Big Bend

Date: Sunday, June 20, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Big Bend, Chattooga
Distance: 7.4 miles
Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

It is becoming a tradition that on Father's Day every year I go for an "all-day" hike. Last year I went to Table Rock and did the whole 10-mile loop with Pinnacle mountain. I wasn't so ambitious this year, but I did want to try a trail I had never done before. I settled on Big Bend. This is a trail that leads from Hwy 107 in Oconee County near the Cherry Hill campground, over to the Chattooga River.

Maybe it is saying something about our weather pattern the last two years, but Father's Day is around the first official day of summer, and both years it was 97-98 degrees for a high temperature. But we did have beautiful clear blue skies! I left the house about 9:15am and parked in the dirt lot just south of the Cherry Hill entrance around 10:00am. Leaving this dirt lot, look across the road and to the left, and you'll see the (well-hidden) entrance to the Big Bend Trail. It quickly disappears downhill into a dense forest.

The Big Bend trail is 2.7 miles long. At least, that is what is posted on the signs, so that is what I will go by. It travels on a path covered with pine needles and edged by ferns, near two streams, across several footbridges, and parallels a dirt road for a portion of its length. As I was "early and tall," I got to knock down tons of spider webs. I don't mind that as long as the spider isn't right there in the middle of the web! I ended up using my hiking pole to knock them down, just continuously sweeping it in front of me while I walked. This was exceedingly effective. As for other wildlife, I did see this turtle:

The Big Bend Trail roughly parallels a dirt road (Big Bend Road) for awhile, before leaving it altogether. The path cuts in-and-out of several ravines, and at one point crosses what appears to be an old Forest Service road. Beyond this, you will eventually notice that the trail, which had been more or less flat to this point, begins moving generally downhill. There are a couple of footbridges over a small stream, and a sign post (one of few trail markers) lets you know the direction to follow. From, here, the trail follows the stream down to the intersection with the Foothills / Chattooga Trail and the Chattooga River.

Reaching the intersection, bear left (basically straight). The intersection is well-marked, though. Turning right would put you heading north along the Chattooga, but I wanted to go south to check out Big Bend Falls. The sound of the river is incredible. There are some rock-cliff overhangs on the trail, and the river can be seen through the trees below. The Chattooga trail winds above the river for awhile, eventually coming to a spot where you can go out to the water (maybe this is about a quarter-mile past the Big Bend Trail intersection). There is a small waterfall here; see the picture at the top. I sat on the rocks here and had a snack, watching the falls for awhile.

Beyond this, at 0.6 miles beyond the turnoff, there is supposed to be a view of the Big Bend Falls from a cliff high above the river. Well, I hiked AT LEAST 1 mile beyond the turnoff, and I caught some glimpses through the trees of what I believe had to be Big Bend Falls (the sound was certainly thunderous). But there is NOT a clear view of the falls in the summer. Maybe in winter I will have to try again!

I returned to the car the way I came; it was a little before 2pm. Really this was a very enjoyable hike. Despite not getting a clear view of Big Bend Falls, just being able to see the Chattooga River made it worthwhile. And I was pleasantly surprised by the Big Bend Trail itself. This is a very isolated location; I only saw 2 people the whole time, and both of them were on the Chattooga Trail.

Devils Fork State Park

Date: Saturday, June 5, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Oconee Bells Nature
Distance: 1 mile
Time: 1 hour
Rating: 3 out of 5

On a nice Saturday morning, we headed to Devils Fork State Park. From Clemson, we took Hwy 133 north and turned left onto Hwy 11. From there we followed the brown park signs to the park. We arrived around 10:45am and it was already a busy place. Our plan was to hike the 1-mile Oconee Bells Nature loop trail, followed by some swimming in Lake Jocassee and a picnic lunch. There was nowhere to park next to the trail head (lots of boat traffic), so I dropped Kerri and the kids off and parked over next to the pavilion and Bear Cove trailhead instead.

