I understand why they call it Whitewater Falls.  The falls appears white from the top to the bottom.  It was a fairly easy hike to the falls from the parking lot at Bad Creek Hydro Station, just off  Hwy 130 at the SC and NC line.  After viewing the falls, we headed down a Duke Power road along Lake Jocassee until we reached Thompson River.  By then we had hiked just over 5 miles and it was noon so it was time for lunch.  After lunch we decided  to head for the Foothills Trail.  To get there we took a unmarked trail straight up the mountain.  I believe no one had been on that trail since last time my friends had taken it two years ago and as far as I am concerned, it was no trail.  I was really tired once we reached a real trail to head back to the car.  Total hike for the day was 9 miles.  It was a perfect day to be in the woods.

Last week we went to Laural Valley for a 10 mile round trip hike to Lake Jocassee.  Later we rode up a gravel road to Jumping Off Rock to get a better view of the lake.

I am a big waterfall fan.  I can probably say this has been my favorite one so far.  Twin Falls is just off Hwy 178 and is just a short walk from the parking lot.  It is well worth effort.  The day we were there a photography class was taking pictures. 

Since we like to hike and not take a short walk, we took the new Twin Falls Trail which you to enter well up the road.  This was an in and out of about 3.5 miles.  The highlight of this hike is not only arriving at the very top of the falls which give you a great view, but also observing rails from a rail road that was used in the past for transporting logs off the mountain.  You could actually the rails in the ground and could almost visualize the direction of the tracks off the mountain.

I love hiking this time of the year.  The weather is perfect because it is not too hot or cold.  This was the type of day we had hiking Graveyard Fields Ridge and the Art Loebe Trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The morning only threated rain with an occasional mist but the afternoon rewarded us with warm weather.  We hit the trail about 9:00am and finished up about 4:30pm logging just over 12 miles.  During the hike we were foruntate enough to view some beautiful scenery including a waterfall, and nibble on black and blue berries.  It was a great hike.

Last Thursday we took a hike from Turkey Pen Gap along the South Mills River to Cantrell Creek Lodge or what’s left of it.  It was built around 1890 and was used by the forest rangers stationed in this area of Pisgha Forest.  The only thing left now is the massive chimneys and a sign describing the significance of the two storey building. 

The hike was interesting because the trail required crossing the river four times.  Fortunately there was 3 swinging bridges and 1 log bridge.  The trail is very easy which made the 9 miles a snap on a beautiful day.

Last Friday, we returned to Dupont Forest.  Since most of the trails are short, we had to plan what trails to take in advance in order to get in a day’s hiking.  Even though there was much planning, we still had to get out the map numerous times and actually got lost once and had to do some bush wacking.  But that makes it more fun.  Total hike for the day was 11 miles.

This picture is a wet water crossing in the trail.  The water felt good this time of the year.

Before I started hiking I had read many reviews of this area for hiking.  But it was not until I had been hiking for about 4 months did I get around to hiking this trail.  It was every thing I had expected.  It was a combination of easy and difficult terrain and presented many unusual obstacles such as crossing streams.  One crossing is just 2 wires which you stand on one and hold on to the other to get across.  Not easy to balance on a wire with a walking stick.  On the the other side of the trail you have a nice bridge to walk over to the other side.  This is a perfect example of the difficult and easy hiking experience.  But the best part of the hike is not the falls, but a rock called “The Cathedral”.  This is a huge rock carved out by nature which you experience about half way through the hike.  In addition, there are parts of the trail which is a stroll through the woods and other times you are rock climbing.

 I definitely enjoyed this hike.  The trails we took were the Raven Cliff Falls Trail, Dismal Trail, Naturaland Trust Trail, and the Gum Gap Trail.  The total hike was over 8 miles.

Last Thursday we took my son, Jason, along on our hike.  We returned to the Shining Rock wilderness area in Pisgah National Forrest.  We climbed Black Balsam Knob which is over 6,214 feet.  Because of the height, it is always cool and windy as you can see from the picture.  We continued down the ridge of the knob until we reached the Mountain to Sea Coast trail.  At that point the temperature changed drastically from cool to hot.  We finished our 8 mile hike at the Devils Courthouse. 

