March 14, 2005
80% chance of rain (and other lies)
Late Saturday night we were sitting around the campfire sipping "vanilla vibe" faux instant coffee when we heard a voice from the darkness.
"Howdy. Po-leece."
I could just make out a very large male moving towards us. He was marching right into our campsite. Because this stranger walked with such purpose, and fact that this was the site where Deliverance was filmed, I was alarmed.
"What's that?"
"Po-leece. Just checkin' on y'all."
The forest is just black at this hour so we couldn't make out his uniform or the bulge of weapons around his waist. He was almost upon us before we realized he was a bonafide law enforcement officer.
He began to ask us a few friendly questions, probably to get a feel for whether we were the kind of campers he needed to keep an eye on or not. When we told him we were from Atlanta, he drawled something about "the big ol' mess down there". Now, it's quite common for someone from Rabun County refer to Atlanta in general as a "big ol' mess", but he went on to tell us about a series of shootings that we, having been in the woods for a couple days, knew nothing about. I wouldn't find out until I got home that the shooter used the MARTA station a couple blocks from my house and killed a man in the adjoining neighborhood.
So it was a good time to be in the woods. Not only did we manage to miss a big ol' mess of a shooting spree, but the weather was picture perfect, even on Saturday, when the forecast was for rain and cold. This really could not have been a better trip, unless it were just longer. I can't fully explain the restorative powers of a weekend under the stars, in the woods, by the river, but I almost feel like another person when I return. I also can't explain the study that Jane referenced, but I believe in the bonding power of camping. And a good fire just may be a more powerful social lubricant than a couple cold ones.
I also can't recommend the area around Clayton, GA enough. It's situated (as the locals say) a "mite" under 2 hours from Atlanta. In the hills East of Clayton, the Chatooga River, Warwoman Creek, Bartram Trail, and Chatooga River Trail, and Sandy Ford Bike Trail all pass within a couple miles of each other, which means in two days you can bike, hike, camp, fish and kayak, all without getting back into your car. And it's public land, so there are no fees.
On Saturday afternoon, some local teenagers showed up in pickup trucks, PBRs in hand, but they merely wrestled, pissed, and left. Otherwise, we pretty much had the area to ourselves.
So here are some images. If you look carefully, you'll see ChristinaG peeling the perfect orange and AmyS rescuing ChadN from certain death at Dick's Creek Falls.
that was amazingly refreshing, even the crawling through the woods part. and the vanilla vibe under the stars hit the spot.
there's definitely something about a fire that draws people out, draws truths/secrets out. i don't know whether it's because faces are hidden or maybe the fire hypnotizes. there's a spiritual parallel there somewhere, i just can't quite find it. i was trying to figure it out in time for worship (given the "God as fire" theme), but i couldn't.
Posted by: amy at March 15, 2005 12:10 PMmaybe it's that fire draws our attention from ourselves, freeing us from self-consciousness. worship sort of does the same thing, in that it takes our eyes off ourselves (ideally).
but also, the fact is, when you're staring at a fire, you usually don't have anything to do or anywhere to go, and it's usually after some shared experience.
Posted by: abe at March 15, 2005 04:41 PM* oh yeah. this month's national geographic adventure has atlanta as their city of the month.
Posted by: jane. at March 21, 2005 12:17 AMand what did you learn about this fine city?
Posted by: abe at March 22, 2005 11:33 AM* nature does apparently exist around what i thought was a cement city.
Posted by: jane. at March 23, 2005 11:08 PM