hemlocks and deep cuts where wild rivers cut through the rugged landscape.
Georgia is blessed with great tracts of land where Atlantans can enjoy respite from the things of man. But equally intriguing are the paths that trace Georgia’s human history. The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park west of Atlanta has well-maintained trails with interpretive signs explaining one of the heaviest battles pitched during the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War. A little farther west, the rolling woods of Pickett’s Mill Battlefield have been preserved almost as they were when Union and Confederate troops clashed in a rare night battle. While there are no historical plaques or markers dotting the battlefield, the undulating terrain and dense woodlands are natural monuments and reminders of how Georgia’s landscape made fighting extremely difficult. You’ll have a very different experience walking the Chickamauga Battlefield near the border with Tennessee. One of the Civil War’s deadliest battles was fought in the low fields and woodlands of Chickamauga, and the battlefield is replete with all manner of historical markers, from tablets to large, elaborate stone monuments. Documenting the action in remarkable detail, some markers note the specific hours that troops held certain plots of ground.
Crossing Ash Creek in Smithgall Woods Conservation Area (Trip 45)
Another important aspect of Georgia’s history is the effort to harness rivers to operate mills and generate power. In the early 1800s, settlers as well as Cherokee set up gristmills and sawmills along Georgia rivers and creeks. You can learn more about mill history by hiking Sweetwater Creek State Park southwest of Atlanta. Built in 1849, this mill—like so many others in Georgia—was burned by Union troops during the Civil War. In the late 1880s and early 1900s, work began to convert mills to generate power and meet the state’s growing demand for electricity. One of the more high-profile projects was construction of the Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River to feed a hydroelectric plant. And the Vickery Creek trails near Roswell explore this area where the Roswell Manufacturing Company operated one of the South’s most important plants. But the industrial revolution was not confined to the Atlanta area. Watson Mill Bridge State Park, east of Athens, has trails that lead to the ruins of a hydroelectric plant that began operating near the South Fork River in 1905.
In the grand scheme of things, this is also recent history, as people have occupied Georgia for 10,000 years. To understand the full breadth of human history in Georgia, drive south to the Ocmulgee National Monument near Macon and stroll among the remains of a village where Native Americans constructed great earth mounds. You can view a meeting room in the reconstructed earth lodge and climb to the summit of the Great Temple Mound to look over neighboring wetlands. Visitors should take time to visit Ocmulgee Monument’s excellent museum, which chronicles human habitation on the site, from the Clovis people of the most recent ice age to settlers who established a trading post in the 1600s to exchange goods with the Creek Indians.
From Native American settlements to Civil War battlefields, lush riverbanks and wild and remote wilderness, Georgia trails traverse a great variety of landscapes and environments. Atlanta residents are truly blessed to have within reach such a broad spectrum of natural places to explore. As the Atlanta population continues to boom, people are learning to value green spaces where they can enjoy peaceful moments, reflect on the past, or simply clear their minds of city noise. The word recreation implies that this is a way to re-create yourself. A hike can bring calmness and clarity to your life, improve your physical and mental health, and open your eyes to a better understanding of the world around you.
Climate
The north and central regions of Georgia experience four true seasons, with mid- to late spring and fall being the optimum times to explore the outdoors. Early spring is the wettest season, and the northern mountains see temperature highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s and 40s. Early spring in the central region brings highs in the upper 60s and lower 70s and lows in the 40s and lower 50s. In mid- and late spring, north Georgia enjoys highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, perfect for hiking and camping. During this period, temperatures in central Georgia can reach into the 80s while lows hover in the 60s.
Another prime hiking time is October, usually the driest month. In northern Georgia, fall temperatures climb to highs of 70s and 80s and drop into the 40s and 50s at night. For the central part of the state, highs in the fall range from upper 60s to upper 70s, while lows range from the low 40s to low 50s.
