I closed out October with a work assignment in Lynchburg, Virginia. The highlight of the week was going for a run on a rail trail along the James River. For a good mile, the trail traversed a wooded island in the middle of the river. Deer literally lined the path as I ran by. I was within two steps of some of them, but they were so tame they didn’t even look at me.

On the last Friday in October I traveled to Columbia, SC for a quick warehouse inspection. I wrapped that up around 11am and was free for the rest of the day. Since I was so close to Congaree National Park, I decided to swing by there for a quick hike. I hoped to find some peace and quiet and see some fall color and huge trees. This turned out to be a massive failure on most counts. When I arrived, I was stunned to find the parking lot adjacent to the visitor’s center nearly full. I’d been to Congaree 2 or 3 times previously, and I’d never seen more than a handful of people. Of course, those visits were years ago, when the park was called Congaree Swamp National Monument. Subtract one swamp and add one National Park to the name, and suddenly everyone wants to visit.

It turns out most of the visitors were actually elementary school kids on a field trip. So much for peace and quiet! Actually, I did get some time alone once I left the relative civilization of the boardwalk behind. I hiked the Weston Lake Loop, which took me to Wise Lake, Weston Lake, and along a nice stretch of Cedar Creek. I didn’t see much in the way of fall color, but the big trees were hard to miss. If I’d had more time I would’ve hiked the Oak Ridge Trail, which has even more giants.

The highlight of the hike was exploring the shore of Wise Lake. Thanks to the relatively dry conditions, I was able to bushwhack around the edge of the pond without getting my feet wet. Unfortunately, the bright sunny day made for horrible photographic conditions, and I didn’t have the luxury of waiting around until evening for better light.

On the Saturday before Halloween I headed back up to Boone for yet another ASU football game. This game was against the hated Furman (i.e. Vermin) Paladins. The tailgating was once again superb, and the game was typical of an ASU / Furman contest. To summarize, there was a bizarre, controversial play in the haunted south endzone, and the Vermin coach threw his usual temper tantrum. Later, Furman botched an extra point attempt, and we returned it for two points of our own. We didn’t need those two points, but we enjoyed them nonetheless, as they brought back happy memories:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJm4h0L1sAk

(The good part starts at 0:47)

I headed home from Boone Saturday night, and took it easy on Sunday. Hopefully there will be more great tailgating, football, and hiking in November!

Back to South Carolina

Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports

Home

Please remember to Leave No Trace!