400 the life april

Time to get outdoors Explore Forsyth, surrounding areas

Appalachian Trail: A firsthand experience See floral beauty of Gibbs Gardens INSIDE: Hit the trail with homemade hiking snacks • What’s coming up in entertainment

April 2018

Editor

IN THIS ISSUE

from the

After such a long, cold winter, there’s something invigorating about a springtime stroll through nature. Everything is in bloom — or, if it isn’t, will be soon enough — and much like with the flowering plants and the vivid green of fresh growth, spring brings with it a certain restoration to our souls.

In this issue of 400-The Life, we focus on our love for the great outdoors. After being cooped up through snowstorms and icy conditions during these past several months, it will be a pleasure to take advantage of the abundance of natural beauty in Forsyth County and beyond.

In this month’s cover story, we provide you with a go-to guide for taking daytrips around the area. Visit a wealth of nearby parks brimming with recreation opportunities such as hiking, fishing, mountain biking and even spelunking.

Reporter Alexander Popp — who in 2017 hiked the full length of the Appalachian Trail — offers advice for those attempting to tackle all or some of the famed path that extends 2,200 miles between Springer Mountain, Ga., and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Who better to offer advice than our very own A.T. thru-hiking writer? He also offers pointers for eating the kinds of food that sustain one through a day-hike or more.

Finally, take a stroll through Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, where one can observe the beauty of a 40-acre Japanese Garden that is, in fact, the largest of its kind in the United States of America.

We’re hoping after reading the stories in this edition, you’ll feel encouraged to get out and enjoy all the gorgeous, natural beauty in and around our corner of North Georgia.

Frank Reddy Editor, Forsyth County News

CONTRIBUTORS STEPHANIE WOODY, Publisher FRANK REDDY, Editor TRACIE PIKE, Production Manager

On the Cover

Jessica Downing and Koby Cormier take a walk down the Big Creek Greenway with dog Mazie.

COVER: Day trips for warmer weather

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Hiking the Appalachian Trail

6

Snack for the serious hiker

10

Entertainment

13

The beauty of Gibbs Gardens

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BRADLEY WISEMAN,

Director of Video Production, Photographer

KELLY WHITMIRE, Staff Writer ALEXANDER POPP, Staff Writer NATHAN SCHUTTER, Advertising Director CONNOR KELLY, Advertising LOUANN BROWNLEE , Advertising

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Advertising rates available upon request.

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Eric Osborne and Elizabeth Lim hike Sawnee Mountain. Below, Amicalola Falls State Park, below, is a popular destination in nearby Dawson County. The park has an eight-mile trail that takes hikers to Springer Mountain, right.

Day trips abundant for Forsyth County residents

By Kelly Whitmire

Forsyth County is home to great schools, appetizing restaurants and a connected community, but even when an area is full of positives, those that live there still need to get away from the hustle and bustle from time to time.

Luckily, when it comes to nature and outdoor offerings, Forsyth County has plenty to do locally or within a short day trip.

“We’ve seen in the news a lot lately about how addictive our electronics are and social media is,” said Kim Hatcher, public affairs coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “So, getting out in the woods, turning those devices off is a way to really calm your mind, soothe yourself but also exercise that is a lot more fun than perhaps going to a gym. Then, you’re also spending quality time with your friends and your family, and you’re making memories that you’re going to remember a whole lot longer than what the latest tweet was.”

There are more than 40 state parks in Georgia, and many of them are close to Forsyth County.

“We actually have a lot within the state park system,” Hatcher said. “Not only do we have gorgeous scenery, Like Tallulah Gorge and Cloudland Canyon, but we have a variety of things to do. So, there’s hiking and fishing and mountain biking and caving.”

Hatcher said other amenities common at parks are disc golf, regular golf, swimming, boating and more.

“We’ve really worked the last few years to offer more recre-

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ational opportunities than ever before, and we’re seeing people want experiences,” she said. “People want to do fun, new things outdoors, which is why we now have standup paddleboards and archery ranges and different amenities than we did, say 10 years ago.

