9x
This
week’s job assignment sent me to one of my favorite towns – Greenville,
SC. I finished up my job early on
Thursday afternoon. Happily, I’d brought
my hiking gear with me, just in case I had the opportunity to make use of
it. I gave Brenda a call before I left,
and she was up for an afternoon hike. I
suggested a short hike in the Nine Times Preserve. The preserve is a recent acquisition by the
Nature Conservancy:
The
Nine Times Preserve has been on my to-do list ever since Johnny posted about
the area a couple of months ago. This
seemed like the perfect opportunity to check it out.
The
drive to the preserve was scenic, as I was treated to several views of the
sheer cliffs of Rocky Knob (which is not included in the preserve). I met Brenda at the preserve’s eastern
trailhead just after 3pm. From there, we
would hike up an old jeep road to the summit of Cedar Rock Mountain. After a bit of backtracking, we’d follow a
new trail and some old roads back down to the road. Another series of new trails and old roads
would then bring us back to the trailhead.
The
beginning of the hike was a grunt, as the old road heads straight up the
mountain. Early on we were tantalized by
thru-the-trees views of the sheer rock faces of Rocky Knob and Pink
Mountain. Unfortunately we never got a clear view of
them for photos. Before long our workout
was interrupted by the first patch of wildflowers. This was the first batch of Dwarf Iris I’d
seen this spring, and it is one of my favorites. We also ran into Hepatica, Bluets, various varieties of violets, and a flower I’d
never seen before. I think it was
another variety of violet, but I’m not certain.
From
there we continued up to a junction with a new trail. We ignored the new trail, and continued up
the old road. We took a quick side trip to
the wooded summit before backtracking to the old road. According to the map, from that point the old
road descends a short distance to the preserve boundary. At first glance I didn’t see a reason to
continue down there, but in the interest of being thorough we decided to check
it out. It’s a good thing we did! A short way down we
found a side path leading down to an open rock face. The cliff provides a nice view of the South
Carolina Piedmont, all the way to the cliffs of Paris Mountain. Also, the rock face has some impressive
patches of moss, which was flowering. I’d
never seen flowering moss before. The
perimeter of the rock face is absolutely covered in Yucca. So, I’m going to take the liberty of calling
this cliff “Yucca Point”.
We
returned to the old road and followed it down to another sloping rock face. This one was interesting, but didn’t have
Yucca or a view. Farther on was one more
open rock, again without a view. Just
beyond was a gate and a driveway leading to a garage.
We
backtracked to the junction we had reached just below the summit of Cedar
Rock. We followed a new trail from
there, contouring around hillsides that were bright with spring green. Along the way we spooked a flock of wild
turkeys. We also saw deer tracks and spotted
a large lizard and a luna moth. That was pretty impressive for a 3-hour hike.
We
reached a junction with another old road.
From here we made a loop combining the trail with the old road. We descended the old road, doing the loop
clockwise. At one point we reached a
junction with another old road. We
followed it to a dead-end on a ridge. I
was hoping for a view, but the forest was too thick to allow a clear vista of Rocky
Knob. Shortly before reaching the main
road we picked up a steep footpath that connected to the preserve’s new
trail. That footpath enabled us to avoid
walking on the road to close the loop.
Once on the new trail we hiked back up the mountain on well-designed
switchbacks. We ended up getting a
decent workout, as the 5-mile hike included two 600’ climbs. Then we descended the old road back to the
trailhead.
We
returned to the cars shortly after 6pm, just as the first raindrops began to
fall. I did make a quick stop at the
west end of the preserve to check out an area that the Nature Conservancy
describes as a wildflower hot spot. I
followed an old railroad bed a short distance and noticed Hepatica, violets,
white violets, and lots of mayapples. It was a very short walk though, as the rain
really started coming down. I hurried
back to the car for the long drive home.
Back to South Carolina
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!