Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain, November 14, 2026

Clear and cold at sunrise, 36°F, and windy enough that I kept the vest on once I had it. The tree down across the trail near the Grist Mill is still there. I finally got a squirrel. They usually scamper off before I can get a shot, but this one was so busy cleaning a nut that he didn't notice me until he was done.

1st slowest pace of 123 timed hikes, 26:36 /mi.
Sunrise 41 minutes earlier than on October 24, 2026.
25°F cooler than the median of 166 logged hikes.

A band of yellow along the far treeline before sunrise, fading up through violet into deep blue, ripples on the lake catching the glow, and a pine and tall grass dark against it on the right with a fallen limb reaching into the water — 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
80
Taken
6:52 AM
Sunrise
16 min before
Color index
31.6

What the Watch Saw

The Numbers

6.38 miDistance

311 ftElevation Gain386 ft loss

2h 49mMoving Time26:36 /mi

3h 15mElapsed6:31 AM to 9:47 AM

1,075 ftHigh Pointlow 794 ft

7:08 AMSunrisecivil dawn 6:41 AM, bearing 112°

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

Route map of Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain on November 14, 2026

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 splits
Mile	Passed	Split	Climb
1	7:06 AM	35:03	33 ft
2	7:36 AM	29:32	20 ft
3	8:02 AM	26:02	83 ft
4	8:41 AM	39:30	154 ft
5	9:05 AM	23:12	0 ft
6	9:30 AM	25:46	20 ft
6.4	9:47 AM	16:24	0 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

The route of November 14, 2026 on Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain drawn on a relief model of the terrain, seen from the south-southeast and lit from the southeast

At Sunrise

Conditions at Sunrise

36°FTemperature

8%Cloud Coverclear, high cloud 0%

8 mphWindgusts 15

91%Humiditydew point 33°F

986 hPaPressure

Low 8%

Mid 0%

High 0%

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, 7:10 AM: 36°F, sky CLR125, clear.

On Me

What I Wore

A hoodie and my beanie for the first leg.
Swapped the hoodie for my vest after the first leg and kept it on for the rest of the hike, since it was a bit windy.

Written from that morning's notes, and nothing they do not say. The pieces are on the gear page.

In My Ears

What I Was Listening To

The Exodus Gambit (House Adamant, book 1) by Glynn Stewart. About 43% to 65% of the way through.

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

The tree down across the trail near the Grist Mill is still there.

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.

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.

Swept gray and pink cloud filling the sky before sunrise, the far shore's trees dark, the water calm

Mar 30, 2024 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain

Gold light under dark cloud at sunrise over the far shore, the lake calm

Jul 19, 2025 Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain

A dark band of cloud crossing a gold dawn sky, pines on the far point, everything doubled in the still lake

Mar 1, 2025 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.

2 days off

November 16, 2024

8.4 mi, 892 ft, sunrise 7:10 AM, clear, 45°F

Color index 3 points higher

Compare

2 days off

November 16, 2025

8.9 mi, 1,078 ft, sunrise 7:10 AM, clear, 57°F

Color index 10 points lower

Compare

Closest weather: November 1, 2025 (compare). By cloud in three layers, humidity, temperature and time of year.
Closest sky: March 30, 2024 (compare). By the five sky colors under each photograph.

More Frames

A small island of trees and the wooded shore at the right standing dark against a yellow horizon before sunrise, the calm lake holding the glow and their reflections under a violet and blue sky — 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
64
Taken
6:55 AM
Sunrise
13 min before
Color index
25.8

Stone Mountain across the lake from Indian Island, its summit and mast lit orange by the first sun above shore trees starting to turn, ripples in front and the island's granite along the bottom edge — Camera
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Lens
Galaxy S26 Ultra Wide-angle lens 6.500mm f/1.40
Focal
23 mm eq.
Aperture
f/1.4
Shutter
1/180
ISO
25
Taken
7:10 AM
Sunrise
3 min after
Color index
27.8

The fallen pine still lying across the dirt path along the lake, its roots torn out of the slope on the left, red and orange leaves around it and the water blue beyond — 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
32
Taken
7:33 AM
Sunrise
26 min after

The Grist Mill's wooden waterwheel beside water running down a dark granite slab strewn with fallen leaves, yellow and orange trees above it under a blue sky — 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
50
Taken
7:37 AM
Sunrise
30 min after

Stone Mountain's bare granite dome and summit mast above a shore of trees in yellow, orange and green across Venable Lake, under a cloudless deep blue sky with the water rippled in front — 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
1/992
ISO
32
Taken
9:14 AM
Sunrise
127 min after

Looking up a leaf-covered slope through tall thin trees in yellow and green, one turned pink in the middle, roots crossing the ground under a blue sky — 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
32
Taken
9:18 AM
Sunrise
130 min after

On Video

Trail Videos

On the Trail

Seen This Morning

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.

Every Morning on Cherokee Trail, Stone Mountain Cherokee Trail Review All Sunrises Compare With Another Morning