A popular stop in neighboring Dawson County is Amicalola Falls State Park, which is named for the scenic 700-plus foot waterfall in the park. The park has an eight-mile trail that takes hikers to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Hatcher said the falls are the tallest cascade in the southeast.

At Tallulah Gorge in State Park, located in Rabun and Habersham counties, Hatcher said peregrine falcons would likely be nesting at the park again this year.

“The falcons have been seen there. We assume they’re going to nest there. This will be the third or fourth year,” she said.

“It’s the world’s fastest animal.”

A drive to Dade County in northwest Georgia will bring visitors to Cloudland Canyon State Park.

“Cloudland Canyon has a cave where we contract with a company that takes people on caving tours,” Hatcher said. “What’s nice about them is they’re family friendly, so I think kids as young as 6 can go.”

Hatcher said there are a number of accommodations for visitors, ranging from cabins to campsites to yurts, a traditional tent from Central Asia. She said parks have differing policies on dogs and recommended people check before going.

For those not wanting to make the trip, Forsyth County residents don’t need to head out of town to enjoy nature.

Sawnee Mountain is just outside of downtown Cumming and surrounded by the 800-plus-acre Sawnee Mountain Preserve, which has 11-miles of hiking trails, playgrounds for kids and a visitor center to learn about the park and mountain.

“They can see some exhibits as well as some live animals and learn about the history of the mountain and some of the surrounding area,” said Laura Pate, marketing and community relations manager with Forsyth County’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Pate said the mountain offers natural rock climbing, which requires a permit and a new climbing wall for those new to climbing.

At the top of the mountain are the Indian Seats, which offer a scenic view from the mountain.

“The Indian Seats is one of the most popular destinations on the mountain,” Pate said. “You can get to the top of the shorter side … in about 30 minutes. It’s an easy-to-moderate hike and has switchbacks. Once you get to the top, there are rock outcrops that overlook the north Georgia mountains. On a clear day, you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s really pretty.”

She said 30,000 visitors came to the park in 2017.

Another popular local amenity is the Big Creek Greenway, which currently runs about 9.6 miles from McFarland Parkway to Kelly Mill Road. There are plans for the greenway to reach Sawnee Mountain in the future.

While Sawnee Mountain is big, Forsyth has one natural resource that is even bigger.

Lake Lanier is very popular locally and is getting attention across the country.

“Lake Lanier is one of the most popular lakes in the United States as far as the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] is concerned,” said Nicholas Baggett, natural resources manager for the lake. “It was recently determined that Lake Lanier was the most visited corps of engineers’ lake with 11.8 million visitors.”

Baggett said the corps manages 33 parks on the lake and offerings on the lake depend on where you go. The lake is also a popular camping spot.

“All the campgrounds stay busy,” he said. “I really advise people if you want to reserve a spot go online and reserve it … A lot of times people will come a day or two before a major holiday or a weekend and find the campgrounds full.”

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Photo courtesy Alexander Popp

I hiked the Appalachian Trail (and so should you)

By Alexander Popp

Before I left for the Appalachian Trail in March 2017, I imagined waking up each day to stroll down perfectly flat forested paths under a radiantly happy sun. But I quickly realized that I could not have been more wrong.

What I learned is that each day on the trail is a trial — a fight between you and each climb, a contest between you and the map, a race between you and the setting sun.

But even after all that, every day spent hiking was a gift. Every morning was a new chance to get up and explore the world.

I hiked Appalachian Trail from March 13 to Sept. 25, 2017.

Along the way I lost nearly a quarter of my body weight, grew a beard, and made wonderful friends and ended up a better person for having hiked it.

What is the Appalachian Trail?

For those who don’t know, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, commonly referred to as the A.T., is a 2,200-mile footpath that stretches from Springer Mountain in north Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Northern Maine. That’s 2,200 miles of trail which crosses through 14 states, over countless mountains, rivers and pastures in some of the last remaining wild land left in the United States.

Every year, thousands of hikers, commonly called thru-hikers, attempt to hike the entire trail in a single season. Thru-hikers travel up to 20 miles a day, from rustic backcountry campsite to campsite, sleeping each night in wooden lean-to shelters that are scattered along the trail every 5-10 miles or so, or in a tent or

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hammock. These campsites are often miles from civilization and rarely have conveniences beyond a fire pit for warmth and community and a stream for water.

