A couple of times each month, I hike or bird watch -- or just relax -- in at least one of the 14 units of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. I can't imagine metro Atlanta without this magnificent green space.
When President Jimmy Carter signed the bill on Aug. 15, 1978, creating the recreation area (part of the national park system), few people probably realized how immensely important it would become for Atlantans seeking a spirit-reviving respite from the pell-mell grind of the city.
The 14 park units now stretch like oases of green wilderness along 48 miles of the Chattahoochee, from Buford Dam on Lake Lanier to the river’s confluence with Peachtree Creek in Atlanta.
Last weekend, I was in the park’s Vickery Creek unit with fellow Georgia Botanical Society members, enjoying late spring blooms along the Rhododendron Loop trail. It connects to the city of Roswell via a covered bridge spanning the creek, and it overlooks an old, picturesque mill dam.
Our leader, park ranger and naturalist Jerry Hightower, was born and reared along the Chattahoochee and has been with the park since its inception. A hike with him always is a lesson in the park’s flora and fauna, human history and geology. Not only does he tell about the biology of wild plants along the way, he also tells how Native Americans and early settlers used them to treat ailments and brew tasty teas.
For instance, he pointed out smooth sumac, a shrub whose fruit in the fall can be boiled and sipped as a lemonade-like tea. Another trail-side plant, the narrow-leaf plantain, which resembles a hosta lily, “is a great pot herb,” he said. Its leaves’ astringent properties made it useful for various skin sores, cuts, bites and inflammations. Jerry also pointed out the curly dock, which many people regard as a tenacious weed. Its leaves and seeds are edible and full of vitamins, comparable in nutrition to garden vegetables. Its seeds also were once roasted and used as a coffee substitute.
The late spring blooms we encountered included purple-flowered Venus looking-glass, white-flowered fairy wand and yellow star grass. But stealing the show were thick clusters of mountain laurel blooms and the delicate pink blossoms of piedmont rhododendron. Their beauty was breathtaking.
Then, from the covered bridge, we watched two large midland water snakes sunning on rocks amid the rushing water. Jerry told us that the snakes are non-venomous, but very agressive. “I’ve been bitten some 40 times by them,” he said.
For information on other ranger-led walks, visit www.nps.gov/chat/index.htm.
IN THE SKY: The moon will be full on Thursday night. The Cherokee peoples called this month's full moon "The Planting Moon," said David Dundee, astronomer with the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Mercury is low in the east just before sunrise. Venus is low in the west just after sunset. Mars rises out of the east before sunset and sets in the west before dawn. Jupiter is low in the east just before sunrise. Saturn rises out of the east before sunset and is visible throughout the night. It will appear near the moon tonight.
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