Friday, July 24, 2015

Hiking Georgia With Dogs: Pine Log Creek Trail

Rocco pauses on the trail for a quick pic!
Last weekend Rocco and I  headed up north of Atlanta for some agility practice with our pals Johann, Gracie, Rach and their mum Leslie. Afterward we found this nifty little hiking trail not too far from the Canine Ranch agility field. 




The Pine Log Creek Trail System is located about an hour north of Atlanta in Bartow County near Waleska, Ga.  This hike is a little closer to Atlanta than the hikes we've been doing in the North Georgia mountains, and it was a good choice for it's convenient location near the agility field.


Just beyond the entrance to the hiking trails we happened upon this historical marker at the site where the Cherokee Indians settled prior to 1775. You can read about Pine Log Town's history here.

Back to the hiking trail, we headed out on the West Loop Trail which covers 2.58 miles, including a 400 foot climb over .7 miles. 


The beginning of the trail was a bit wider than the rest of the trail and the dogs were enjoying walking side-by-side. We were all on the move so it's kind of blurry!


This really cool bridge took us across the creek at the start of the trail. 


There were plenty of logs to jump over and to balance on... 


Making it extra fun for Rocco!


At the top of the climb, there was a bit of a view. I imagine you can see more in the winter.

Gall on tree bark

On the way back down we saw this tree with an interesting bark formation. After doing a little research I found this is known as a gall, which can be caused by bacteria, fungi, insects, environmental stress or genetic predisposition.


During one of our many water stops, we also stopped for a photo of all four pups -- Johann, Gracie, Rach and Rocco!

It was super hot that day, and even though it was heavily shaded we were careful to stop often for plenty of hydration for both the humans and the dogs.

The rest of the trail system includes a 1.54-mile East Loop trail while leads to a .03 mile Quarry Trail. We opted not to do the rest of the trails on this day because of the heat. And, we had already run agility early in the morning... so all of us were ready to head back home!


There wasn't a lot of running water on this hike, but this was one nice spot near the end of the trail. 

Before we headed back, we also took a good look for ticks. This was the first time I spotted one on Rocco this season, but we were able to remove all ticks before they attached.

Have you spotted any ticks on your pups this season?
We'd love to hear what kind of remedies you use. Let us know in the comments below!


The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With LoveSlimDoggy and My GBGV Life to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!). Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.



50 comments:

  1. This looks like such a fun hike!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fun hike with all your friends! I bet you love doing some "agility for fun" using things in the woods!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! Rocco was bounding over branches when he wasn't balancing on them!

      Delete
  3. No ticks so far this year...maybe because it's so dry. Looks like a fun hike and four happy pups!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We haven't found any ticks this year! Glad you got them off Rocco easily. This looks like a great hike. Now that my brother's in Atlanta, I'm hoping Barley and I can visit and enjoy some of the awesome trails in y'all's area!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I hope you let us know when you visit! We can find a place to hike together. What part of Atlanta is he in?

      Delete
    2. I'm terrible with directions/geography--I think he's in Midtown, but I wouldn't swear to that :) I'll definitely let you know when we'll be in the area!

      Delete
  5. I'm so jealous Rocco that looks like such a fun time. I probably wouldn't have been able to handle the heat though! Can't wait to see you in a few weeks. Love Dolly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rocco handles the heat pretty well. I think it helps that he's not dark and his coat (and Cuban heritage) seems to protect him from the heat and sun.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Very green! In fact, lots of my pics have a green cast, I noticed. I guess it's the lighting with all the greenery.

      Delete
  7. That looks like a great hike and the scenery is beautiful. I recently read about gall growing on a tree because this particular growth looked like a human face. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. eeeew! I started looking online for gall (actually I googled big bark thing on a tree trunk... had no idea!) and found some pretty amazing looking growths too! I found girdling and burl first and went from there!

      Delete
  8. That looks like a beautiful place to hike, and the 4 pups all look so happy! We have way too many ticks around here and we haven't really come up with a good solution yet other than daily checks and a good pair of tweezers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These were the first ticks we've seen this season. Daily checks are a good idea!

      Delete
  9. What a gorgeous group! A d that photo of Rocco on the bridge--adorable! I have not spotted any ticks on the dogs in a very long time. We use Seresto collars when we hike. We will be using them on our upcoming hiking trip to TN. But I still go over the dogs prior to letting them back in the vehicle or house, just in case.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mr. N wears a Seresto collar. I've found one tick on him so far this season. I also found one on the steering wheel and I almost shrieked while driving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear! Those ticks are nasty and show up in the oddest places!

      Delete
  11. Looks like a great time was had by all. And yes, we've had a couple of ticks this year, which is really unusual for us here on the plains.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did have a great time! Good to hear ticks are unusual for you, at least.

      Delete
  12. Thankfully, I haven't spotted any ticks on our pups so far this season (knock on wood), but found one on MY left ring finger when pulling back into the garage after an early morning walk at a small park not too far away from us. I couldn't believe my eyes!! That nasty sucker was about to dig in, too. Needless to say, I prevented him from doing that.

