Yellow Branch Falls

Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Nature, Falls
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5

First I have to admit that this picture is a stock photo because I forgot my camera. This one was actually taken about a year ago. With that out of the way...I headed to Yellow Branch after work today and started hiking about 4:20pm. It was warm, around 80F, and partly cloudy.

This was my second time using my new hiking pole, and I guess I'm getting used to it now. It does make the hills a lot easier, and it is nice to have when crossing streams on slippery rocks. I took the Nature trail from the parking lot to the junction with the Falls trail. I noticed a LOT of trees down. I'm guessing the drought of the last 10 years (over now) is still showing it's effects. But the Forest Service has kept the trail mostly clear; I only had to climb over or under trees 5 or 6 times.

There are 3 bridges on the Falls trail. You cross the 1st one right away, then come to a stream crossing. When you reach the 3rd bridge you know you're about 15 minutes from the waterfall. Being early Spring, the leaves are still coming on the trees, so you can still see pretty far through the forest and some of the ridgeline in the distance.

I heard the waterfall long before I could see it. As you approach the falls, the temperature drops noticeably. I was amazed at the difference in the appearance of the falls since the last time I was here. Certainly, it looks like it did a few years ago, as far as the volume of water. I sat on a rock at the base of the falls for a few minutes before heading back.

I passed just two groups of people on the trails. As for wildlife, I saw two lizards and a large black beetle. Once I got back to the Nature trail, I turned right to complete the loop and headed back to my car on the road. A nice mid-week hike!

Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve

Date: Saturday, April 3, 2010
Map: Link
Trails: Eastatoe
Distance: ~5 miles
Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5

I had been interested in getting here for a hike since I read about it in a guide book 3 years ago. Finally I made it, and I'd say it was worth the wait. To say this trail is in a remote location is an understatement. I left from Seneca and it took me about an hour to get there. You have to go up US-178 from Pickens and cross over Hwy 11. Pass Bob's Place on the left and the road ascends steeply up the mountain. The road will flatten out and generally start descending into a big valley. Then look for the community of Rocky Bottom (there is a sign). A mile past that, there is a bridge over the Eastatoe Creek, and you take an immediate left past the bridge. You'll see two forks; take the right fork (it is unpaved). At this point you're probably thinking (as I was) what did I get myself into and why didn't I bring the SUV with the high ground clearance instead of the VW. But a short distance later, I saw the well-marked Foothills Trail parking lot on the left and I knew I was in the right place.

I parked in the FT lot, even though the gate beyond it was open and I could probably have just driven the additional 0.1 mile up the road (Horsepasture Road) and parked at the hiker gate. As it was, I was just happy to be there and started my hike from the parking lot. It was about 9:50am when I got started, and it was completely overcast. Although it looked like the sun was trying to burn through the clouds.

As I mentioned, after 0.1 miles on the gravel road, you turn left and go past a hiker gate. The junctions (most of them) are clearly marked on this trail, and even if the blazes aren't always clear, the trail is very wide and obvious, and I think it would be hard to get lost. As the trail starts out, it is a wide, gravelly old logging road. Not the best scenery, and you're thinking this trail isn't worthy of the hype. After 10-15 minutes, it gets even worse, as you come into an area that appears to have been the recent recipient of a controlled burn. Talk about bleak. At least the path is easy, mostly following a ridge with gentle slopes.

Give it about 30 minutes of hiking though, and you start to see the rewards. There is a sign that indicates hiker-only traffic beyond this point (always a good thing to see) and you leave the charred forest behind. The path narrows, and on your left there are (at least in winter and early spring) some great views of what I have to describe as the "Blue Ridge" proper. Of course at this point, you are on the edge of a deep mountain gorge. I heard the rushing waters of the Eastatoe clearly, far below. For another 15 minutes or so, the trail follows this ridge. Then abruptly, there is an arrow pointing to the left and STEEPLY downhill. In fact there are several straircases and switchbacks to help the descent. This took me about 15 minutes to get all the way down, and without a doubt, the area at the bottom is worth all the trouble...absolutely beautiful.

