Christy and I had prepared for an adventure Saturday, but we got one before we even got out of Charlotte. On the way out of town, I had a tire blow out at 60 mph. We were able to get the mini-spare on with some help from a friendly passer-by. After a brief discussion, we decided to head back and move everything to Christy's car. 90 minutes later, we were once again on our way to the mountains.
We arrived at the trailhead a little before lunch. There was heavy fog, but no rain until after we were ready to go. A brief shower forced us into raingear, but it stopped 5 minutes later. We hiked an easy trail for about 2 miles to a platform overlooking Raven Cliff Falls. The platform is across the gorge from the falls, which drop 420'. The view was spectacular, and the overlook made an excellent lunch spot.
We backtracked a short ways, and then took The Dismal Trail down into the gorge. Along the way, we passed another, more distant view of the falls. Although we were farther away, this view was just as impressive, and more natural without the benches and railings at the platform.
The trail dropped steeply, before we intersected the Naturaland Trust Trail at the bottom of the gorge. This trail quickly brought us to the day's 2nd great adventure. We arrived at the banks of Matthews Creek, with the trail continuing on the far side. Instead of a bridge, there were 2 cables stretched across the creek. They were one above the other, about 4 feet apart. The bottom one was about 4 feet above the water, and it was a good 20 feet to the other side.
I wasn't in any hurry, so Christy went first. I was fully prepared for any disaster, since I had the camera ready. It seemed to take painfully long, but she made it across without any trouble. Then it was my turn. It was too late to back out, so I climbed up onto the cable and started across. I was forced to look down to watch my feet, and all the water rushing by was very disturbing. I kept a death grip on the cable in front of me though, and reached the far side quicker than I expected. It was a worthwhile experience, but one that only seems fun after it's over. Laura, we did it for you! You've got to try it.
We resumed our hike upstream through the gorge. Along the way we passed through a jungle of wildflowers. We passed dozens of species, but wished we could be there a week or two later. The trilliums were everywhere, but not quite ready to bloom.
The trail eventually brought us up to the base of Raven Cliff, which is a sheer rock wall over 100 feet high. After that, we found ourselves climbing a series of ladders next to the falls. Along the way, I explored a short side trail that gave me a spectacular view of part of the falls. Eventually we reached a swinging bridge which spanned the top of the falls. It proved to be a fitting climax to an exciting hike.
The last few miles of the hike mostly followed old roads as we looped back to the car. The hiking was dull, but we had had enough excitement for one day. It was a great hike, and one that I'd recommend to anyone looking for an adventure.
Christy and I spent Saturday night at the campground at Table Rock State Park. Sunday, we decided to hike the trails there. We started at 10AM, hiking upstream along Carrick Creek. The stream is beautiful, as it slides over long slanted rockfaces and drops over ledges. Soon we left the stream though, and head uphill on the Table Rock trail. It was a big climb, but it was made much easier because the trail was very well designed. Along the way we passed huge rock outcrops as well as dogwoods in bloom. We also passed trees that looked like dogwoods, but had pink flowers. Nobody we asked knew what they were.
After a good climb, we reached a gap on the ridge between Table Rock and Pinnacle Mountain. We hiked the ridge out to Table Rock. Along the way, we climbed up an exposed granite slope named Governor's Rock. From here we had nice views back toward Pinnacle Mountain. After we dropped to a gap, we began the final climb to Table Rock. The trail is heavily used, but some sections still have some interesting scrambling.
We reached the wooded summit, but continued beyond for some fantastic views. We reached the top of several cliffs, which gave us views of Caesar's Head, the Piedmont of South Carolina, and the higher mountains of North Carolina. The weather was outstanding - blue sky, a not a bit of haze. With better eyesight, I probably could've seen Greenville 40 miles away.
We had a nice lunch on one cliff top before returning back along the ridge. Instead of returning by the same route, we continued up to Pinnacle Mountain. There is no view from the top of Pinnacle, but our reward was solitude. On the Table Rock trail we had passed a literal parade of hikers. I don't mind being social when I hike, but it was nice to enjoy some silence for awhile.
We descended an incredibly steep path to a junction with the foothills trail. It was a most unusual junction, since the sign was placed in the path. We climbed over the sign (literally!)and hiked west on the Foothills trail. Along the way, we passed through a hillside covered with Mayapples, which were just beginning to bud. After that, we spotted an Oriole. Soon, we arrived at Drawbar Cliffs, for more outstanding views to the west. We spent 30 minutes here relaxing in the sun before resuming our hike out.
It was after 4 when we began the hike down the Foothills Trail to the car. The trail out was quite interesting, and tricky in places. The footing was often bad, so the going was slow. One section crossed an outstanding cliff face with more great views back toward Table Rock. Then the trail dropped down to follow a rushing stream. It raced over several hundred feet of falls and cascades, and we had a good view of it along the way. At one point a shaky footbridge without railings spanned one of the cascades.
We hiked below more cliffs, and at one point a natural shower cooled us (maybe more so than necessary). Another steep stretch of trail brought us back to Carrick Creek. We rockhopped it several times before rejoining our original trail.
This was another great hike. It was 11 miles, and took us 8 hours (counting breaks). All totaled, we climbed about 3300', which is awfully hard to do in South Carolina. Fortunately, it was made much easier by the excellent trails. Christy and I were thrilled with the weather. After several weekends of rain, it was nice to enjoy some blue sky.
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