    I found several crawling ticks on one of my client's pups, Aussie Benny. He lives in a woody area that's surrounded by pine trees and therefore pine needles, which obviously make great hangout spots for ticks. Yuck. Consequently, his owners just recently treated their yard for ticks and I haven't found any more on him since then (paws crossed).

    Your hike looks wonderful! Even though there wasn't a lot of running water in the creek, it must still have been enough to cool the pups off. Wet paws are great for cooling pups off in the heat :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One tick landed on me but I saw it immediately and got it off! Those ticks sure are bold! Luckily I haven't seen them around our house.

      Delete
  13. what a great place, so much fun and exercise and some really cool photos

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for your informative content. It's extremely useful to students for further research and assistance. However, there is an academic assignment help provider that goes by the name TutorVersal, who has been offering various assignment writing services like Essay Help services, report writing services, case study services et cetera. The company has delivered thousands of assignments in which students scored high-distinction grades. They have never let any student down and in addition, offers various essay writing help services in subjects like management, nursing, law, engineering, and more. They constantly strive to provide the best academic solutions at the cheapest price as they know how difficult it is for a student to manage such expenses. Thus, any students who feel helpless in their academic assignments can avail prime assignments services at Tutorversal.com.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey, great article you have there. I am sure that the students looking for assignment helpand ways to write their assignment got to learn a lot of things that were not clear before. The students who need guidance on how to write an assignment, I am also an academic expert who provide online assignment help to the university going students in their academic tasks at My Assignment Services. We are a team of professional experts who are all either a Master’s degree holder or a PhD scholar. For years, we have aided students who are busy in their part time jobs or cannot take out sufficient time for assignment writing. Their can you do my assignment questions are successfully addressed at My Assignment Services.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for sharing this information. I have shared this link with other keep posting such information to provide best in class law assignment help online at very affordable prices.
    Assignment Help
    Assignment Helper
    Essay writing
    Essay writing service
    Dissertation help
    Thesis writing help
    Write My Essay
    Computer Science Assignment Help
    Assignment Help South Africa
    Assignment Writing Service

    ReplyDelete
  17. This blog is so informative. After reading this blog, I have actually come to know why students come up with queries such as “do my assignment for me” and more. It is all because they not only have shortage of time in their lives, but also because they lack some or other writing skills that are needed in solving such assignments.

    So, whenever I decide to pay someone to do assignment, I always rely upon My Assignment Services. This is because when you pay to do assignment, this firm always lives up to your expectations. They not only offer an extensive range of academic consultation services, but also offer you with a wide range of value-added services such as the live one-on-one session with the experts, free copy of the Turnitin report, free editing and proofreading services and many more.

    So, I always take my “do my assignment for me” queries to this firm.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for sharing this information. I have shared this link with others to keep posting such information to provide the best in class assignment help online at very affordable prices.
    Assignment help Website Review

    ReplyDelete
  19. Many people are depressed about the problems of essay writing. Well, don’t worry about that because we are providing this service at a very reasonable price.
    Online Resume Builder
    Free Online Resume
    Resume Uncle

    ReplyDelete
  20. I found this one pretty fascinating, and you should go into my collection also. We provide Assignment help services all over the world. I am impressed with your article. We appreciate that please keep writing more content.
    Online Academic Writing Jobs
    Freelance Writing Jobs Online

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for sharing this information. I have shared this link with others to keep posting such information to provide the best in class assignment help online at very affordable prices.

    Content Writing Services
    SEO Content Writing Services
    Website Content Writing Services
    Hire Article Writer

    ReplyDelete
  22. I loved this article, keep updating interesting articles. I will be a regular reader. I am offering assignment help to students over the globe at a low price.
    Matlab Assignment Help

    ReplyDelete
  23. I found this one pretty fascinating, and you should go into my collection also. We provide Assignment help services all over the world. I am impressed with your article. We appreciate that please keep writing more content.
    Essay Help
    Best Essay Writing Help
    College Essay Writing Help
    Cheap Essay Writing Service
    Essay Outline Writing
    MBA Essay Writing Service
    How To Write an Essay

    ReplyDelete

  24. Thanks for sharing this information. I have shared this link with others to keep posting such information to provide the best in class assignment help online at very affordable prices.
    Tableau Software Help
    Statistics Assignment Help
    Programming Assignment Help
    Programming Homework Help
    Programming Help

    ReplyDelete
  25. I found this one pretty fascinating, and you should go into my collection also. We provide Assignment help services all over the world. I am impressed with your article. We appreciate that please keep writing more content.
    essay writing help
    Essay writing help
    Math Homework Help
    Chemistry Homework Help
    English Homework Help
    perdisco assignment help
    myob assignment help
    Jamovi Homework Help

    ReplyDelete
  26. Assignment Firm USA team provides assignment help to college and university students on time. Our experts provide 100% plagiarism free content for students.

    ReplyDelete