January tends to be the coldest month for north and central Georgia, with the mountains experiencing an average high of 49°F and an average low of 26°F. From January to March, the highs in central Georgia can range from the low 50s to the mid- and upper 60s, and sunny, winter days make for great hiking. Occasionally, a polar air mass will swing through, and the northern mountains will get hit with snowfall plus temperatures well below freezing. Still, a traveler can experience relatively mild days in winter, and the lack of foliage allows views of surrounding landscape that you simply won’t get in spring, summer, and fall.
Throughout the northern and central regions, summers in Georgia are hot and humid, with highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s. The mountains can be 8 to 10 degrees cooler than lower regions in summer, but the humidity is still a factor. You’ll find fewer travelers along the trails in July and August, when it’s nice to hike next to a river, stream, or lake where you can swim to cool down.
Georgia receives moderate to heavy precipitation, about 40 to 50 inches per year, with the amount of rainfall generally even throughout the year. Rainfall amounts are higher in the upper elevations, and the mountains in the northeast can get 75 inches of precipitation in a year. When I began working on the first edition of this book in 2007, Georgia suffered severe drought, with Atlanta receiving only 31.85 inches and Athens a mere 31.51 inches. Towns such as Helen and Hiawassee in north Georgia fared better, getting 45 to 50 inches of rain. Because stream flows were unpredictable, I had to plan my backcountry travel carefully and ensure that I had sources for drinking water. In recent years, annual rainfall totals have risen, and you will likely not have to be as careful, but you should still carry an ample water supply at all times.
A final climate consideration for outdoor travel is severe weather, especially tornadoes. In north and central Georgia, a tornado can strike anytime, but the greatest activity occurs from April to June.
Geology
The area of Georgia covered in this book includes four geologic zones: Valley and Ridge in northwest Georgia, the Blue Ridge in the northeast, Piedmont in the central area of the state, and the Fall Line separating the Piedmont from the Coastal Plain.
VALLEY AND RIDGE
As its name suggests, the Valley and Ridge area in northwest Georgia is comprised of a series of ridges and valleys that generally run from northeast to southwest. In the Paleozoic Era, this land was the bed of a shallow sea, and the landscape is comprised of limestone, sandstone, shale, and coal. Near the end of the Paleozoic Era, two tectonic plates collided, and metamorphic rock was pushed up and over sedimentary stone in northwest Georgia. This process bent the land into large folds, and a ripple effect to the northeast formed the Appalachian Mountains. Over time, erosion created what we see today—long ridges covered mostly with pine and oak forest and valleys between that serve as pastureland and farm fields.
BLUE RIDGE
The north-central and northeast regions of Georgia lie within the southern boundary of the Blue Ridge zone, which extends to Virginia. Millions of years ago, sheets of the earth’s crust were compressed, thrust upward, and stacked to form the dramatic mountains ranging from 2,000 feet to nearly 5,000 feet in elevation. Here is Georgia’s high point, Brasstown Bald, and towering peaks such as Yonah Mountain. The land in the eastern portion of Georgia’s Blue Ridge is primarily comprised of igneous and metamorphic rock, such as granite and quartzite. Geologic activity in this region also formed deposits of marble, as well as the Gold Belt, which runs from the Alabama border to Lumpkin and White counties in northeast Georgia.
PIEDMONT PLATEAU
Atlanta, Athens, and the majority of Georgia’s population lie within the Piedmont zone, which runs across the belly of the state, between the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge zones to the north and the Coastal Plain to the south. This region is mostly comprised of rolling hills, though faults in the southwestern Piedmont created Pine Mountain, which rises dramatically amid the surrounding lowlands. The rocks in the Piedmont zone are primarily igneous and metamorphic, which have weathered to form the red clay that is known so well in the state. This region also includes igneous granite, which makes up Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain near Atlanta. Important natural resources in the Piedmont include the Chattahoochee River, which follows the ancient Brevard Fault Zone that runs from Alabama to North Carolina. The Piedmont area was once a region of thriving oak and hickory forest, but the removal of timber and farming of cotton and tobacco have left the area largely covered in pines.
