Devils Fork State Park

Date: Friday, November 26, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Bear Cove, Oconee Bells
Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

The Friday after Thanksgiving, I headed out to Devils Fork State Park. The weather was cool and overcast ("gloomy"). At least it had stopped raining. I went up Hwy 133 and turned left onto Hwy 11, then followed the brown park signs to the entrance. I paid the $2 fee and parked at the trailhead for Bear Cove. It took about 45 minutes to get here from the house.

I started hiking around 2:30. I soon realized it would be difficult to stay on the trail, as the path was entirely obscured by newly fallen leaves. Luckily there are blazes frequently marked on trees along the trails. Personally I think white is a poor color choice for a blaze, since many trees have white marks on them naturally. At least they were marked, though, and the trails appear to be very well-maintained.

After moving through mostly oak, hickory, and pine forest, as the trail reaches a peninsula jutting out into Lake Jocassee, the forest becomes dense with mountain laurel. Really, this is my favorite feature of this trail. There are a couple of spots where you can easily access sand beaches, which is very nice in the summer.

Completing the loop and returning back to the car, I decided to drive over to the other trail, the Oconee Bells Nature trail. It is a 1-mile loop, and I got started at 3:30. Although short, this is a really great trail. There is so much to see in a short distance: bridges, streams, narrow twisting trails, a bog/pond, a small waterfall, rocky overhangs, and the namesake Oconee Bells themselves.

If you look at the photo above, the green groundcover along the banks of the stream is the Oconee Bells plant. Up close, the leaves look like a kind of ivy with jagged edges. In early spring, it blooms. It is very rare, and this is one of the few places it grows.

I returned to the car at 4:00pm. Despite the gloomy weather, an enjoyable hike.

Table Rock State Park

Date: Sunday, November 21, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Table Rock, Carrick Creek, Pinnacle Mountain
Distance: 3.5 miles
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

Another Sunday-after-church hike. The weather was nice, and I decided to head up to Table Rock State Park. I drove up Hwy 133 and turned right onto Hwy 11. It takes about 50 minutes from my house.

Because the weather was so nice (sunny, low 70's), it was pretty busy at the park. I saw a lot of people in the parking area, and around the visitors center. There is a new viewing platform along the paved portion of the Table Rock trail, so people can get a look at one of the waterfalls.

I started on the Table Rock trail about 1:50pm. I turned left onto the Carrick Creek trail. At the next junction, I stayed left onto the Pinnacle Mountain trail. My original thought was to go all the way to Mill Creek Falls, but I decided I didn't have enough time for that. So I just decided to hike out as far as I could before having to turn around, so I could make it home by 4pm.

There are some (new?) mileage markers on the Pinnacle Mountain trail. Just after leaving the Carrick Creek trail, I saw the 1.0 marker. Then I came to a series of low bridges, and soon saw the 1.5 marker. This is where I took some photos and turned around. I finished out the Carrick Creek loop and returned to the parking lot about 2:05pm. A great hike on a beautiful fall day.

Keowee-Toxaway State Park

Date: Sunday, November 14, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Natural Bridge, Raven Rock
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

After church, I headed up Hwy 133 for a hike at Keowee-Toxaway State Park. It is only a 30 minute drive from our house. I started on the trail about 1:30pm. It was cool, but I decided to wear shorts.

I took both the Natural Bridge and Raven Rock trails in a counter-clockwise direction. This is the way the trail signs seem to direct you, although the last stretch up the Natural Bridge trail returning to the parking lot is very steep. I did skip the short north loop that goes down to the lake, as it is ridiculously steep.

It was a nice hike. I just saw a few people on the Natural Bridge trail, no one at all on the Raven Rock trail. Some leaves were still on the trees, and there was some nice color here and there. I got back to the car around 3:00pm. A very enjoyable hike!