Greenville
SC & Waterfall Hikes – 1/2/16 & 1/3/16 – 5 Miles
New Year’s
Day is one of my favorite holidays. I spread
out my calendars, some hiking guidebooks and outdoor challenge lists, and look
briefly back at the past and then eagerly forward to the possibilities ahead. What did I do last
year? What did I miss? Where do I want to go this year? I don’t spend time regretting unrealized
resolutions – after all, I had many opportunities that were never on a
list. Instead, I feel energized at the
wide open yet-to-be.
So an early
start, no waiting! Jim and I practiced our nearly-perfected overnight getaway
strategy and headed for Greenville, SC, a town we have managed to miss as its
popularity has recently exploded among the hip and happening. We wandered around the bustling downtown, checked out Pedal Chic, a women's bicycle shop, and ate a very healthy lunch at Green Lettuce Restaurant.
We road
our hipster bikes out and back on the greenway Swamp Rabbit Trail from Swamp
Rabbit Green to Hincapie Path.
Every
town is better when a river runs through it
Falls Park on the Reedy
We
raised a glass at Upstate Craft Brewpub, which opened earlier the same week. The young'uns sitting at our table were impressed that we have been married longer than they have been living. We
enjoyed a late supper of too much Belgian food and beer at The Trappe
Door. I kind of hated myself as I
face-planted at the hotel, hoping I would be able to get up for an early start
on our waterfall hunting day.
Working on
the Carolina Mountain Club’s “Waterfalls 100 Challenge” has taken Jim and me
down some very picturesque and remote country roads. Today we explored three of South Carolina’s
gems. This website is my go-to resource for directions and maps to SC waterfalls.
Also, this website is excellent for hike descriptions and photos.
Station Cove Falls is in Oconee State Park. The
1.25-mile round trip easy hike leads to this 60-foot stepped waterfall that we had to
ourselves. We started our walk from a
small parking pull-off but there is also access from the state park
headquarters to make a longer hike.
This
seems to be happening a lot lately: dog escorts on the trail. This beautiful girl was the size of a small
bear. She knew the path well.
Our
second waterfall was Lee Falls on Tamassee Creek, also in Oconee County.
Descriptions of locating the trailhead and the 3-mile round trip hike itself
made me cautious about going alone, thus I had waited for Jim to join me. “Although once voted Oconee County’s most
scenic waterfall, this 75-foot high falls has no official trail, but hikers
have been making the difficult, 1.5-hour trip here for 170 years, surely making
it easier to follow over time.”
Well,
there is a nice discernible trail through four long grassy fields
But
numerous creek crossings were challenging.
Some were rock hops but others required creative solutions or
wading.
If
you can look up from your feet for a moment, you might see something
interesting. A spring? A root cellar? Now a home for critters?
For the last
half-mile the trail turns gnarly, climbing steeply and less discernibly over
large boulders and fallen trees. Are you
sure this is still the trail? Keep
listening for the waterfall. At last we
were rewarded.
We passed at
least a half dozen people as we backtracked from the waterfall, including a dad
with his young son, and now I would feel very comfortable returning alone or
leading others on this hike. But don’t
be complacent because it’s a short distance.
It would be all too easy to turn an ankle in that last stretch going up
or down, and a rescue would not be quick. (The Waterfalls Hiker gives a great hike report of this destination, including his wrong turn.)
The third
waterfall was on our drive back to NC, Twin Falls on Reedy Cove Creek in
Pickens County. The short .5-mile round
trip doesn’t really qualify as a hike, but the waterfall certainly qualifies as
a worthy visit. (How often have people
asked me, “Is the walk to the waterfall worth it?” The answer is always “yes!”) There is a large wooden platform built over
what obviously used to be a rough trail, and it could be tempting to hop over
the railing to get closer to the falls, but resist it. The viewing station is in full view and
safety concerns are what prompted its installation.
Three
waterfalls in one day – a great start to 2016!
"Life is like a waterfall; it is always moving and there is always an uneven flow to it." ~Unknown
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