South Carolina

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.

The Stumphouse Tunnel is part of the Blue Ridge Railroad, a project started in 1852 to connect Charleston and Knoxville. It was never finished due to lack of funds, but three of the tunnels still remain standing in various states of incompletion. I visited two of the others on the Blue Ridge Railroad Historical Trail, but did not visit the largest of these, Stumphouse. During the Christmas break, my wife and I went with her uncle to see the sights in the mountains, and Stumphouse Tunnel was one of the places we visited. I wouldn't classify this as a hike, but we at least viewed the tunnel itself, and Issaqueena Falls just nearby.

In the middle of December, as things were winding down for the holidays, I took a quick hike over at Table Rock State Park. I had taken the Carrick Creek Loop Trail a few times before, because it is a good overall hike, especially if time is limited. It is about 2 miles (1.8 miles according to guide books) and for the most part it is easy to moderate, with a few stretches of elevation change that ensure that one gets a workout. The recent rains allowed the many cascades and rapids to shine and I decided to render the images in black and white, to emphasize the textures of the subjects.

In late fall of 2013, I opted to try the Winding Stairs Trail, a 3.5-mile one-way trail in upstate SC. The trailhead I started from is just north of Walhalla, near the Cherry Hill Recreation Area. There is a small parking area there, and it appeared that I was the first to embark on the trail from that end when I got started. I was in search of two falls, Miuka Falls, and the lesser-known Secret Falls. I found at least one of these two.

So, here it was the middle of autumn, and I very much wanted to get up into the mountains to see the colors of the leaves, which were certainly at their height. I was concerned that if I didn't get up there sometime soon, I'd miss my chance. To that end, I looked around at different trail descriptions, trying to decide on an apt location for leaf-watching. I found a likely candidate in the Hospital Rock trail, a 2.2-mile round trip trail in Jones Gap State Park.

For a number of years now, as I've been living in the upstate South Carolina area, I had seen signs for "Chau-Ram". I kind of vaguely wondered what it was, perhaps thinking it had something to do with the Chauga River. But I never pursued it, until I read a write-up on the hiking trails available there. Turns out, Chau-Ram is a nice-sized park near the confluence of the Chauga River and Ramsey Creek; hence, Chau-Ram.

I've been to Paris Mountain State Park many times now (Mountain Creek Trail, Brissy Ridge, Sulfur Springs Trail), and each time I've been to the park, I've been impressed at how fortunate Greenville is to have such a great resource just north of the city. I had been on the Sulfur Springs Trail last winter, but it seemed like a good time to try it again, this time during the summer.