Last Thursday we hiked the Solomon Jones Trail from Jones Gap State Park to Hwy 276 just above Caesar’s Head.  This is a very interesting trail because it is named after Solomon Jones who in the early 20th century actually constructed a toll road over the mountain.  Many parts of the trail looks like a road such as the “Winds” which is a switch back trail up the mountain; which is much easier than climbing straight up the mountain.  During this section of the hike we heard something crashing through the brush.  Finally a bear came into view.  He stopped and looked right at us and snorted.  We stood still watching him and one of my fellow hikers yelled at him to “get out of here”.  The bear finally lost his nerve and ran off.  I should mention that I did not ever have my nerve to lose?  I just stared because I couldn’t believe we were seeing a bear.  Appartantly, we were invading his territory and he wanted to let us know.  He was about 250 pounds which means he was about a year old.  On our return hike from Hwy 276 we took the Coldspring Trail back to the park which added to our distance to over 12 miles for the day.

Last Thursday we took another trip to Table Rock State Park but this time we climbed Pinnacle Mountain.  This mountain is actually higher than Table Rock so it was a moderately difficult trail.  We followed the same trail to Table Rock Mountain until reaching the rest shelter and then we started on the the trail along the ridge of Table Rock to Pinnacle Mountain.  After reaching the summit we returned on the Foothills Trail back to the Nature Center.  We enjoyed the over look on Pinnacle Mountain because the weather was perfect.  The total hike was just over 9 miles and it was well worth the trip.

Last Thursday we took a trip to Dupont State Forest in North Carolina.  This area is not a good location for serious hiking because most of the trails are less than a couple of miles.  But there is lots to see.  So we combined enough trails to get in our normal  8 mile hike for the day.  We met a family that told us that we looked like real hikers and wanted to take our picture.  I told them my friends are real hikers but I could not be included in that category.We ate our lunch at Bridal Veil Falls and on the way back to the car saw High Falls.  That was worth the trip. 

Last Thursday we headed out on Route 178 to Rocky Bottom.  We turned on Van Clayton Memorial Hwy to the parking lot for Sassafras Mountain Trail Access.  We entered the trail following the white blazes to Pinnacle Mountain which is the highest mountain in SC at 3,560 feet.  Along the way the trail snaked around the ridge of Hickey Nut Mountain which provided some interesting camping spots.  One was the remains of an old house which was rumored that a moonshiner had lived there many years ago.  Now all that remains was the chimney.  After abofut 5 1/2 miles we reached Pinnacle Mountain.  Our purpose for this hike was to observe some petroglyphs.  After eating lunch we hiked back to the car.  Unfortunately, we were within 2 miles when the sky opened up and it rained cats and dogs.  Except for the weather at the end of the hike, it was a good 11 mile hike.

Yesterday we hiked the Foothills Trail from Bad Creek to Thompson River.  We parked at the Bad Creek Duke Energy parking lot and started on a spur of the Foothills trail for about 2 miles before actually hiking on the trail itself.  The Foothills trail to the river was well maintained and marked.  This was my first hike on this trail and really enjoyed it.  After returning in the afternoon we had hiked a little over 8 miles.  As soon as we reached the car, it started raining.  Fortunately, we beat the bad weather again.

Last Thursday the weather man accurately predicted showers all day.  We left Liberty, SC at 8:30am and headed for the Table Rock State Park.  After stopping at the office to obtain an annual pass for the park, we drove to the trail head.  It was already lightly raining but we were hoping that this was only temporary, but it wasn’t.

The trail head is beautiful with a stream and small water fall.  The path here is well paved and gave the impression that this climb will be a piece of cake.  However, the more you hike on the 3.6 mile trail, the more difficult it becomes.  By the time you reach the shelter for a break you know the rest of the climb is going to be very difficult.  You don’t just climb over rocks but at times rocks are part of the trail.  As an example, when you reach Governor’s Rock you are surprised to find that the trail extends over the rock itself.  This gave me some concern since the rock was so slippery from the rain.  But beyond Governor’s Rock the trail did level off to give us a break.  After we reached the summit, we ate our lunch but unfortunately did not have the expected view because of the fog. 

Going down the trail was much easier although there was some difficulty avoiding the many rocks that are part of the trail.  Also, there are sections that have steps but are difficult since many have a sharp drop after each step.  But after about 4 1/2 hours we completed our hike which was a respectable 7 miles for this week.

Yesterday we took a trip to Gorges State Park in North Carolina.  Most of the park is in construction so it was difficult to find a place to park.  In the past you could park on the road but this is no longer allowed.  After entering the park we continued on a newly paved road for a couple miles before we found an available parking lot.  We started hiking on the Rainbow Falls Trail which runs along side Horsepasture River.  This particular trail is wide and well maintained.  The distance to the falls is about 3 miles.  In addition, we viewed Turtle Back and Step Falls.  The total hike for the day was a little over 6 miles.  It was well worth the trip.