The trail goes into full tree cover right away, and heads downhill. We took the left fork (i.e., clockwise on the loop) and soon reached the "bottom." There were several nice bridges to cross, and a meandering stream. I'm not so good at identifying trees, but I know there was lots of mountain laurel, sourwood, oak and hickory. There are a couple of nice signs along the way, identifying plant life. There was also a rather large pond that we passed, and a couple of small waterfalls.

Just past the pond was a nice bench, and we took a break here. I got a photo of the kids. They look very excited in the picture, but maybe this doesn't accurately represent their general mood on this hike. Kerri and I had to carry them most of the way. Basically, they just wanted to go swimming (James) and eat lunch (Andy). The trail seemed a little longer than 1 mile, and with lots of ups-and-downs, it is not a particularly easy trail. But overall, the kids did pretty well. Near the end, I scouted ahead to see how much of the trail was left. It turned out just to be a few more minutes, and we all returned to the parking lot, and went swimming in the lake!

Oconee Station State Historic Site

Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Oconee Station, Station Cove Falls
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

On Saturday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend, I headed up to Oconee Station State Historic Site. It was only a 37 minute drive from the house. To get there take Hwy 11 north from West Union and turn left at the brown park sign onto Station Cove Road. I like to park at the SHS parking area, but there is also an unpaved lot ahead that is a little closer to the falls. There is no required fee either way.

I arrived around 2:20 pm and started hiking on the Oconee Station trail. After 10-15 minutes, this trail (staying on the near side of the pond) reaches the road. Crossing over the road, I was now on the Station Cove Falls trail. You know you are getting close to the falls when you go through a hiker gate. It is hard to describe this area, but in the spring it is always so beautiful here, and peaceful. The trees are huge, and there is a stream running over rocks through the area. The falls make quite an impression as you first see them through the trees. I arrived here after about a 35 minute hike, took some pictures, and talked with some fellow hikers for awhile.

Heading back, I thought I would take the other fork on the Oconee Station trail around the far side of the pond. However, I soon found it to be too overgrown and hard to follow, so I back-tracked, and went back to the car the same way I had gone out. I probably could have done this trail in about an hour and 15 minutes if I had been more on-task. Regardless, a good hike!

Whiteside Mountain

Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Whiteside Mountain
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4 out of 5

On our Highlands weekend vacation, this was our second trip to Whiteside Mountain. The first time, it was a little too foggy to see the views. The weather had cleared significantly overnight, and Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful. So we got a little bit earlier start and arrived at the trailhead around 9:30am.

This time we decided to turn right at the fork and take the loop counter-clockwise. Honestly, I'm not sure which direction I liked better. Probably this way, as you get all the climbing out of the way after about 15-20 minutes, and everything after that is either fairly flat or a gentle downhill.

As you can see in the photos, the views today were were much better. We even saw a peregrine falcon in flight below us. We returned to the car in about an hour, and went back to the condo to pack up and head home from a great vacation!

Sunset Rock

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Map: n/a
Trails: Sunset Rock
Distance: 1.2 miles
Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

We returned to the condo after hiking Glen Falls. But it was only about 2 in the afternoon, so I decided to go find another trail. There is actually a trail in Highlands itself. If you take Main Street until it becomes Horse Cove Road, you will see the Nature Center on the left. Park on the right, and a gravel road leads uphill from there. This is the trail that leads up to Sunset Rock, and it is about 0.6 miles long.

At the top of a gradual climb, turn right and soon there is a clearing. There is a natural rock amphitheater here, facing West (obviously), with views of the town below. I spent a few minutes here, then returned to the main trail. On the other side of the gravel road is a less-used path that leads to Sunrise Rock. I took this, and again after a short distance there is a clearing. Beautiful views on this side as well!

I returned to the car after an easy downhill walk, and took a quick look around the Nature Center, before heading back to the condo.