A LITTLE BIT CIVILIZED
Last
weekend Bob S and his son Aaron joined me for a dayhike
on the Foothills Trail. He also brought
his dog, Sobe, and I brought my dogs, Boone and
Kona. We practically had a full pack for
our hike from Sassafras Mountain to Drawbar Cliffs on the southwest side of
Pinnacle Mountain, just outside Table Rock State Park.
We
met at the parking area at the end of the road just below the summit of
Sassafras Mountain, the highest peak in South Carolina. Before the hike we took a short stroll out to
a new overlook that provides a nice view to the west. The view takes in several lakes, including Jocassee, Keowee, and
Hartwell. My favorite part was the vista
to the northwest, towards the higher peaks in North Carolina. Most notable was the sheer south face of Whitesides Mountain.
Before
the hike, we let the dogs run around the parking area to get acquainted. Everybody seemed to be getting along, so we
hit the trail. We followed the Foothills
Trail south towards Table Rock State Park.
The first mile of the hike was easy and pleasant, running through a
mixture of open forest and dense rhododendron.
We arrived at the old Cantrell home site after 30 minutes. The site features some old chimneys, and
there is a substantial spring just down the hill. Over the years, campers have arranged the
rocks found near the campsite into furniture.
We all took turns sitting in the various chairs, which are quite
comfortable. I explored a little, too,
wandering downstream from the spring.
The stream is in the headwaters of Rocky Bottom Creek. Although the rhododendron is thick there, I
think it would be possible to follow it all the way down to the upper part of
Rocky Bottom Creek.
After
our break, we followed the Foothills Trail to Hickorynut
Gap, on the west side of Hickorynut Mountain. There is a modest campsite here, too. From this point, it may be possible to follow
the ridge west towards the cliffs of Roundtop
Mountain. Originally I thought we might
explore in that direction on the return hike, but we didn’t have the time or
energy after our 11 mile hike.
A
long descent followed. At one point the
trail bordered the Greenville watershed, which is heavily posted with no
trespassing signs. A bit later we
crossed an old road. A short distance
down the road we found another campsite with more camp furniture made from
rocks.
The
final mile and a half was the most exciting of the hike. We walked through an extensive boulder garden
below a long run of impressive cliffs.
One cliff had a deep, dark recession that would almost qualify as a
cave. It was along this stretch that we
spotted a minor waterfall. It’s just a
small stream, but it spills over an impressive cliff. Unfortunately views of the waterfall are
elusive. The initial view was somewhat
cluttered. I then tried to follow the
creek down to the brink, but more clutter and a precarious cliff dissuaded
me. A bit beyond the cliff was the best
overlook. We followed a faint trail down
a steep hill, before reaching the brink of a sheer cliff. From there we had a decent view of the
waterfall below us. Even better was the
sweeping vista over the valleys and ridges to the west. It was a nice taste of what was to come.
We
traversed more boulder gardens and passed a couple of additional
campsites. Another impressive cliff
loomed ahead, at the southern end of Pinnacle Mountain. I wonder if there is way to access the top of
it? The trail
made a switchback and began heading up.
Along here we found the best wildflowers of the day. There were quite a few Bloodroot
in bloom, along with the first two crested dwarf iris I’ve seen this year. There were also lots of bluets,
violets, and yellow violets, along with a couple of other varieties I couldn’t
identify. While there weren’t a lot of
wildflowers blooming along most of our hike, the last ½ mile was very nice.
We
stopped for a late lunch at our day’s destination, Drawbar Cliffs. The cliff features a sloping rock face that
steepens as it descends. It offered a
great place to lounge in the sun and take in the views to the west and
north. The vista was similar to what
we’d seen at Sassafras Mountain, but more enjoyable after a 5+ mile hike.
The
hike back was pretty fast, despite the heat of the afternoon. Everybody was feeling it, especially the
dogs. Kona and Sobe
took turns plopping down in mud puddles, but Boone was too good for that. We saw a fair number of other hikers and
backpackers, both coming and going, and there was a group camped
the Cantrell home site when we returned.
We ended up doing the round trip hike in about 7 hours, but that
included a lot of breaks and a leisurely lunch at Drawbar Cliffs.
I’d
like to return to the area to do some off-trail exploration. The hike on the Foothills Trail was nice, but
it was a lot more civilized than what I’m used to.
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