GailHullingsCobleigh
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Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/10 12:12
For all you locals who, like us, wanted to climb St. Mtn. but were afraid to try, check out Arabia Mtn. on Klondike Rd. in Lithonia.
We hiked out of the south parking lot last Sunday and it was great. The walk is easy and you can hike 1/2 mile or 4, it's your choice. The views are fantastic and the twisted pines and old quarry relics are really interesting (I'm into rocks!). The color was pretty peaked, but maybe it's still good this weekend. Safe for kids and dogs, too.
Best thing is, that with the price of gas, us locals can get to these mtns. for just a few bucks. Google Arabia Mtn. for a map of their hiking and biking trails. We've biked there and it's a nice trail to walk too.
Also, on our side of Gwinnett, Little Mulberry Park has opened in the last year or so. The 2.2 mile trail around the lake is a good place to hike and bike, and all level if that's what you're into, and the 5 miles of horse trails are open for woodland hiking.
Enjoy a beautiful weekend -- hear we're finally getting rain next week. 
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MonaPayne
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/10 15:19
I haven't been to Arabia Mtn in 20 years or more. DeKalb County has spent a lot of money on greenspace and cleaning up the county's parks - and Arabia Mtn has been one of its largest projects. (Possibly the ONLY intelligent thing the county has done with the tax payers' money in the last few years.) I hear it's a beautiful area now.
On a lighter note - I'm just curious if the words to "Stairway to Heaven" are still painted on the rock or if they've been eradicated? Although it was indeed graffiti, it was amazing that someone took the time to do that! LOL
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GailHullingsCobleigh
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/10 19:46
No, no graffiti...you're not supposed to walk on the little lichens and stuff...graffiti is politically incorrect! There are a lot of bits of broken glass, relics of nights past. What was amazing is that someone took the time to build a meditation walk (a little spiral path) out of flat stones, all set up on their ends like little teeth. The view (south/southeast) was virtually unspoiled, despite the nearby major mall.
Leave your hat home, wear a hood. 
Gwinnett has been getting smart about greenspace for a few years now. "Waterfirst Gwinnett" (puleeeze) seems to be buying a lot of property with lakes. Pretty smart, despite their "rape & scrape" style of development these days. We have more passive parks coming.
Little Mulberry, accessed from the Fence Rd. entrance, has an awesome Beech Forest walk for the strong-kneed, stair-walking type that includes an area of numerous stone-stacked Cherokee burial sites. It's over 800 acres in all, with 2 entrances, and linked by a (vertical) paved trail.
This park is the highest point in Gwinnett, and we spent time riding horses and hiking on parts of it before it went public. Part of it is a former dairy, so there's a good bit of open land, and part of the area around the lake is a wildlife wetland refuge. All this within a mile of Hamilton Mill, a 5,000 home subdivision, which manages to stay out of the picture!
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Doug72
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/14 17:19
The path from Arabia Mtn to Panola Mtn is now open if you're interested in biking or hiking.
Also, if you feel so inclined to do the Southern Bicycle League has a ride from Tucker, once a month to Arabia and then onto Panola Mtn.
Doug72
Beware of computer programmers that carry screwdrivers.
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MonaPayne
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/15 18:10
Doug, can you tell me what day of the month the SBL does the Tucker-to-Arabia ride? My husband is very interested. He cycled all over the Northwest (Portland, Vancouver, Amboy, etc.) but had to give it up when he moved back to Georgia in 1990 for the lack of cycle-friendliness here.
He's checked out the site, but can't find info on this particular trek.
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Doug72
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/16 10:09
Not sure of the exact date
Allen Echols usually heads up the group ride
Fruitcake Ride 9:00 am ((1E)Northlake) Moderate Fruitcakes and cyclists-- How do they match up? Fruits? Nuts? Sometimes soaked in alcohol? Yeah, that works!!! Now is the time to prove to all your friends and family that you are a fruitcake. Join the Original Fruitcakes for a ride to the Monastery in Conyers.Meet at 9:00 in the O'Charley's parking lot on Northlake Parkway in Tucker. We will ride through Stone Mountain and Lithonia to Conyers to enjoy the fresh fruitcakes sold at the Monastery in Conyers, as well as tours of the grounds for those who wish to learn about the history and take in the peaceful setting. We will either eat lunch along the road at a nearby establishment on the return trip. The ride distance is approximately 36 miles each way and uses the beautiful Arabia Mountain PATH. We will ride as a group with an average speed of 12 to 14 miles per hour. For more information, contact Allen Echols @404-447-5234.No Ride if Raining!!! Please contact to determine group size. Maps will be provided. For more information, contact Allen Echols or call 404-447-5234.
doug72
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GailHullingsCobleigh
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/16 15:02
Be sure to stop in and enjoy the bonsai gardens...the Monastery is very well known as the "BonsaiMonks" and have a website where they sell pots and equipment for bonsai. They have a wonderful bonsai collection, as well as commercial bonsai for sale (resist the temptation to buy as a gift, please!) Be prepared to make a donation -- these poor old guys can use all the help they can get.
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Juliedoe
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/16 16:24
I have bonsai tree! it has a little hot wheels tire swing hangin on it.
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GailHullingsCobleigh
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/16 16:47
Well, that's certainly, um, original. Doesn't sound particularly classic Japanese, but, well, there needs to be some room for creativity, doesn't there? 
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Juliedoe
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/16 16:49
yup....it's planted in an old SPAM can. Pretty awesome I'd say. funk-shway
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Byron
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Re:Hike Arabia Mtn - 2007/11/17 12:25
Juliedoe wrote:
I have bonsai tree! it has a little hot wheels tire swing hangin on it.
That would be an excellent addition to the collection here at the High Museum of Art. Imaginative and creative! I love it. Maybe you could take a picture of it and post it on the site. 
_______________________________________________________
"He who knows patience knows peace." Chinese Proverb
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