FALL LINE
This geologic boundary stretching from Columbus to Augusta separates Georgia’s Piedmont and Upper Coastal Plain. It is dubbed the Fall Line because, as you move inland from the Coastal Plain, this is the first place you meet river rapids and waterfalls. Here, waterways such as the Ocmulgee River in Macon drop from the upland areas of metamorphic rock and clay soil into the lower landscape of the Coastal Plain, which is made up of sedimentary rock and sandy soil. In Georgia’s early days, the Fall Line created a natural barrier for river navigation, and goods transported on rivers in the Coastal Plain had to be off-loaded at the Fall Line and transferred to other transports to be carried upstate. This exchange led to the development of cities, such as Columbus, Macon, and Augusta, on the Fall Line.
Winding among the Rocktown boulders (Trip 12)
Forests
With more than 24 million acres of forestland, Georgia has the largest area of forest of any southern state. About half of the state’s forests are primarily pine, a third of the forestland is covered with hardwoods, and the rest is a mix of pines and hardwoods.
OAK–HICKORY FOREST
The north Georgia mountains fall into the oak–hickory forest classification. Here you will find a wide variety of oaks such as white, chestnut, red, scarlet, and black. Some of the hickory species include shagbark, bitternut, and pignut. North Georgia’s mountain slopes and stream basins are also home to hemlocks, which can grow to be 100 feet tall with trunks 4 feet in diameter. You’ll see sweet birch as well in the hardwood coves of the mountains. Moist mountain areas support black cherry as well as butternut trees, which produce a fruit with a hairy yellow-green hull. Red maples grow on the slopes and in the valleys of the mountain region (and are also common in the Piedmont). One prominent tree in the region is the sourwood, with trunks that sometimes bend at great angles. Older sourwood trees have bark that resembles alligator skin with deep furrows.
Whether you’re hiking in the Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge, or Piedmont regions, you will notice a change in tree types in moist coves and along stream banks. River birch is common along streams and is identified by bark that peels off in curls. This is also the habitat for blue beech (20 to 30 feet high), as well as the much taller and often-seen American beech. This tree can be 80 feet high and has easily recognizable smooth, gray bark. Areas with moist soil in these parts of the state give life to Fraser magnolias, which have smooth, gray-brown bark and long, broad leaves that are green and glossy. In such regions, yellow poplars are common and grow to more than 100 feet in height. Yellow poplars have smooth bark that appears gray on older trees. In bottomlands and along stream banks, American sycamores can also be found.
A clear view through the hardwoods on the Miller Trek Trail, Brasstown Valley Resort (Trip 39)
PINES
A variety of pines also live throughout the state’s northern and central regions. One type, the eastern white pine, tends to thrive in valleys and coves and has needles in clusters of five ranging from 3 to 5 inches long. In the upper reaches of the state, as well as the Piedmont, shortleaf pines can grow to be 100 feet tall. The yellow-green needles of the shortleaf pine are 3 to 5 inches long and grow in clusters of three. Pitch pines live mostly on northeast Georgia’s high, dry ridges. They usually grow to about 50 feet in height, and in the early days of Georgia’s settlement they were used to produce turpentine and charcoal.
The mountains and upper Piedmont support Virginia pines, which usually only reach about 40 feet high and are shorter than other pines. Their trunks appear orange-brown and often do not grow as straight as trunks of other pine species. Throughout the Piedmont, loblolly pines, also known as southern yellow pines, are prominent. Loblolly pines have bark with deep furrows, and their needles are 6 to 9 inches long and appear in clusters of three.
PINE–HARDWOOD MIX
In the Piedmont, forests have a more even mix of pine and oak than in the upper mountains. Here, hardwoods such as black and red oak live among the various pine species, while water oak, often used for lumber, grows along streams in this region as well as the Coastal Plain.
