FORTY ACRE ROCK
Over the past three years,
I’ve received some choice job assignments that resulted in fantastic business
trips. Since I started my current job,
I’ve traveled to Seattle, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Denver, southern California,
northern Michigan, and Maine, to name a few.
Unfortunately, my job doesn’t always send me to such wonderful
places. A couple of weeks ago, I
experienced the opposite extreme. I
received a 2-week assignment in Hartsville, SC. At that point, I was pretty sure that somebody hated me.
Actually, Hartsville wasn’t
nearly as bad as I feared. It’s a long
but relatively pleasant drive from Charlotte, so I was able to commute. The job was easy, and the town itself was
kind of charming. Best of all, I was
able to find some interesting places to visit nearby. I found them at http://www.sctrails.net,
which is an excellent resource for researching recreation opportunities in
South Carolina.
Just outside of town is
Kalmia Gardens. The gardens feature
several miles of trails centered around a small but interesting swamp. I stopped there early in the week looking
for a place to run, but found the trails a little rough. On Friday though, I left work early to visit
the gardens at a slower pace.
I walked some of the
boardwalks, and took in the scenery along Black Creek. Other highlights included a quaint pond and
even a few blooms, which was surprising, considering it was the first of
February. I also saw an Ent, which was
certainly an unusual wildlife sighting.
I didn’t spend much time
there, as I wanted to hike to Forty Acre Rock before dark. I drove to the Forty Acre Rock Heritage
Preserve, which is located east of Lancaster.
The preserve, which was created with the help of the Nature Conservancy,
includes a small lake, a small waterfall, and a really big rock.
I parked at the lower
trailhead, and followed the old road to the lake. The lake is in an interesting wetland area, but I didn’t get a
very good look at it, as the trail passes along its east side. The sun was low but bright, and I couldn’t
see much of anything to the west!
Beyond the lake, I reached a
small stream, which I followed gradually uphill. Before long, I arrived at the base of the waterfall. Now, the waterfall isn’t much when compared
with the cataracts in the mountains in the western part of the Carolinas. But here, in the Sandhills of eastern South
Carolina, it was rather surprising, if not exactly impressive. The stream falls in sheets over a steep, 20’
slab of exposed granite. Thanks to
recent rain, the water level was up, which probably made the falls more
significant. In the summer or other dry
periods, there may not be a waterfall here at all.
I climbed above the falls
and followed the stream through a narrow but intriguing gorge. Forty Acre Rock was now above me to my left,
but at this end, it is wooded. I
continued on the trail, and passed a hiker carrying a large pack heading in the
opposite direction. He was the only
person I saw on my visit there.
I eventually circled around
the north side of the ridge, and reached a faint path heading steeply up. I wasn’t sure if the official trail was
going to climb up the rock or just go around it, so I decided to try the direct
approach. A couple of minutes later, I
arrived at the base of a long slope of exposed granite. It immediately reminded me of Stone
Mountain, albeit on a smaller scale.
I strolled across the rock,
heading towards the highest point.
Behind me, I was treated to some nice views of rural South
Carolina. Towards the top, I found a
number of potholes and larger depressions in the rock. They were full of water after the recent
rains. This area was really cool! Along with the views and the ponds, the rock
featured some neat moss and lichen.
Unfortunately, Forty Acre
Rock also features a lot of vandalism.
Photography there was very difficult, as it was hard to find sections of
rock that had not been spray-painted.
It seems that every half-literate redneck in eastern South Carolina has
signed his or her name somewhere on that rock.
Along with the names, there were quite a few romantic sentiments. Tiffany loves Butch. Well, that’s no surprise. Everybody knows that Tiffany is a slut.
I would highly visiting
Forty Acre Rock, if it weren’t for the graffiti. As it is, it might be worth a visit, if you aren’t as sensitive
as me about this sort of vandalism. If
you go, try to visit after wet weather, as the pools at the top of the rock are
fascinating.
Back to South Carolina
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!