So at this point you might be asking, why would anyone do such an insane thing?

On the whole, it sounds insane and intolerable, but I can tell you from personal experience and without any hesitation that every ache and pain is worth it, and hiking the trail will actually change your life for the better.

It’s not just the memories, souvenirs and friends you will make or find along the way, but the peace of mind and solitude that you will carry away with you after the white blazes end.

How to hike the trail If you are thinking seriously about attempting a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I can tell you that preparation is the key to success.

Pretty much everything is going to change during your hike, including your gear, your body, and your mental state, but there are a few things you can think about that will get you started off on the right foot.

A priority for hiking the trail is researching and buying your gear early so you have time to get used to it, and the big three gear items: footwear, backpack and shelter system, will be where you want to start.

For footwear, you’ll need to decide between boots, trail runners and hybrids of the two. With a boot, you will get more protection Continued, Page 8

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at the cost of some mobility. With a trail runner, which is basically a running shoe designed to go over rocks and rugged terrain, you will sacrifice the protection and waterproofing of a boot for the mobility and agility of a running shoe. There are also hybrids of the two, which provide some good features of both types of shoe.

No matter what you pick, I strongly suggest you go to your local outdoor store that specializes in professional hiking gear, and try on a number of different options. Keep in mind how they feel, and ask yourself, “Would I mind wearing this all day every day?�

So much of picking out your gear is personal preference, so make sure that you have enough time to figure out what your body needs before hitting the trail.

The second piece of gear to pick up is your backpack.

All of your instincts are going to tell you to buy a huge backpack so you can cram a ton of stuff in it, but your instincts are dead wrong.

You want a medium sized, light backpack that feels comfortable and has pockets or features that feel right to you. This is just like the choice in footwear, go to an outdoor store and try on a number of options for what feels right on your back. Keep in mind that cutting the base weight of your pack will normally mean cutting out features or layers of padding. I try to keep the base weight of my pack as light as possible, even if that means sacrificing a little comfort. But others might prioritize comfort over weight. Make sure you spend a few days a week leading up to your hike, walking with your backpack to get used to how it feels.

The last big priority item you need to consider is your shelter.

If you are new to camping or backpacking, this item might seem

trivial, but rest assured that a good or bad shelter can easily make or break your thru-hike.

There are a lot of options to choose from, from the tried and tested two-man backpacking tent, to hammock systems and tarp tent shelters. Each option has positives and minuses, and caters to a different skill level. For anyone unaccustomed to long backpacking trips, save yourself time and effort going back to your local outdoor store and buy a regular tent. You want a light, heavily waterproofed, backpacking tent that packs down into a reasonable size. After purchasing your tent, take it out to whatever yard space is available to you and practice setting it up and taking it down, take a nap in it and sleep overnight in it.

How to prepare for the trail The last thing you will need to prepare before tackling a thruhike of the Appalachian Trail is you.

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I don’t mean you need to prepare your body — that will happen as you hike the first month or so, I mean prepare your mind for what it takes mentally to hike the trail.

Before attempting a thru-hike it is important to find the focus of why you are making the journey. Make no mistake, as amazingly enjoyable as it will be, a thru-hike is a serious undertaking that will likely cost thousands of dollars and take up six months of your life.

So ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to that question, but the answer you decide on might be one of the things you hold onto when things get tough and the trail seems like a rough cold place.

I hit that tough place in Cornwall Bridge Connecticut at about mile 1,400. I was sick, and spent several days and nights in the wet and cold of constant rain and the end of the trail seemed farther away than it ever had.

While recovering at a relative’s house in New York, while my friends kept hiking, I was at my lowest point. I was ready to slink back home to Georgia with my tail between my legs, defeated by the trail.

But over those two days, I remembered that I was hiking the trail to prove that I was strong enough to do it and remembered how it felt hiking up the first really tall mountain, and getting into camp at night and seeing the faces of people I genuinely liked waiting for me.