The moist soil in the Piedmont’s lowlands supports the American elm as well. On trails in the Piedmont you’ll likely see black walnut, which can be 100 feet high and produce a dark-brown knot that grows within a yellow-green hull. Also common are sweet gums, which produce a spiked, round fruit that you’ll see scattered along the trail. Residing in most parts of Georgia is the popular dogwood, which blooms in brilliant white or pink.
Plants and Wildflowers
The trails surrounding Atlanta are rich in plant life, with thousands of species too numerous to list here, but you will encounter several plants frequently that are worthy of mention. Some of the most beautiful forest areas in the northern mountains have thick groves of rhododendrons, which bloom pink and white in late spring. Another member of the rhododendron genus, flame azalea, is easily spotted in higher elevations, with its fiery orange blooms. Along the mountain slopes you will also encounter thickets of mountain laurels whose star-shaped flowers bloom pink and white from May to June. As you hike in Georgia’s higher elevations you may encounter a strong, mucky odor; look to the sides of the trail to pick out heart-shaped galax, whose leaves turn red in winter. This plant was once harvested for holiday decorations. Other wildflower species of the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge areas include bloodroot, pink lady’s slipper, trillium, May apple, and dwarf iris.
The woodlands of north Georgia are also rich in fern species. In areas with moist soil you can find rattlesnake ferns and large beds of New York ferns. Christmas ferns, which require drainage, tend to populate the mountain slopes.
Trillium (photo: Dranrebedrali/ CC-BY-SA-3.0; commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trillium_with_the_leaves.jpg)
Cinnamon ferns grow along streams and in swampy areas throughout Georgia, including the Piedmont region. Riverside trails in the Piedmont, such as those along the Chattahoochee River, are alive with violets, trillium, bloodroot, and Solomon’s seal.
A very different kind of Piedmont plant life can be found on the granite outcrops of Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain State Park. On the exposed slabs of rock, tiny Diamorpha plants and other species grow in solution pits (small plots of shallow sand and soil). Some of these plants are nearly invisible without close inspection, and they represent the earliest stage of plant succession, whereby one plant community replaces another until the area reaches a climax, such as becoming a mature forest.
Animals
If you’ve never spooked a flock of wild turkey, you’d be surprised by the noise, as they explode from the trees like a gun blast. And if you have never watched deer grazing in an open field, you would be humbled by the peacefulness of that moment. Georgia trails provide excellent opportunities to observe birds, large mammals, reptiles, and other wildlife, whether you’re exploring remote mountain trails or shepherding a child down a nature trail.
MAMMALS
At 2 a.m. one September night in the Cohutta Wilderness, I heard a gruff snort outside my tent. With the flick of a lantern switch, I could see the head and shoulders of a black bear on the other side of the mesh. Fortunately, my early-morning visitor merely shuffled off. It was a heart-pounding moment to be sure, but also one of my favorites—nothing gets your head buzzing and heart racing like seeing a mammal in the wilderness. The forests of Georgia are the stomping grounds not only of black bears but also white-tailed deer, several species of bats, squirrels, mice, tiny shrews, raccoons, skunks, red foxes, and coyotes. I once saw an armadillo slip into a hole at the base of a tree while I was hiking a bottomland trail on Pine Mountain. And I faced the charge of an opossum while walking a path in northeast Georgia. (I took its hissing as a warning to not poach its dinner—a dead snake it had just dropped at the edge of the trail.) While an encounter with a large mammal (or short, stocky opossum) gets the adrenaline going, remember that you should view them with caution but not necessarily as a threat. In my encounters with black bears I’ve found that if I call out to warn them of my presence and stand still for a few minutes, they will simply move on.
