OVER THE EDGE

I’m in middle of training for a 3-week, 220+ backpacking trip this summer. The best way to get in shape for a backpacking trip is to go backpacking. Unfortunately, I’m not going to have many opportunities to do so in the next 2 months.

Last week, my wife was in Denmark on a school trip. Since she was away, I was determined to spend at least a couple of days on the trail. Unfortunately, a work assignment and various other obligations left me with only the final weekend free. As luck would have it, the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday looked hostile.

I nearly killed myself finishing my work assignment in Atlanta on Thursday. It was worth it though, as it meant that I could start my trip on Friday, and enjoy one nice day of weather. Since I was in Atlanta, I wanted a destination that would be easy to get to from there, and easy to get home from. I hadn’t been to South Carolina’s Table Rock State Park in 8 years, and I was itching to go back. Backpack camping isn’t allowed in the park, but it is allowed on the Foothills Trail, which starts there. Since the Foothills Trail leaves the park after 4 or 5 miles, I figured I could hike the park’s most scenic trails before hiking out the Foothills Trail to find a campsite.

Saucony and I left the hotel in Atlanta Friday morning, and headed up highways 85 and 11 to get to Table Rock. This was the first time I ever approached the area from the southwest, and it took a little longer than I expected. Once at the park, I spent a fair bit of time looking for someone to find out what the rules were. Did I need an overnight hiking permit or parking pass? The place was mostly deserted and there weren’t any signs addressing the issue. I paid $4 at the self-service station, and punched out Friday and Saturday on the hangtag. Then I filled out a hiking permit, before returning to the car. At that point, all I had to do was pack, as I had neglected to do so at the hotel. Before long, I had gear strewn all over the parking lot. I’m sure I looked like a total amateur to anyone who happened to pass by!

I finished loading my pack at 11:30, leashed the dog, and hit the trail. I wasn’t expecting to see many other hikers on a Friday. Apparently I was delusional. I encountered several other hikers early on, before meeting a group of about 50 7^th graders coming down the trail. Yikes! I tried to get out of the way, but they all wanted to stop and pet Saucony. The group was led by several rangers. I had a nice conversation with one of them, and found out that I should’ve checked in at the park office, which is on the opposite side of highway 11 from the trailhead. She took my info and offered to take care of everything for me, which was quite nice. Eventually I extricated myself from the middle-schoolers and continued the climb up South Carolina’s most impressive mountain.

I reached a day-use shelter around 12:30 and stopped for lunch. There’s a nice view over the Piedmont here, but it pales in comparison to what was to come. Several more hikers passed by before I resumed the hike. The climb was generally reasonable, but there were some steep areas that made the hike challenging. The biggest problem I had was that it was rather hot and humid. Saucony probably suffered more than I did, although I was forced to carry an extra quart of water just for her.

I reached the gap on the ridge, and a junction with the trail to Pinnacle Mountain. At this point, I thought I was getting close to the summit of Table Rock. Boy was I wrong! I followed the ridge for quite a distance before I approached the peak. Most of this hiking was easy, except for a couple of very steep sections. These spots were hard to get up, and awkward to get down on my return.

The first steep climb led to an open rockface with great views to the west and north. After more hiking in the trees, I reached another cliff. This one had great views, too. I explored it a bit, which revealed even more fantastic scenery.

It wasn’t much farther to the wooded summit. I continued to follow the trail beyond it, heading down to the best overlook of all. From the cliffs at the end of the trail, I was rewarded with great views north, east, and south. To the east, the rugged cliffs of Caesars Head were easy to spot. Far below was a beautiful lake. In the distance to the south, I could just make out Paris Mountain.

I took a lengthy break there, and explored the cliffs below the overlook. Getting close to the edge induced some vertigo, but I quickly realized that I could easily climb down the east face by following ledges. I descended some distance, before my progress was halted by a sheer drop. The perspective here was fascinating, as the cliffs curved above me. From this perch, it almost looked like I could make a flying leap into blue lake far below. Well, it almost looked like I could.

Eventually play time was over. I returned to my pack, and began the long hike back towards Pinnacle Mountain. I saw even more dayhikers on the return. Most were pleasant enough, with the exception of one boisterous group. I heard them long before I saw them. Apparently they weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to use their “outside voices”. One of them was quite fond of language that most would not consider “family friendly”. As I neared them, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Two of them were wearing Furman University hats and shirts. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. It’s too bad they didn’t notice that Saucony was wearing an official “Appalachian State University” collar. I’m sure that would’ve annoyed them.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The intercollegiate “trash talking” section of this trip report is now complete. We now return you to your regularly scheduled trip report, already in progress.

I reached the junction with the Ridge Trail, which follows the state park boundary. This is definitely the “path less traveled”. While the Table Rock Trail had been rather crowded, I didn’t see a single other person the rest of the day. Instead, I was able to focus on wildflowers. Violets were even more profuse than the Spinxter Flowers (Pink Azaleas) I’d seen earlier. Mayapples were starting to come out, and I spotted quite a few Crested Dwarf Irises. My favorites, though, were the regular Dwarf Irises. They’ve always been among my favorite flowers, and I saw bunches of them on this hike. Several were quite large and impressive. I spent quite a bit of time photographing them, even though flower photography is a hassle with a large pack on.

