Finally, My Promised Account of Last Weekend's Zen Hike

Last Saturday, we took the Zen hike along the Benton MacKaye Trail up and over Tooni Mountain and to the Taccoa River.

We had a good turnout (13 of us - a record for these hikes) and had to take four cars. The trail ascended the challenging Tooni Mountain (also known as "Toonowee Mountain") for a total elevation gain of 800 feet, or the equivalent of climbing Atlanta's 50-story 191 Peachtree Tower from top to bottom (plus 30 feet). Most of the elevation gain was in the first half mile.

After about a mile or so, the trail leveled off and followed the ridge top of Tooni Mountain before descending into the Taccoa valley. There the river is crossed by the longest suspension bridge (260 feet) built exclusively for hikers in the country. At the bridge, we swam and played with the two dogs that were brought along, before sitting by the river for 30 minutes of mountain zazen and then heading back by the same route.

The hike was about three miles each way, and since we crossed Tooni twice, we climbed a total of 1,600 feet, or the equivalent of Taiwan's 101-story Taipei 101 building, the tallest in the world.

We stopped in Cherry Log, Georgia on the way back for some barbeque.

It was the first time that I had hiked this section of trail since 1997, and I had forgotten how steep the hiking had been. Did the mountain get taller in the last nine years, or did my legs get older? And speaking of getting older,

Happy Birthday, Donna!