On the Trail Again - Finally!

It has been a long while since I was on the trail for a longer hike.  Wednesday I hiked with the Carolina Mountain Club on an 11 mile hike at Table Rock State Park, South Carolina.  The park is located along the escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is dominated by Table Rock (elevation 3,124 ft.) - not to be confused with North Carolina's Table Rock located on the east side of the Linville Gorge in Burke County, NC.  The location of the state park might lead one to think the trails will be fairly level or moderate due to the location in South Carolina.  This hike will quickly change that wrong impression.  Over the 11 miles we had a cumulative elevation gain of 3,726 feet; a good reintroduction to day hiking for me.

Our hike began along a rushing stream with several waterfalls and cascades.  Once on the Pinnacle Trail, we began a serious 4 mile climb up Pinnacle Mountain.  It is the highest mountain located entirely within South Carolina.   Sassafras Mountain, located about five miles from Pinnacle, is the South Carolina state highpoint.  It is located on the SC/NC border.  Along the way we met a denizen of the park seeking a little warmth a few feet beside the trail near a small stream.

We think a copperhead.

Two hikers passed without noticing it, the hiker in front to me pointed it out, and it obliged us in photographing it before slipping off away from the trail.  Not feeling threatened by us it chose to escape, but we wondered where the rest of the family was.

Sunny skies gave way to fog as we reached Bald Rock, obscuring the view of Table Rock Mountain.  The fog remained as we crested Pinnacle Mountain, the highpoint of the days hike.  The temperature cooled in the misty fog, so we stopped for a group picture before going on.

We followed a ridge trail to Panther Gap and the junction with the Table Rock trail.  As we lost elevation it warmed and the sun began to burn through the fog.  By the time we began ascending Table Rock it had cleared, and we looked forward to some good views from the top.  There were several steep climbs on the way up, including a couple places where steps had been chiseled into the rock.  

Steps made climbing the wet rock face a little easier.

Looking east from Table Rock.

The descent to the parking lot was three miles of down, down, down including the steps on the rock face we came up.  Along the way there were several more cascades along creeks beside the trail.  Some of then were a series of steps formed by rock ledges.  We passed through areas with huge boulders scattered about and some rock faces that make up Table Rock.  

Tree meets rock.

It was good to get back out on the trail.  I felt myself being a bit more cautious than usual, especially on stream crossings and crossing the rock faces.  The hike was good for me in two ways; it tested my ability to complete a long, strenuous hike and it helped me gain confidence on negotiating steep ups and downs and crossing streams.  Thanks to Randy who led the hike for the CMC and the three other hikers who made for good company on a good day on the trail.  Up next, a hike in the Smokies next week!