Overcast from the lot to the top, low cloud at 100 percent, and by sunrise the far shore was gone too. Trails mostly dry after the storms the evening before, a few wet spots. The paddlewheel boat is gone from the dry dock, and the old storage building beside it with it; the corner is cleared. The tree across the railroad tracks near the carving is still down after more than two weeks, so the train has not run. The tree over the trail west of the carving still makes its crooked arch. Low cloud on the walk-up trail meant wet granite, so I turned at base camp. Tall grass past the walk-up trail: check for ticks. Water a little low after a dry week.
- Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Focal
- 13 mm eq.
- Aperture
- f/1.9
- Shutter
- 1/240
- ISO
- 500
- Taken
- 7:19 AM
- Sunrise
- 5 min before
- Color index
- 23.6
What the Watch Saw
The Numbers
Elevation from the watch: 5-point median, then only climbs over 3 m count. Moving time drops stretches under 1 km/h.
Where It Went
Route and Profile
11,224 GPS points, drawn from 307 of them. Pins mark where the photos were taken.
Download the GPX (1.2 MB): the recorded track, heart rate removed. Open data, CC BY 4.0.
Elevation in feet against distance in miles. The dashed line is where the track was at sunrise. Pins mark where the photos were taken.
| Mile | Passed | Split | Climb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:04 AM | 21:17 | 41 ft |
| 2 | 7:43 AM | 39:11 | 91 ft |
| 3 | 8:02 AM | 19:04 | 60 ft |
| 4 | 8:32 AM | 30:15 | 323 ft |
| 5 | 8:56 AM | 23:52 | 193 ft |
| 6 | 9:17 AM | 20:36 | 30 ft |
| 7 | 9:35 AM | 18:40 | 50 ft |
| 7.8 | 9:52 AM | 16:38 | 10 ft |
Each mile as the watch recorded it: the clock at the marker, the time it took with stops included, and the climb inside it. The marked row is the one the sun came up in.
At Sunrise
Conditions at Sunrise
Cloud cover here is the low and middle layers together, the cloud that hides the sun. High cloud is what a sunrise lights up, so it is counted on its own. Open-Meteo archive (ERA5 and IFS analysis), 7:00 AM. Station KPDK (Atlanta, De Kalb-Peachtree Airport), 10.7 mi away, 7:25 AM: 72°F, sky OVC005, cloudy.
What I Saw
From the Notes
On the Trail
Trail Conditions
- A tree that's fallen across the tracks near the carving is still there more than two weeks later, which means the train also hasn't run for those three weeks since the tree first fell.from the notes
- West of the carving, the tree that fell over the trail about two months ago is still there.from the notes
- Past the hike-up trail, there is a lot of overgrown grass on the path, so always make sure you're wearing tick repellent.from the notes
- Water levels seem a little low.from the notes
Lifted word for word from that morning's notes, never rewritten. A line marked from the notes was picked out by a keyword such as closed, bridge or fallen. What the notes did not mention is not here.
More From the Top
More Frames
- Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Focal
- 13 mm eq.
- Aperture
- f/1.9
- Shutter
- 1/528
- ISO
- 32
- Taken
- 9:28 AM
- Sunrise
- 125 min after
- Color index
- 25.6
In the Pack
What Came Along
What was in service on this date, by the dates on the gear page. Buy links are affiliate links; see the disclosure.
- Canon EOS R7 The camera on every walk. In the kit since at least February 17, 2024, the day the review went up; the exact day it went into service is not recorded. Brand site
- Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R What lets the EF-mount Tamron sit on the R7. In the kit since at least February 20, 2024. Brand site
- Tamron 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD One lens for the whole loop, 18 to 400 mm, on the adapter. In the kit since at least February 20, 2024, the review date. Brand site
- Danger Buddies S-Curve camera sling strap Keeps the R7 on my hip instead of swinging on the trail. In the kit since at least March 20, 2024, the review date. Amazon
- Lowepro Slingshot Edge 250 AW The sling that carries the R7 and the lens, with the all-weather cover. In the kit since at least April 15, 2024, the review date. Amazon Brand site
- Insta360 Extended Edition selfie stick (3 m) Ten feet of carbon for the Insta360, the drone shot without a drone. In the kit since at least May 22, 2024, when it went to Alaska. Amazon Brand site
The full kit, with the mornings and miles on each item.
Same Sky
Mornings That Looked Like This
The three sunrises in the log whose sky colors sit nearest this morning's, by the five-color palette under each photograph, whatever the date or trail.
Oct 12, 2025 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain 
Mar 1, 2025 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain 
Mar 30, 2024 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain Other Years
This Morning, Other Years
The nearest logged morning to this date in each other year, within two weeks, from this trail when it has one.
