hiking

I've been on the Sulphur Springs Trail in both the summer and winter, so why not fall? It is my favorite season of the year, after all. So, on a Saturday in October, I headed up to Paris Mountain for another hike. I decided to do the entire trail, not just up to the fire tower and back; this trail is a 3.5-mile loop, and by Paris Mountain standards, it's one of the most strenuous ones. 

The first time I went on the Tamassee Knob trail is was a rather icy morning, not long after a winter storm. The 2.1 mile trail to the peak was inundated with mud, ice, and a chill wind. I still enjoyed it, though, with the bare trees offering a grand view as the trail wound upwards.

During the later part of the summer, as summer was starting to move into fall, I returned to the Raven Rock Trail, part of the trail system around Jocassee Gorge. Oddly enough, the trail seemed very different in many ways. It may very well have been that I took a different part of the trail last time. 

Because my weekends have been fuller than normal of late, during the late summer, I was trying to find a way to still do some hiking. I figured, if I could get to a place nearby after work, that might be doable. Then, I was reminded about the Clemson Experimental Forest.

Part of what I like about hiking is the quasi-adventurous nature of it. Sure, there is a clearly marked trail (usually) with a beginning and end. But, you never know exactly what will happen on the trail that day. Could be the weather's unpredictability, a chance meeting with a fellow hiker that may or may not be welcome, or you might see some wildlife that you didn't expect. Even if you take the same hike multiple times, it can be different each time.

I often like that quality. But sometimes, that uncertainty can just be frustrating. Case in point: Big Bend Falls.

The Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve has a 1.7-mile one-way hiking trail down to the creek with a small water waterfall. It's not very difficult, although there is a good bit of elevation change during the last third of the trip (down on the way to the creek, and back up on the way back). It's a pretty trip, and I tried this trail out just at the tail end of spring as summer was starting to kick in.

Mid-May rolled around and I had been jonesin' for a hike. This Spring continued to be highly busy with weekends chock full of activities. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I love hanging out with friends and family. But I needed at least a brief trip outdoors among the trees. So, one Saturday, my scheduled activity was to attend a meeting of the Northeast Georgia Scottish Gaelic Society. It's a fun group of folks learning Scottish Gaelic and discussing comparative linguistics down in Athens, Georgia. But it didn't start until the afternoon.

It's kind of amazing how the spring, although it's one of the best times to go hiking, can leave one with so little time to do so. Between the weather, social obligations, and illness, it's been a struggle to find time to get myself out into the wild. As a result, my posts have been few and far between.

Not long after one of our southern snowfalls this winter, I set out upon the Falls Creek Falls trail, a challenging 1.5 mile hike up to an amazing waterfall. This hike is in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area of South Carolina. The recent snowfall was still in evidence on the waterfall itself, providing a unique view of the cascade.