Trail Dames Go Hiking

When I lived in Durham NC, my hiking buddies and I frequently hiked one of the two 6-mile loops at Umstead State Park, or the 3-mile loop around Lake Johnson. Walking amongst trees, with dirt and rock underfoot, feeds my soul at levels that defy verbiage.

Now that I live in Atlanta, I have yet to find places I want to go hiking. I live in the shadow of Stone Mountain, and have enjoyed the 2-mile roundtrip to the top a few times. And the local park's 1-mile paved loop is fun. But I'm wanting more.

I ran across an Atlanta hiking group on Meet Up--The Atlanta Wilderness Backpackers (http://backpackers.meetup.com/126/). They seem to be active, with frequent overnight trips. But in reading postings that indicate that they like to hike 10 miles a day, I know the group is too young or too fit for my needs. That's not to say that they wouldn't welcome my joining and offering to lead more modest trips, but I'm not ready to get that involved at this point.

While on that site though, I saw a "related link" to the Meet Up group for Trail Dames (http://www.meetup.com/traildames/), which describes itself as a "hiking club for women of a curvy nature." Now, that's more what I'm looking for! Yes, I'm getting curvier, now 12 pounds heavier than when I finished hiking in June. But that's not the primary draw. What I'm excited about is their hiking for the simple joy of hiking. All the photos show women smiling, having fun. That's what it's all about!

So, I've now joined Trail Dames, and am looking forward to an outing with them. Very fun!