I guess I can describe it as a hardwood forest sitting in a wide valley, with almost no underbrush. Just some kind of creeper vine covering the floor. At the far end, there is the Eastatoe Creek, a picturesque mountain stream. Opposite the creek is the other side of the gorge, a sheer cliff. About the time I got down here, the skies started to clear, revealing blue sky and sunshine. The trail almost appears to end at a T-intersection with the creek. But you can turn left and follow the bank for a few minutes. There are yellow blazes on some of the trees, and you'll pass a couple of campsites. The guide book I had seen indicated there was a clearly marked end to the trail (triple blaze) but I never saw it. What I did see was a green metal post sticking out of the ground, and then a whole bunch of downed trees beyond it. For all intents and purposes, this seems to be the end of the line.

The guidebooks also say there is a small waterfall across the creek, but I never saw it. I did see some exposed rocks that looked like there could have been a waterfall there at one time, but today it was completely dried up. I also have to complain about the stated distance of 1.7 miles. It took me a full hour to get down here, without stopping, and moving mostly downhill. So I would call this about 2.5 miles, definitely not 1.7.

Now, from the T-intersection with the creek that I mentioned, you can also turn right and follow the bank a short distance (there are no blazes here). This leads to a small sand beach and views of a "narrows" in the creek, where the water rushes around some large rocks. Definitely worth seeing. Altogether I spent probably 45 minutes down here, and I'd like to have spent longer.
I should also mention that I met a couple of nice guys here, one of whom gave me some very useful tips on using my new hiking pole. That came in handy going back uphill, and it was an easier climb than I had expected. I saw 7-8 people on the way back to the car, and I arrived there about 12:30. Overall a great hike!

South Carolina Botanical Gardens

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Location / Map

Trails: Nature
Distance: 1 miles
Time: 30 minutes

Rating: && (out of 5)

This was the 2nd day of Spring. My original plan was to go to Table Rock, but when I woke up it was raining. Around 11am it stopped, so I decided to get in a quick hike at the SCBG. I parked at the big lot in the back, and took the well-worn path from there toward the main trail system. The trails are not marked very well here, so it is difficult to describe exactly which path I took. But I made a roughly 1-mile loop and got back to the car in about 30 minute, just as the rain started falling again.

Keowee-Toxaway State Park

Date: Sunday, March 7, 2010
Location / Map

Trails: Natural Bridge, Raven Rock
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Rating: &&& (out of 5)

This weekend was one of the nicest so far in 2010; i.e., it was mostly sunny and not freezing cold. We went to church on Sunday morning, and with the kids down for their naptime / "quiet time", I headed out for a hike. I've been wanting to get to the Eastatoe Heritage Preserve, but since I didn't leave the house until almost 1:45, I didn't think I had enough time to make the drive (probably an hour away). K-T State Park is only a 30 minute drive, so by virtue of that it has become one of my favorite hiking spots.

I arrived at the park and got started on the trail about 2:15. There were several other cars in the lots, and I saw around a dozen people on the trails (most of them with their dogs). The weather was almost perfect: about 60 degrees. I decided to make the whole figure-8 loop, which is about 4 miles. I took the Natural Bridge trail in a clockwise direction, and the Raven Rock trail in a counter-clockwise direction. I made pretty good time, getting back to the car in an hour and a half. Spring is almost here, but it still looks very much like winter.

Yellow Branch Falls

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Location / Map

Trails: Nature, Falls
Distance: 1 mile
Time: about 1 hour

Rating: && (out of 5)

Kerri was under the weather today, so I took both kids on a little hike. The plan was for Andy to ride in the backpack, but he quickly let it be know that he wasn't down with that. I wore the pack anyway, and we started on the Nature trail a little after 10am. It was a (rare) sunny and not-freezing-cold morning!

There are 3 or 4 stream crossings on this trail, where you have to step on rocks to get across. At the first one, I told James to wait while I carried Andy across and I would come back to help him. Alas, he didn't listen, and got his shoes soaking wet. He cried, but learned his lesson, and had to finish the hike with cold wet feet. Needless to say, after that he waited for me to help him cross.

When we came to the turnoff for the Falls trail, we took it, crossed the bridge, and walked down to the next stream crossing and had a welcome snack. After that, Andy was tired of walking and I was able to get him in the backpack. James had found the best toddler-sized hiking stick ever, and he insisted on being the "line leader". Both kids started getting cranky, but a couple of "pop-pops" solved that problem in a hurry and they were happy for the rest of the hike. We re-traced our steps on the Falls trail, then turned right to finish out the Nature trail loop back to the car.

