Georgia dayhiking: Vickery Creek Trail

With a limited amount of time on our hands, I went looking for a trail that was not too far from home but had some decent length to it. Enter Vickery Creek Trail. Located near the Chattahoochee River National Recreation area, this trail complex is close to Atlanta and has a series of trail paths you can combine for a length that suits you. Many trail sites list this as a 6.5 mile trail and I suppose if you hiked every bit of trail it would be that long, but we did the outer route and a few detours to end at 4.0 miles on the dot.
In summary, if you're looking for a family hike or an simple stroll, this is a great hike that won't require an extended car trip.

The map of Vickery Creek. There were maps posted throughout the trails and at every fork so you shouldn't get lost.

The dams were really cool! The first one we came across at a bridge, the second one was a minor detour to go see.

A very inviting trail.

Airplane Bento

Something about being 30,000 feet in the air makes everything better. That's why I'm saying this is my best bento ever. No matter how much I ate in the airport, I always want to buy the in-plane snacks. They look so tasty! However, I hate spending $3.00 on a pack of M&Ms or $7.00 on a cheese tray that is hardly big enough for a child. So I've started to make my own airplane snacks that include the foods that I am tempted to buy.

In this bento we have:
- 2 fun packs of peanut M&Ms
- Pretzel Crisps
- Pepperoni
- Chocolate Chip Chewy Bar
- Red Pepper Hummus
- Laughing Cow Cheese
(Plastic knife not pictured)

This bento accompanied us to while flying from ATL to SLC. 

Quick update

Hello followers! I just posted a new post and I'm sorry for the lack of posts. I was busying conquering some amazing trails in Yosemite! I can't wait to add those updates to the blog so look forward to some more posts in the upcoming weeks.

Georgia Dayhiking - Blood Mountain

My latest hiking adventure was Blood Mountain. Plenty of people have written something about this trail (this person wrote a novel or you can just read this general overview). The original goal was to hike around 8 miles the first day and then finish the downhill the next day. Unfortunately the 10% chance of rain that day turned into a 200% chance of thunderstorms. Not to mention, this trail turned out to be much more strenuous than we thought.

My husband and I have done plenty of difficult trails, but this one got the best of us. Between the elevation and the rain, we made the decision 5.5 miles in to turn back and make camp at the creek. I do not regret the choice, especially when the next round of thunder and lighting started moving in. Yet even as the skies roared, I hesitated make the decision because I would not admit defeat. What won me over was my gut.

It's been said before and I'll chime in to the chorus: the best thing you can do is follow your gut. If something does not feel right or safe, in hiking or in life in general, stop and listen to your instincts. You've gotten this far, so maybe that gut is good for more than drinking beer.

Enough talk! Onto the pictures taken before the rain, that is.