You never know what you’ll find on the hiking trails or in their parking lots. Trail Master Guy, Roy, Steve, Patrick, and Fio entered the Vickery Creek Trail parking lot for a hike we hadn’t done in almost two years (read about our last adventure here).
After parking, we met two friendly hikers, Sharon and Lauren, and told them our captivating Trailheads story. We gave them a Trailheads sticker as a prize for suffering through it. Yes, we had an air of smugness because we are six men with branded shirts and hats plus a website containing helpful trail and barbecue reviews— and we sell merchandise that benefits Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (get your stylish gear here).
The women smiled pleasantly and told us they were with Hikerbabes (read about them here), a worldwide organization of 165,000 outdoor-loving women, started by Monique Redmon in Bend, Oregon.
Our egos deflated like a birthday balloon that’s sprung a leak. However, we're not interested in growing our Trailheads gang. It's too much like a job as it is. But our competitive nature made us want to be as national as the Babes (we're not sure we are allowed legally or by our wives to use the shortened version of the group’s name).
Sharon is the Ambassador of the Atlanta Chapter of Hikerbabes with 75 members. She wasn’t sure how many women would attend the hike on this beautiful day, but they have regular outings, and whoever is free joins the fun.
Hikerbabes is an impressive organization with bylaws, a mission statement, donates to worthwhile causes, has sponsors, and all the good things that come with vision and leadership. We wish the organization continued success as nature-loving ladies taking to the trails.
Being stubborn old farts, we will continue with our closed group of six men and two dogs, vigilant on the path to truth and barbecue. But we invite others to form their very own Trailheads group (a Dallas, Texas, chapter is rumored to be starting soon). If you're interested, we’ve made it easy to do with this handy dandy one-page tutorial. Enjoy and get out there.
Globetrotting George missed this week’s hike because he was in Frankfurt, Germany, visiting friends and enjoying local fare like Haxe (pig knuckles). He loved them, but the little piggies who went to market, not so much.
Brad was housesitting workers who were making his wood floors look pretty, but said he’d join us for lunch. Brad had no time for hiking, but there was always time for eating. The man has his priorities. He joined our lunch smelling of polyurethane and sawdust. Speaking of sawdust, check out Patrick's debut novel "Sawdust" here.
The four hiking Trailheads began their ascent up the rocky, root-strewn trail. This hike requires watching your step carefully because the trails have many potential downfalls. Roy Tumbles was on high alert, as we all were, but none of us hit the ground.
Roy and Patrick had trusty walking sticks (highly recommended for this hike). Steve forgot his stick, and Trail Master Guy hikes naked–– he don’t need no stinkin’ stick! What a show-off.
This hike will get your heart pumping, glutes burning, and feet pounding. There are many elevations and a few descents, with a web of intersecting trails. Even Trail Master was sometimes confused, but you’re never lost if you soldier on confidently.
He did get a little grumpy when we double-checked his directions with a passing hiker. It was nearly lunchtime, and we didn't want to get extra exercise when we could be stuffing our faces.
We eventually went down to view the waterfalls, snapped a selfie as proof of life, and then trudged back up the hill.
Guy and Roy were often in the lead, as Patrick and Steve lagged talking about this or that (we generally prefer this to that). When we reached the top of one hill, Guy looked concerned and stared down a steep decline to the water.
“Have you guys seen Roy?” he asked us. “He went down there, and I haven’t seen him since.”
They never bought his silly prank for a second. Roy is The Great Indoorsman, as likely to go down a deadly hill as he is to dance Swan Lake in The Atlanta Ballet Company.
Roy was hiding behind bushes, so we pushed the smart aleck down the hill.
“Real funny, huh?” we yelled.
If only life were like our violent imaginations.
We met many friendly people on the trail, and Fio talked with some fellow canines who looked at their human “owners” with watchful eyes as if they were planning a revolution. One pup was intent on chasing squirrels. Fio watched bemused. She knows squirrels always win that race. If you did catch one, you must eat the bushy varmint or keep it as a pet. Neither of which interested her.
The whiners were getting hungrier (they are everyone but Guy) and wanted to eat SOON, so we began vectoring our way back to the parking lot. We never encountered any Hikerbabes; perhaps they called an audible after meeting us and bolted to another trail. Who could blame them?
