Spock's excellent Stone Mountain adventure

Stone Mountain, being a geo site, caused Mr. Spock to be very excited about further exploring the mountain. So off we all went to the top of the monadnock (a hill that stands above the surrounding countryside).  There are three well-know monadnocks in the world; Stone Mountain in Georgia, Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire and Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia. Frederick and I had climber Mount Monadnock two years ago so we told Spock that he was in for a hearty climb, but he was game and we started out in a slow, but steady, pace. It's a mile up and takes about 45 minutes.

Frederick leading the way.

There were two noteworthy spots on the climb.

This section of the trail has two hand rails so you can help pull yourself up the face.

You can see the last part of the trail before the top. Pretty much straight up!

As you can see, a fair number of people took the trail with us.  It was perfect weather for the climb - about 72 degrees with a clear sky.  As usual, there are always some interesting people on the mountain. This guy I found intriguing.  I think he made the climb more than once.

No clue what advantage the breathing apparatus provides.

At the top, we had a bit of a look around, literally, before we ate our lunch.

Spock and Frederick holding on to each other - very windy at the top. Atlanta in the background.

The easier way to get to the top and the reason for the ugly poles and wires on the trail.

One artsy shot.

Yesterday's blog had pictures of the mountain taken from the boat dock in the campground.

Boat dock taken from the mountain.

Shot on the way down.

When we got back we went to the Information Center (called Confederate Hall) and learned more about the geology of the mountain from some very nice exhibits.

Speaking of Confederate, I didn't know that there were three official Confederate flags during the Civil War. At the start of the climb up the mountain, there was an exhibit and explanation of all three.

Three official flags on the right.

The Civil War still seems to be on the mind of the south.