When I got better, days later, the good feelings stuck with me so I kept on pushing and never looked back again The trail served as a crucible for me. It took me, an overweight 25-year-old writer full of enthusiasm, anxiety — and not a whole lot else — and transformed me into a fit, patient and calm individual.

I hiked to prove that I was stronger than my instincts, and in the process I became a stronger person.

I hiked the Appalachian Trail, and so should you.

Photos courtesy Alexander Popp

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Three variations to a classic hiker

By Alexander Popp

W

hile hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2017, I was constantly eating.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that every day, for six months, I ate two snickers bars with peanut butter and a wide variety of pastries, cakes and smoked meats.

Somehow even after all that junk, I and many others came out the other side in Northern Maine 50 pounds lighter than when I started.

The amount of weight we lost may have been different, but we all had one food in common that was eaten every day for its convenience, cheapness and deliciousness; the granola bar.

In 2017 I ate more kinds of granola and meal replacement bars than I can remember. I assumed at the time that I would be sick of them by the time I finished hiking, but I never was.

And now that the weather is starting to stray back towards a moderate temperature, it’s time to start getting back out there to the hills and mountains of north Georgia, so for this edition of 400 The Life, I chose to try out three variations of the granola bar.

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snack

Ingredients

Fillings

• 2 cups oats • 1/2 cup shredded coconut • 1/2 cup honey • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Not necessary, but adds to the taste.)

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots • 1/2 cup chopped dried peaches • 1/2 cup chopped dried apples • 1/2 cup dried cranberries • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (These can be replaced with dark or white chocolate chips.)

• 1 cup sliced almonds • 1 cup roughly chopped pecans

Photos Bradley Wiseman

See recipe, Page 12

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Method The key to this recipe is to not overthink it. Practically any combination of fruit and nuts can go into them and will turn out great. For this story I did several rounds of trial and error with several recipes from allrecipes.com and the Food Network before deciding on a balance that I liked.

1. The first thing you should do is think about what you want in your bars. I tried three different variations; Chocolate cranberry, peach pecan, and apricot almond. Keep in mind that you can make this recipe with no fillings and it will still turn out tasty.

2. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9-inch square baking dish.

You can use a different dish, but keep in mind that using a larger or smaller dish will decrease or increase the cook time.

3. Spread 2 cups of oats, coconut and nuts evenly across a baking sheet.

I chose to toss these ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl before spreading them.

4. Place the baking sheet of oats, coconut and nuts in the preheated

oven until the mix is lightly browned.

After about five to 10 minutes this mix will start getting fragrant and the shaved coconut will begin to brown, that’s your queue to transfer the mix to a large mixing bowl.

5. Next to make the binding agent of the bars, mix your honey, peanut butter, vanilla extract and salt in mediumsized pan over low heat. Cook this mix stirring frequently until the mixture is smooth. At this point you can add more peanut butter, honey, salt and vanilla to taste. If you want a creamer bar, you can also add in a small amount of butter, but in my opinion it doesn’t need it.

6. Mix in your desired toppings into

the oat, coconut, nut mix from step 4. I found that using exactly 1 cup of toppings per 9-inch pan of bars and mincing fruit toppings as small as possible can help to keep the end result a solid bar.

7. Take the hot honey peanut butter mixture from step 5 and mix it into the oats; stir thoroughly until the mixture is thoroughly coated.

8. Spread this mixture into the baking dish and pat it down with a fork until the layer is even.

9. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. This time can change depending on how crunchy or chewy you want the bars to be. Shoot for 10 minutes if you want the bars to be chewy and closer to 15 minutes if you want them to be crunchy.

10. After removing your chosen consistency oatmeal bars from the oven, let them cool completely before sectioning into bars, an hour in the refrigerator will easily do that.

11. This recipe should make between 8-10 bars, but the batch can be easily doubled and tripled if you want to make variations or stock up.

12. Enjoy!

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Music

Movies

Rampage - April 13: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson battles a giant gorilla, crocodile and wolf in an adaptation of the classic game series.