I told James he could keep his hiking stick, but as that went against what I always told him in the past ("we don't take anything with us") he went on his own to throw the stick back into the woods. "We have to leave everything here, Daddy".

Twin Falls

Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2009
Location / Map

Trails: Twin Falls
Distance: 0.5 miles
Time: about 1 hour

Rating: &&&& (out of 5)

Although it is a short trail (just a quarter-mile each way), this hike gets a 4-out-of-5 rating by virtue of the spectacular waterfall at the end of the trail. The waterfall goes by several names, but most guide books I've seen call it Twin Falls. As you can see in the photo, there is a tall plunge on the left (60-70 feet) and a cacade / slide on the right. There was also a smaller falls on the far right due to recent heavy rainfall. The photo was taken from a nice viewing platform (no doubt constructed to save photo-seekers from having to scramble over slippery rocks to get a good shot).

We went with the whole family, including the cousins from Texas! The trail is wide with only a slight incline to start, perfect for our young walkers. It follows the Reedy Cove Creek, with a couple of spots where we could climb onto boulders and view the water (or throw sticks into it!). Near the end, however, after passing a neat waterwheel, the path narrows and gets much steeper, so you have to hold onto the kids and dogs to keep them from going over the cliff.

Everyone really enjoyed the hike! It was just the right length, and the kids loved the waterfall. The biggest adventure is probably getting here, though. We drove to Pickens and went up US-178. After crossing over Hwy 11, we turned left at Bob's Place onto Cleo Chapman Hwy, which soon dumps you into the Eastatoe Valley (beautiful!). At the T-intersection, we turned right, then in less than a mile we turned right again onto Water Falls Road. This is gravel, but it is hard-packed, and in only 0.4 miles we reached the obvious parking area. There were 2 other groups there already. It was a cold morning, but we were all bundled up and had a great time!

Keowee-Toxaway State Park

Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009
Location / Map

Trails: Natural Bridge, Raven Rock
Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Rating: &&& (out of 5)

Having just returned from a week-long business trip to California, and having just started my two-week Christmas vacation, I was ready to get out for a hike. The weather was nice, meaning it wasn't raining. Actually it was a bright sunny day, just with temperatures in the upper 40's. I left the house about 1:00 and took the 30-minute drive up to K-T State Park. It's close by, and free, and full of interesting natural features. For example: the natural bridge rock formation, Poe Creek with several small waterfalls, exposed rock cliffs and outcroppings, and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Keowee. For a 4-mile hike, that's quite a lot to see!

I got on the trail about 1:45. Mine was the only car in the lot. In fact, I only saw two other people (and their dog) the entire time. The trail system here is basically a figure 8, with the Natural Bridge trail comprising the lower loop closest to the parking lot, and the Raven Rock trail being the upper loop. The maps and posted signs direct you to take both the lower and upper loops in counter clock-wise directions. Unfortunately, this means you have to take the steepest part of the Natural Bridge trail going uphill and you completely miss the middle part of the "8" which contains a nice view of a small waterfall. I have found, by trial and error, that it is better to take the lower loop in the clockwise direction!

The real treat today, besides the clear weather, was the amount of water flowing in the creek. There had been a lot of rainfall in the area a couple of days earlier, and the creek (which feeds into Lake Keowee) was full of whitewater! It was very loud, and I could hear it a long time before I could see it.

The Raven Rock trail is rated "strenuous" in every guidebook I've seen, and it is a fairly well-deserved rating. Leaving the Natural Bridge trail, you are basically climbing steps for 10-15 minutes. As soon as you reach the top of the climb, it starts descending again, almost as steeply. And that is followed by another steep climb. At the top of this hill, the trail more-or-less flattens out for another 10-15 minutes, and this time of year there are pretty good views of the mountains and the area all around, with the leaves being off the trees.

After the trail bends sharply to the left, there is a junction (easy to miss). If you take the path to the right/straight it will take you on a short and extremely steep descent/ascent to some campsites at the Lake Keowee shore. Honestly, I don't think it is worth it. Instead, I took the left fork, which descends (less steeply) and completes the Raven Rock loop.

The final portion of the Raven Rock trail is one of my favorite areas of the whole park, as the trail closely follows Poe Creek back to the Natural Bridge trail. In the summer it stays nice and cool down here in the "canyon".

I finished the hike in a little under 2 hours. I really had a great time!