"...the hiking Nazi. Apparently if you go too fast for his taste he'll try to fight you (yes, I'm serious). "

hahahaha, it would be worth hiking with them once just for laughs.

Jo- you might want to check out the groups Chris listed. Join them for one of their monthly meetups and see what you think.

Might be.

Jo, there's also a Southeast BPL group on Facebook that was recently formed but I don't see any day hikes happening with them.

I'm from Alpharetta and I went on an AOC trip in the Smokies this past Fall. I was really pleased with the people involved and how the trip was run--all levels of experience (ultramarathoners to newbies), very supportive, even some UL folks in the mix. PM me if you want more details. The AOC website is nice in that you can see who is signed up in advance and you can contact the trip planners and let it be known what you are looking for.

Might sound crazy, but an ad on Craigslist would probably get some responses...just use some common sense precautions and don't meet at the trailhead for the first time!

Even if you aren't a runner these folks might have some suggestions: http://www.atlantatrackclub.org/contactus.htm

Talk to some of the women who work at REI too.

Good luck!

"There's another hiking group on meetup.com run by a gentleman I've heard referred to as the hiking Nazi. Apparently if you go too fast for his taste he'll try to fight you (yes, I'm serious)."

ROFL! I think that's the meetup group I got kicked out of for "lack of participation" before I even had a chance to go on any hikes!