Cochran Shoals – CRNRA | 52 Hike Challenge – Hike 1

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  Oh hey!
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  Views along the trail
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  Snake!
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  Chattahoochee River
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  CRNRA
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  Chattahoochee River
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  A condo-sized rock...
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  A couple ducks enjoying the marsh
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  Chattahoochee River
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  Drainage to the 'Hooch
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  A couple ducks enjoying the marsh
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  Geese on the Chattahoochee

A New Challenge…

Back on the 52 Hike Challenge bandwagon! Today marked Hike #1 of my 2017 52 Hike Challenge, and I’m embarking on the Explorer Series this year! Today’s hike was a great way to start. I headed out to Cochran Shoals in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Since there are a ton of trails out here, this location may come in handy when I’m trying to add new trails throughout the year.

The Trail…

Since the Cochran Shoals area was to me, I stayed on the large, main hike/bike trail to get a feel for this park. It was pretty busy for my taste, even on a weekday afternoon, so I’ll definitely be checking out some of the more off the beaten path hiker only trails next time I’m in the area.

However, one perk to being on a busy trail is the interactions you might have, like I did today. A man on his bike passed me along the trail, then stopped shortly after at a culvert. As I approached, he asked if I had seen the snake. Uh, what? I certainly had not seen a snake, so he pointed it out. It took me an embarrassingly long time to find it, and I almost gave up. Consequently, my new biker friend had to get off of his bike to help me.

I finally found the silly thing and it was such a neat experience! I’ve rarely seen snakes in the wild, and I think they are such interesting creatures. Apparently this culvert is the main snake hangout in this area. My new trail friend informed me that sometimes in the summer there will be a dozen or so in this area. He also mentioned he’s careful who he tells about the snakes because so many people’s first instinct is to kill the snake! I was shocked and can honestly say that thought didn’t even cross my mind. That snake isn’t bothering anything – I couldn’t even see it – WHY would I KILL it?! Anyway, I’m pretty sure my Osprey backpack and hiking boots gave me away as “safe”, since most people on this trail were recreational walkers/runners with nothing on them but car keys and a cell phone.

We ended up chatting for almost half an hour before parting ways, and it was such an enjoyable experience. Glad it happened in order to not totally turn me off to hiking around other people.

Other Wildlife Encounters…

After this lovely chat, I stopped along the river to watch the water fall over the shoals for a bit and check out the geese whose chattering was impossible to miss.

At last I found myself alone on the trail, which was for only about two minutes. As a bonus to this alone time I had a pretty up close encounter with a couple duck pairs. Unfortunately a noisy group of runners quickly approached, scaring the ducks back into the marshy brush, but I was happy for the few moments I had alone with nature.

A 75 degree January day was not a terrible way to start this year’s challenge (much as I really wish I was hiking in snow!). My 2016 challenge was a huge accomplishment and truly life altering, and I’m excited to see what 2017 has in store.

Will you be joining me this year? Subscribe and leave me a comment below about your hiking goals for this year!