Trailheads lunched at one of our favorite spots, City Barbecue in Sandy Springs. Brad and Elvis had already secured a table on the patio. Read about a previous C.B. visit here.
City Barbecue has all your favorites and does them exceptionally well. It's conveniently located near many Chattahoochee trails and has the perfect patio for hounds. Roy uses the restaurant’s app and saves money. The rest of us pay retail like chumps.
It’s a serve-yourself beverage system, and Roy griped about the restaurant only serving Pepsi products. He is a diehard Diet Coke man (he has an I.V. drip on most hikes), but Roy somehow managed to join the boys with his beverage.
Patrick is a big fan of the serve-yourself iced tea and lemonade stand. It allows you to play mix-master, pouring the perfect proportion for your Arnold Palmer. He alternates splashes of unsweetened tea with lemonade. Arnie would be impressed, refreshed, and demand royalties for his name usage. Arnies are the drink of choice for most Trailheads. We wondered if Hikerbabes had a special drink.
Thanks to Roy's City Barbecue app, Steve received a smoking deal on his pulled pork sandwich. It was a 25th Anniversary special. The pork here is excellent, tender, smokey, and flavorful. Use one of their tasty sauces, dress your sandwich, and go to town. You’ll have a happy belly.
Guy enjoyed his pulled pork sandwich but didn’t save money on it because he didn’t have the app. Download the app and save. Make the digital world pay!
Non-hiking Brad had worked up an appetite after house-sitting and ordered a two-meat plate of pulled pork and beef brisket. Both were super. City Barbecue’s meats have a sweet, smokey flavor and are always cooked to perfection.
Patrick got a new menu item called “Not A Sloppy Joe” sandwich, and he loved it. This baby’s pulled pork in a spicy Georgia peach barbecue sauce, crisp pickles, and crunchy fried onion bits. It was amazing and will be his go-to order in future visits. We wish more barbecue joints got adventurous with their menus.
Roy had the Alabama pulled chicken sandwich, which he described as tasty. When he was young, Roy ate at the legendary Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, AL. Big Bob invented Alabama White Sauce, which Roy believes earns him a spot in the Barbecue Hall of Fame (if there isn’t one, let’s get on it!)
City Barbecue has killer sides. The fried okra was described as “transcendental” (we think that’s good). This is not breaded okra out of a Sysco freezer bag— it's the real deal. There wasn’t much time spent poetically describing these delicious morsels since people were too busy greedily shoveling them into their pieholes.
Speaking of transcendental, Patrick completed the training in transcendental meditation. We think he was in India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ravi Shankar, and The Beatles. There is only one unconfirmed photo to document this event and serve as proof for Patrick’s claim of being “the 5th or 6th Beatle.”
Back to sides. The beans are top shelf—homemade taste, and easy to shovel.
The hush puppies are incredible. They’re corn-bready goodness rolled in balls of glory fried to a golden-brown crisp. Eat ‘em up–– they’ll make more!
The slaw is also on point. It does cabbage proud. And let's face it, cabbage needs a champion.
We finished our meals and solved some world problems. After a wonderful day of hiking and comradeship, we scattered to the wind.
Trailheads hope we see Hikerbabes on the trails again, and we salute their fine organization. Maybe they’ll start a tradition of eating barbecue after hikes. Check out Hikerbabes (info here), or start your Trailheads group (instructions here). Mother Nature is waiting to embrace you with open arms.
Rating: Four Ribs*
City Barbecue
6649 Roswell Rd NE
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
*About Our Barbecue Rating System
Trailheads do not claim to be food experts, epicureans, or sophisticated palates. We are hungry hikers who attack a selected barbecue venue and ravage our way through whatever smoked fare and fixings they're dishing out.
Our reviews feature what we believe are the highlights of the menu we sampled. So our intent is not to trash talk the saintly folks who tend to smoldering smokers on hot, humid summer days. They are sacrificing themselves in the noble art of smoking meats and feeding the drooling masses. Many are independent entrepreneurs who are the backbone of this humming American economy.
Now that you know our standards, you may wonder why every barbecue place gets a four-ribs rating. The answer is easy: our group has acclaimed designers, and they think the ribs graphic looks cool.
Who are we to argue? Enjoy.
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