Georgia Wilderness Society
Providence Canyon
Providence Canyon Overnighter 2021
Trip Leaders: Margaret Clay/Shirley Williams
Dates: May 11th-12th
We finally got a Providence Canyon one-night backpacking trip scheduled after trying for three years. I think the other times that we scheduled the trip it was canceled due to Hurricanes and COVID. We kind of thought we might have thunderstorms cancelling it this time, but it didn't happened. Jessica Gardner, Jo Scott, Margaret Clay, Shirley Williams and Ben Thompson were the members that were willing to brave whatever elements Mother Nature dealt us. Jessica, Margaret and I left Macon around 1000 am, headed to Lumpkin, Ga, to meet up with Jo and Ben around 1230. Weather was looking a little iffy. We planned on at least doing a day hike, if not the overnighter; that way we could say we finally did the trip. We got to Providence Canyon, checked in and hiked about two miles to our reserved campsite, number 5. No rain so far. On the way some of us saw a small gray rat snake. Other than a few frogs, squirrels and birds, that was all the wildlife we saw. Lots of birds singing, trees were full and everything was green. We had a little water in the stream along the canyon floor to walk in or over and one good hill to climb. Once we got to the campsite, we all rested and set up camp. All but Ben decided to day hike to see if we could get a look at the canyon. We hiked about an hour, found one lookout point, but there wasn't much of a view. Tomorrow we would go to Canyon Loop and see it better. We headed back to the campsite. Once there we sat around talking, telling our COVID stories, and our past adventures. It sure felt great to be with some of our GWS family. Hopefully we will not have any more disruptions like last year. Thunderstorms were in the forecast for the night. It started to rain after we had our supper, so it was an early night in our tents around 730. There was rain and a few rumbles of thunder, but not like the forecast said there would be……no thunder and lightning. I woke up and was out of my tent around 600 am for my morning coffee and to greet the morning. It wasn't long before everyone was up having something to eat and packing. Rain again was forecast around 1000. We headed out around 830 for the two mile trip out. When it started to rain around 945, we were about 1/4 mile from the Visitors Center. It really started pouring once we got there. We loaded up and drove to the Canyon Loop and were able to see the canyon alot better. We talked about maybe doing a day hike in the fall or winter when the foliage wasn't so dense or was gone. Good trip, glad we finally made it. Hopefully we'll have many more this year. Glad everyone came. Until next time, hike your own hike, paddle your own boat, pedal your own bike and enjoy each adventure and everyone in it.
Shirley Williams
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Providence Canyon
2022
Providence Canyon State Park was quiet and peaceful on Monday and Tuesday, March 7 & 8. The Park is slammed with crowds on weekends, according to the Visitors’ Center staff, when they are busy from opening to closing. Only a few people and a couple of dogs were out enjoying the pleasant weather as we hiked the red canyon trail from our pioneer campsite to the beautifully colored canyons. The view is much more impressive from the canyon floor. The layers of colors consist of Georgia red clay, iron, manganese and kaolin. The rare plum leaf azalea was not yet blooming, but we did see trillium, yellow jessamine, ginger, violet and buckeye.
We ate lunch in the breezeway, then headed back down to the red trail and toward our campsite. With the canyons being 150 feet deep, the red trail is at the water table or below and always has water flowing in stretches of it. Hikers who didn’t want to step in the very shallow water have made a trail part way along the bank.
The afternoon was spent at the campsite reading and napping. Rain came and went throughout the latter part of the afternoon and early evening. We ate supper at the picnic tables under a shelter. At dark thirty, we called it a day. An interesting setup at the campsite was the small solar lights at the privy, two on the outside and one inside. This was a great idea, but since our afternoon had been cloudy, the lights didn’t last all night.
The next morning, after breakfast, we departed. It was a most enjoyable and peaceful stay at Providence Canyon.
Participants were Margaret Clay and John Houser.
