Laurel Ridge at Buford Dam for the trail review, clockwise from Lower Overlook. A gray sky at sunrise with no color in it. The bridge into the ferny branch is still out, so it was the way around through the power easement and along the road. A deer in the woods past the first road crossing, goats and a big flock of geese on the face of the dam, and the new bridge across the Chattahoochee below the dam is finished.
- Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Lens
- Galaxy S26 Ultra Ultra wide lens 2.200mm f/1.90
- Focal
- 13 mm eq.
- Aperture
- f/1.9
- Shutter
- 1/120
- ISO
- 160
- Taken
- 7:38 AM
- Sunrise
- 1 min after
- Color index
- 40.5
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
7,889 GPS points, drawn from 311 of them. Pins mark where the photos were taken.
Download the GPX (836 KB): 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 | 7:48 AM | 29:10 | 70 ft |
| 2 | 8:10 AM | 21:34 | 80 ft |
| 3 | 8:31 AM | 21:39 | 90 ft |
| 4 | 8:54 AM | 22:50 | 81 ft |
| 5 | 9:21 AM | 26:59 | 51 ft |
| 5.8 | 9:39 AM | 17:51 | 161 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.
The Ground
Route in Relief
Terrain from USGS 3DEP at 10 m, drawn at 2x vertical scale with contours every 40 ft, seen from the south-southeast. Lit from where the sun stood at 8:38 AM, when the walk reached its highest point: bearing 106°, 12° above the horizon. The green line is the recording draped on the terrain, dotted where the ground hides it (9 percent of the track from this angle). Drawn when the entry was made; nothing runs in the browser.
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), 8:00 AM. Station KCNI (Canton, Cherokee County Airport), 23.1 mi away, 7:35 AM: 62°F, sky CLR, clear.
In My Ears
What I Was Listening To
- The Invincible by Stanisław Lem. Started on this walk, to about 17%.
From Audible's listening time for the day, which does not say which book: the book comes from the order I heard them in, and how far through it is an estimate. How it is worked out.
On the Trail
Trail Conditions
- Early on, the footbridge into the fern-lined side branch has been out for years (a tree took it). Jump across or go around through the power easement and along the road.
- Where that detour rejoins, walk past the restricted-area sign and the automatic gate to the crosswalk.
- After the road crossing at the crosswalk: more exposed roots and granite, slippery when wet.
- The beach's auxiliary lot also reaches the trail, but it is often closed.
- Heading back up to the road, the path through the power easement is narrow and rocky and overgrows in the lush seasons. Check for ticks.
- Two crossings of a busy two-lane road, about halfway and near the end going clockwise. Cars speed despite the speed humps.
- Across the busy road, the trail drops to a stream with a couple of bridges. The bridge is not in good shape: watch your step, more so under fall and winter leaves.
- A couple of trees down across the trail beside the stream, there for some time.
- The scenic bridge across the river at the foot of the dam is rebuilt.
Written from that morning's notes, one line for each thing they say about the trail, and nothing the notes do not say. What the notes did not mention is not here.
More From the Top
More Frames
- Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Lens
- Galaxy S26 Ultra Ultra wide lens 2.200mm f/1.90
- Focal
- 13 mm eq.
- Aperture
- f/1.9
- Shutter
- 1/120
- ISO
- 250
- Taken
- 7:33 AM
- Sunrise
- 3 min before
- Color index
- 55.5
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. Amazon The Review
- 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.
- 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. Amazon The Review
- 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 The Review
- 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 The Review
- 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 The Review
- Brooks Cascadia 18 On my feet every morning since June 14, 2025, the day I retired the pair before it, also a Cascadia 18. When that pair went into service is not recorded, so its miles are not counted anywhere. Same shoe again; the last pair earned it. Amazon
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.
Apr 6, 2024 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain 
Oct 12, 2025 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain 
Sep 20, 2026 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.