After a couple of modest climbs and descents, I reached a gap and the junction with the Mill Pass Trail. From here, I had to tackle the rugged climb to Pinnacle Mountain, the Park’s highest summit. The climb was a bit of a grunt, and the top of the mountain is wooded and offers no view. On the upside, I did have it completely to myself! I descended an exceptionally steep trail beyond the peak, and was relieved when I finally reached the Foothills Trail near the park boundary.

I turned right, leaving the park in search of a campsite. After a moderate descent, I reached a side path leading out to the Drawbar Cliffs. Even though I was ready to get to camp, I didn’t want to pass this final view up. I walked out to the overlook, where I was treated to fine views. To the southwest, I could see Lake Keowee. To the northwest, I could see a line of dark clouds, slowly moving my way. Yikes! Where did those come from? The forecast had mentioned a slight chance for a storm Friday evening, but the worst of the weather wasn’t supposed to arrive until Saturday morning.

I didn’t linger long, as I wanted to find a campsite before it started raining. I descended on a long switchback, passing a muddy spring and lots more flowers. I passed a small campsite in a clearing, but there didn’t appear to be a good water source nearby. Before long, I traversed along the side of the mountain, below the cliffs I’d stood on a few minutes earlier. This is a wild spot, full of giant boulders that have fallen from the cliffs above. In the base of one of the cliffs is a neat recession known as “The Lighthouse”. That spot would provide shelter in a pinch, but I didn’t want to camp there. Just beyond the lighthouse, I found a decent campsite surrounded by boulders. Unfortunately, the trail runs right through the site. I also found a dead raven nearby. Camping near carrion is asking for trouble, and I didn’t want to attempt to move it. I decided to pass the site up and continued on.

My decision was a good one. I descended steeply to cross a small stream, which flows across bare rock. Just beyond the creek, I found a nice little site under Rhododendron. There wasn’t much in the way of actual tent spots, but it was adequate, and water was nearby. I set up camp quickly, not wanting to get caught in a downpour.

Somehow the weather missed me. I think the rain stayed to my north, farther up in the mountains. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing around camp. I settled for a freeze dried dinner, which was edible. I rounded out the evening with a couple of warm adult beverages, which were probably not strictly necessary. The temperature didn’t drop much that night, and I was actually too warm in my sleeping bag until after midnight.

I woke to clear skies the next morning. I didn’t know how long the weather would hold off though, so I ate a quick oatmeal breakfast and broke camp. From there I started back on the Foothills Trail, heading back towards the Park. Surprisingly, I passed a backpacker heading the other way a few minutes after leaving camp. He had spent the night at Bald Rock, which isn’t exactly legal, as it’s inside the state park.

The first climb up past Drawbar Cliffs was a little tedious, but it ended quickly. From there, I followed the Foothills Trail down to Bald Rock. There I had my last great view of the trip. I looked out over the South Carolina Piedmont, but the vista was somewhat limited. It was much hazier this morning than it had been the previous day. In the other direction, I could clearly see Table Rock looming over its namesake park.

I descended to a junction with the Mill Pass Trail, and some confusion. I had last hiked here 8 years earlier. At that time, the Foothills Trail followed the creek back to the parking area. That section of trail had some very steep spots with bad footing. Since then, the trail has been re-routed. Unfortunately, I was unaware of this prior to my trip. Signs at the junction indicated that I should follow the Mill Pass Trail, back up the mountain. This didn’t seem to make sense, and the route isn’t properly blazed. After 5 minutes, I was ready to return to the previous junction. Fortunately, I didn’t. A minute later, I reached another junction, which was signed. Here I turned onto the new trail, which descends the mountain on switchbacks.

The new trail isn’t as interesting as the old one, but it’s easier, and safer. Eventually I reached another signed junction with a .4 mile side trail to Mill Creek Falls. The original trail passed the falls, so it’s nice that the falls are still accessible. The weather still looked good, so I decided to check the waterfall out. The hike there is pretty easy, although there are a few spots with tricky footing. The waterfall is nice, but nothing spectacular. It might be worth making the side trip, if you have plenty of time and energy.

The rest of the hike was a very gradual descent in and out of coves. A few of the coves sported boulders and rock faces, but for the most part, this was a walk in the woods. The highlight was some pink flowers that I’d never seen before. Later, I identified them as Fringed Polygala. Eventually the trail rejoined the creek for the last ½ mile to the parking area. This was probably the best part of the trail below Bald Rock. The creek features lots of scenic cascades, slides, and pools. The sun was still out though, so I didn’t attempt any photos.

I reached the car at noon, and I was famished. On the drive home, I stopped at the little store at the turn for Jones Gap State Park and got a burger. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the burger and fries were decent. I didn’t see even a hint of foul weather until after I was back on the road. At one point, I noticed ugly black clouds building to the northwest. I outran them though, and didn’t see a bit of rain until Sunday afternoon.

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