Super Troopers 2 - April 20: In a sequel to 2001’s Super Troopers, officers in Vermont find themselves in the middle of a dispute surrounding the location of the U.S.-Canadian border.

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Jonh Prine: The Tree of Forgiveness, April 13: Singersongwriter John Prine’s latest offering,Tree of Forgiveness, will be his first album of new music in 13 years.

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Gibbs Gardens displays beauty of Japanese landscape

By Pamela A. Keene

Early in his landscaping career, Jim Gibbs developed a love of Japanese gardens, so when he began planning Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground more than 30 years ago, creating a Japanese garden was at the top of his list. Today, the 40-acre Tsukiyama garden is the largest in the United States.

“Most larger world-class gardens have a Japanese garden,” said Gibbs, who founded Gibbs Landscape Company in 1969. He lived in Japan for several years touring gardens there and learning from experts about the nuances and symbolism embodied in these meditative environments. “A Japanese garden is a balance of natural and man-made beauty. By tradition, they have three main elements — water, stones and plants.”

He purchased nearly 300 acres in north Georgia in 1985 and began developing more than two-thirds of the land into 16 garden venues that opened as Gibbs Gardens in 2012.

“The plan was to give visitors different garden experiences throughout the year,” he said. “If you came here every three weeks you’d see a different garden every time. We’ve planned our bloom calendar for allseason interest from 20 million daffodils for six weeks in the early spring to the water lilies at our replica of Monet’s bridge in the fall.”

The Japanese garden is one of three featured gardens that also include the Manor House and the Waterlily Garden. “The concept features three focal-point gardens in a triangle connected by meandering pathways. People can follow their own paths and, even when we have a large number of guests here, visitors can still experience the gardens at their own pace.”

Japanese gardens by tradition are created in harmony with nature and Gibbs selected the location early on when planning the 220-acre garden destination. “In this area there was a huge spring head, so we created seven ponds with a wandering walk around islands, bridges, boulders and rocks. The natural stone bridge is called ‘Bridge to Heaven.’”

Formally called the Japanese Hill and Pond Stroll Garden, the landscape is a multi-layered sensory experience. “The sounds of water gently moving over waterfalls and between the ponds provide an audible backdrop for the other natural sounds,” he said. “Light reflects off the water and it’s here that people can stop and quietly

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meditate to take a break from the distractions of their everyday lives.”

The history of Japanese gardens goes back hundreds of centuries, and, in reality, only a few design elements have evolved. One in particular, adding lanterns, has a practical explanation.

“From 300 BC to the 1600s, Japanese gardens didn’t have lanterns, but when they became a place for tea ceremonies, lanterns were added to light the pathways.”

Gibbs’ Japanese garden includes 40 stone lanterns hand-made in Japan expressly for Gibbs’ Gardens.

Additionally, each boulder was handselected to fulfill a traditional representation within the garden.

From the cherry trees and azaleas that bloom in the spring to the numerous bonsai that grow there, treasures and surprises fill the topography, no matter the time of year. Gibbs is proud of the bonsai.

“We started planting them from the beginning and now some of them are 96 years old,” he said.

Symbols abound in the garden, including the boulders that have been strategically researched and place by hand.

“It took us five years to locate the rocks indigenous to this area that Photos courtesy Gibbs Gardens reflect the symbolism and they were carefully wrapped in burlap and brought here on flatbed trucks,” he said. “We wanted to be sure that the design elements were authentic. It is by far the most difficult and challenging garden I have ever designed.”

In addition to those in the Japanese garden, more than 3,000 Japanese maples of many varieties have been naturalized and planted throughout the woodland property. In 2018, Gibbs is installing another 1,000 grown and nurtured from seedlings on the property and tended for three years in greenhouses.

Gibbs Gardens opened on March 1. Admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors; $10 for children ages 3-17. An annual membership is $50.

To learn more about the Japanese gardens, visit www.gibbsgardens.com or call (770) 894-8303. The garden’s store offers two DVDs that provide detailed information about the Japanese garden, its creation and symbolism. The website includes an annual Bloom Calendar as well as a listing of special events, concerts and festivals.

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