Randy and Pam Golden were just a couple of lovers of the great outdoors, living in Woodstock and spending weekends doing what they loved - hiking.
The Goldens decided in 1996 to share their favorite hiking spots with friends and strangers on a website they created, www.georgiatrails.com. To their surprise, publisher Menasha Ridge Press then asked them to write a hiking guide.
The result was “60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Atlanta,” published in 2005. They updated the book in 2008, and the third edition, just out, adds new trails and updates.
The guide showcases the best, most beautiful, unique or interesting hikes within an hour of Atlanta, and includes some intown rambles as well, such as the 3-mile Grant Park Loop near Zoo Atlanta.
We caught up with Randy to ask him about his five favorite trails and his little book that keeps coming back with more.
Q: Did you think throwing stuff up on the Web would end up as a book?
A: No! I was figuring if ever I was going to write a book it was going to come from articles I was writing for computer magazines [He operates a website design firm).
Q: When was the first Atlanta guide?
A: In 2005. And we’ve had three editions, and the first two had second printings. Each run is 3,000 books, so we are working on 15,000 total and we’ve had a large number of Kindle sales.
Q: How many miles did you walk to get the guide done?
A: When we did the original book we kept records and it was 300 miles for the trails and some (loop trails) we hiked twice because we wanted to see which direction was best. It actually came up to 450 miles. It was a great weight-loss program.
Q: Are all the hikes day hikes?
A: Yes, the distances are just over a mile to 12 miles long.
Q: So what are your five favorites?
First would be Indian Seats Trail. That is at Sawnee Mountain [Forsyth County]. That has an unbelievable view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia.
Second would be Stone Mountain Trail, the one to the top. It’s probably one of the oldest trails in America. The Indians were hiking it 1,000 years ago. Another interesting point about it that very few people know, when you get up to the top you see little rocks with yellow paint on them….In the 1920s, “Atlanta” was painted on the rock and it has worn off. It was for people flying in case they were lost. Because they didn’t have radar back then.
Third, I personally like Kennesaw Mountain because there was a Civil War battle there, and when you get to the top of Kennesaw Mountain on a clear day you can see Atlanta, and you can see well into the Ridge and Valley region of North Georgia.
Then, I’ve always been a big fan of Sprewell Bluff [near Thomaston south of the city]. They have a trail along the Flint River. It’s a real nice trail and you can see a long-distance view along the river.
Fifth, I’m going to say the Rome Heritage trail system. It actually is along the rivers in Rome and they have developed quite a few areas along the river that give information about the river, and there is a small museum. And one thing I like about that trail is there is one point where someone has drawn the flood line for the 1947 flood in Rome on an old block of concrete [showing the height the water reached]. They had a terrible flood there in ‘47.
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