BIRDS
The state of Georgia is home to more than 300 species of birds, and several spots are considered good birding areas, such as F. D. Roosevelt State Park southwest of Atlanta, Kennesaw Mountain slightly northwest of the city, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, and the state’s northeast mountains.
The mountains in northeast Georgia are especially interesting because this is the southern terminus for some birds typically seen in more northern areas and not found elsewhere in Georgia. Georgia birding expert Giff Beaton identifies the trail up to the summit of Brasstown Bald as a great place to look for some of Georgia’s highest-elevation breeders. “Here you might see veery and rose-breasted grosbeak, along with the more typical mountain species,” he says. “Watch and listen above for the croaking of common ravens, which have a nest near here, and always watch above for hawks as well, since broad-winged hawks nest here too.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a birding enthusiast all his life, so it’s fitting that the National Audubon Society has declared Pine Mountain (the location of F. D. Roosevelt State Park) a place of importance for birding. Beaton suspects that this high mountain range might also have northern species like scarlet tanager and ovenbird. Hardwood forests have other interesting species, such as summer tanager, wood thrush, great crested flycatcher, yellow-throated warbler, and black-and-white warbler, plus red-eyed and yellow-throated vireo.
While you’re hiking trails along the Chattahoochee River, look for migratory birds such as common yellowthroat, as well as wood ducks, great blue herons, and red-headed woodpeckers. In the Gold Branch unit you might also see swans cruising across a river inlet.
Falcons and hawks can be seen soaring over the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. And this is a prime spot to look for some 20 species of warblers.
Many hiking areas in the Piedmont region feature marshes and beaver ponds. In pretty much any pond habitat, look year-round for waterbirds, breeding wood ducks, green herons, and red-winged blackbirds. In summer you might see swallows feeding on insects over the water.
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
About 30 species of frogs call Georgia home, 12 of which inhabit the small ponds in Smithgall Woods near Cleveland. These include bellowing bullfrogs, the green “banjo” frog that makes a plucking sound, and the wood frog that sort of cackles. The American toad also inhabits Smithgall’s wetlands. As you hike along the Chattahoochee River and other waterways in the Piedmont, look for the upland chorus frog, which is between ¾ and 1⅜ inches long and has a brown or gray body. All across Georgia you can see the eastern box turtle. I have encountered them many places, from streamside trails at Pine Mountain to an elevation of 4,000 feet on the Wagon Trail leading to the state’s high point at Brasstown Bald.
Signage along the Non-Game Interpretive Trail, Moccasin Creek State Park (Trip 54)
Salamanders are another type of amphibian seen in Georgia wetlands. In northern areas, such as Moccasin Creek State Park near Clayton, look for the spotted salamander, which has a blue-black body with yellow spots and orange stripes on its back.
Dozens of reptile species live in the woodlands of north and central Georgia, including lizards, snakes, and turtles. A group of large snapping turtles inhabits the Big Pond in the Reynolds Nature Preserve south of Atlanta. They can grow to be more than a foot in length, and adult snapping turtles in the wild can weigh 10 to 30 pounds.
Georgia’s various habitats support more than 40 species of venomous and nonvenomous snakes. The venomous copperhead has a stout body colored a dull brown and wrapped with bands the shape of an hourglass. Timber rattlesnakes make their home both on rocky slopes and swampy areas and have a gray or tan body with dark bands. The venomous cottonmouth, or water moccasin, lives in the wetlands and river habitats of Georgia’s Piedmont. It has a thick body of brown, yellow, or almost black and dark bands. Cottonmouths can reach 4 feet in length and have a big, triangular head.
One of the most common species in Georgia is the nonvenomous rat snake. There are black, yellow, and gray varieties, and adults can be more than 5 feet long. (While working on this book, I encountered an impressive black rat snake some 6 feet long in the Chicopee Woods near Gainesville.) These snakes are constrictors and feed on squirrels, birds, mice, and lizards. Other common, nonvenomous species you might see are the brown snake, eastern king snake, and the black racer.
