Hiking the Augusta Canal at Dusk

There are many great reasons to go hiking. It’s great exercise. It’s a break from the concrete jungle so many of us live in. And it gives you the opportunity to explore your natural environment.

Last week I didn’t go hiking for any of those reasons. I went because that was a far more appealing option than sitting in traffic at rush hour on my way back to Atlanta. I started googling trails when I was 100 miles from Augusta, and was immediately intrigued by the Augusta Canal.

I was starving, so first I stopped for lunch. The local Chili’s failed to impress, and my waitress burned me with the skillet, but hey… there’s always the risk of misadventures on adventures, right?

After leaving the restaurant, I went searching for the visitors’ center. I needed a map to help me figure out what the best scenic route was. It was already approaching dusk, so I wanted to make the best of the daylight hours I had left.

The sun was setting by the time I arrived, but that only added to the beauty of the place.

Just a little further down the hiking trail, I encountered the canal that gave the trail it’s name and was really impressed. The Augusta Canal is majestic, and has the overall appearance of having belonged to an old castle, eons ago.

Beyond the dam, the scene was even more beautiful – never mind that we were warned of large unfriendly reptiles we shouldn’t feed. I thought I saw one watching me on the bridge, but didn’t have good enough lighting to zoom in and get a good look.

After crossing the bridge, I found a good vantage point to climb up on and get a shot of a tree that was stranded in the water below. The pictures don’t do the scene justice, but any more chances would have risked me dropping my $400 camera into the canal.

Though it was spared the canal, I did drop it face down along the hiking trail and put a dent in the outer lens. For those of you who’ve followed my hiking adventures for a while, you’ll know this isn’t the first time I’ve broken my camera. Yet it always recovers and always with little intervention from me.

Thanks Samsung!

If you’re wondering what kind of camera I have that could withstand the abuse of hiking trails, it’s the Samsung Galaxy Camera 2. And yes, it even has an Android OS. I do love it.

No, this is not a sponsored post. I actually really love this camera and would recommend it to any photographer who wants great photos without the bulk of a DSLR.

Though my camera was out of commission for the rest of the trip, the adventure continued as night descended and the temperatures with it. I got a few last shots with my phone and then made it back to the car before I froze to death.

After trekking through a mile or two of this trail, I’m really impressed and plan to go back some time to do the full 14 mile hike from the trail head to the end, and then back up again.

If you’re ever in Augusta, GA yourself this is a trail you shouldn’t miss. If you have a bike, bring it with you. The trails aren’t paved, but they’re good enough for riding, judging by the dozens of bikes that whizzed by me during the night.

Maybe next time I’ll bring my bike with me, but something tells me I won’t enjoy clinging to metal when that temperature drops again…