21 February 2014 Strouds Run and Baker Preserve

We spotted a blue bird at one of our first caches. Can spring be far away? Athens is covered in puzzle caches with parks loaded with higher terrain hides. We started the morning finding a few of the many, many puzzles Ali had solved before our trip.

Thus strange water spout seemed to be a part of the dam and control system for the reservoir at Strouds Run. I've never seen something like this before. The water would go from flow looking like a large artesian well to spouting like a geyser.

The water was a mix of thin ice with open water along the shore. With a lot of blue sky thrown in, it made for a very pleasant first walk at Strouds Run.

We left the water line and headed uphill for a rock find overlooking the reservoir. Besides a well hidden cachem we were both happy to spot many rattlesnake plantains which showed evidence of many spikes from prior year blossoms.

I think I am the only person to see the profile of a face in this rock.

We passed a number of small waterfalls on our journey. They were all either iced in or kust beginning to thaw. In the warm day, this one was mostly thawed and had a fair amount of flow.

The day was filled with miles on the trail, lots of uphill, and blue sky everywhere.

We were nearing the end of our day when we cam upon this stream. Normally this is probably tame with little water. With the spring thaw in full force, today's crossing meant very wet feet.

We were down to our second last cache of the day and signing the log when we both spotted this nice oak tree highlighted in the afternoon sun.

Athens is a town that is driven by the university. On Fridays and Saturdays, alcohol rules the downtown. It's hard to navigate the town with bar-hopping students, but it is a college town which means there are bound to be some very good restaurants supporting the faculty. Ali located Lui Lui in a quiet side street near downtown. Their excellant Thai cuisine and quiet atmosphere made the location a perfect place to relax after a day of hiking and caching.

The best news of the day was I survived the hiking. If felt great to be back and ready to hike again. Until the next time...