Hispanic Youth Trip to Bent Tree
April 12, 2008
We had a pancake breakfast for the Hispanic youth group at the church before leaving for Bent Tree for a day trip.
 | We made a brief stop at the house and then headed out for a hike up the mountain. |
We headed up Chestnut Cove Trail to get to the point where we enter the woods and go steeply up a ridge to the top of Big Stump Mountain.  |  |
 | After a distance up the road, we entered the woods and climbed steeply to a ridge which leads to the top of the mountain. |
This ridge of rocks runs like a belt around Big Stump Mountain and marks the top of the really steep part of the climb. This was a good place to stop for a group photo.
Having left the house at 2400 ft altitude, we had passed the summit of Big Stump Mountain at 3100 ft and were now proceeding up the gentler slopes of Mt. Ogtlethorp which peaks at about 3300 ft. |  |
 | We reached the summit of Mt. Ogtlethorpe and went to the overlook for a view down on Big Canoe's lake to the east of Bent Tree. |
After a brief break at the top of Ogtlethorpe we headed down the mountain.
The location of this house afforded a look down on Lake Tamarack.
We gathered the whole climbing group for a photo at this lake overlook. We could see this house from the beach when we got there.
The house just to the right of the bottom of the cell tower on the mountaintop is the house where we were standing for the group picture just above this picture. This photo was taken from the beach at 1500 ft and the house is at about 3000 ft. You can see the progression of green as the trees at the lake are leafing out while those at 3000 ft are mostly still bare.
 | The last stretch of mountainside just behind the house is very steep. They moved over the edge of the steep slope and went slipping and sliding downward toward the house. |
The steep descent was just another part of the adventure, and they took it with a sense of fun.  |  |
 | Down the steep slope to the back of the house. When you break over the top of this steep slope it seems like you are looking right down on the roof of the house.  |
 | We stopped briefly at the house, shedding our shoes since we had just been down a steep black-earth slope.  |
 | We moved down to the lake, having started at 3300 ft on Ogtlethorpe, stopping by the house at 2400 ft, and reaching 1500 ft at the beach. While lunch was being fixed at the pavilion, an active vollyball game was started on the beach. |
They were having a great time in both the futbol and the volley ball games, but eventually we got loose from them and headed over to the other side of the lake for them to see the waterfalls.  |  |
The water in the pool below the falls was too cold bor me to go in, but the Hispanic youth seemed to enjoy it. It was hard to leave to head back toward Atlanta, but we praised the Lord for a safe and enjoyable trip. |  |
| To RA April Overnight |
2008