It isn't often that you return from vacation in better physical shape than when you left. We spent most of our week in Canada hiking and eating trail mix all day. Didn't matter what we ordered for supper -- we'd already burned all of those calories and then some. We came back home and found that we had a little more energy than normal, and we liked it. Neither of us wants to lose that.
Since we both work for a living, hiking all day every day is not an option. But getting out on the weekends is doable, especially if we could go somewhere close to home. There just happens to be a mountain very close to us: Stone Mountain. Sure, it is basically just a huge rock, but it is nearby and has hiking trails. We could get there, hike to the top and back, and be home in less than an hour and a half. Plus, it would be a good place for us to take our bikes for some riding. So we bought ourselves an annual parking pass and went there this morning to hike.
We did the walk-up trail, and then walked the 5.5 mile loop around the base of the mountain. And it was so friggin' humid it felt like we were walking in a sauna. The loop trail may have to wait for cooler weather before we try it again. But the walk-up trail will be seeing us again very soon, early in the mornings before sunrise and heat and crowds.
