Success!

I am nothing if not stubborn and determined, and there was no way I was not going to find this today!  Unfortunately, there is no milepost here, but my guess from the last one posted is about 61.75, which means it's almost exactly 10 miles from the point I enter the Trail at 51.75.  And I have to say that either the mile post signs along the trail are wrong, or the trail map is wrong, because the last sign post is here:

and while you can't read the fine print, this sign post reads 61.25 and once you pass the curve, you can see the arched state line sign in the distance.  The sign to the right is this one:

and while there isn't a mile point listed here, the trail map says the Esom Hill Trail head is at 60.07 miles.  Minor point, really, but something's wrong somewhere.  Is it 60.07, or 61.75?  I'm guessing the latter, because I know the maps of both trails are old and not overly accurate in places.  Maybe this is o ne of those places.  The good news is that there's a porta-potty here, in case I ever need one.  On hot days like this, all liquids find their way out just fine through the skin.

But, back to the Chief Ladiga and Gateway Park, which is really very nice.

The pavement has matching welcome signs.

and Trail signs....

And the park itself has a nice shelter, concrete benches, picnic tables and a good bike rack.

There's a road crossing not to far in the distance here, but I'd had enough exploration for one day.  I sat gratefully in the shade for about 10 minutes, with my Clif Bar and water, before heading home.  And by the way -- my sense that the the trail is all uphill from Cedartown is correct:  according to the trail map, elevation at the Martin Trailhead (which is after I get on the trail and a couple of uphill climbs later) is 808 and at Esom Hill, 910.  Not significant, but noticeable both ways.  I sure get home faster and easier than I get there, despite being tired.  And really, I'm not at all tired and am, in fact, fairly energized after about an hour of rest.  Safe to say at least 22 miles, probably 23-24 as I'm sure it's more than a mile from home to where I get on the Trail. Total of about 2.5 hours, including the rest stop.  Saw lots of other cyclists out today, which is really unusual and rather nice.

When I got home, I noticed this fella on a parsley stalk in my garden, along with a few relatives.  This is one of those times when I really love the internet:  with this photo I was able to identify this guy as a Black Swallowtail butterfly in-the-making.  This is one of my favorite butterflies, large and beautiful, so these guys are welcome to all the parsley they can eat.

On to the rest of my day, whatever it may bring.