FOOTHILLS TRAIL: APRIL 20-27, 2013

Three backpackers from Nashville (Karl, Ed & Diane) and one from North Georgia (Dwight) just completed a TTA outing backpacking The Foothills Trail in South Carolina.

A little bit about The Foothills Trail . . . . The Foothills Trail is about 77 miles in length; located along the Blue Ridge Escarpment in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina; and, offers an extraordinary opportunity to explore the Southern Appalachians. The landscape is diverse, ranging from high rocky outcrops with views to the distant horizon, to quiet forests in deep valleys carved by bold mountain streams. Elevations along The Foothills Trail range from 1,120 feet at Table Rock State Park to 3,560 feet atop Sassafras Mountain. The Foothills Trail is rather rugged and often in remote wilderness areas with little to no outside access. Although the word "Foothills" makes one think of small rolling hills, that was not the case! There were tall, rocky, and steep mountains – and, definitely not a casual stroll in the forest. Because The Foothills Trail is a linear trail, and not a loop hike, in order to traverse the entire trail one must arrange to have a car at both ends or locate a shuttle to provide transportation to one end of the trail.

We met at the Table Rock State Park in Pickens South Carolina (SC) on Saturday April 20; dropped a car, and were met shortly thereafter by their shuttle driver (Heyward) and transported to the most western end of the trail in Oconee State Park in Mountain Rest, SC to begin their easterly traversing backpacking trip. Daily mileage ranged between 10-14 miles. The backpacking trip ended the following Saturday April 27.

The weather was perfect; sunny or partly cloudy – daytime temps were in the low to mid 60s; nighttime temps in the low to mid 40s. One day may have reached 70 degrees. We couldn’t see a whole lot of stars due to the moon’s size and bright beam cast each night over the 7 nights out. We did have one evening mid-week of intermittent sprinkles but they were soon pushed out by a northerly breeze that dried our tents before daylight. The last night out we had rain which began after dark and was an off and on rain through the early morning but stopped during the time we were breaking camp. The rain held off for the duration of our hike, and only began again just after our reaching Table Rock State Park and our cars. Then it began again – this time a non-stop rain which lasted all the way home! Really, not a bad trade-off.

The trail was in excellent shape – wide in some places; nothing encroaching or over growing on the trail. Sure there were the usual trail challenges from roots, rocks, mud, and hills but there were also a lot of wooden steps on the steepest of descents and ascents, beautifully designed bridges (no streams to ford) and lots of fragrant pine needles to carpet the trail and soften the walking.  We walked along beautiful rivers and streams; some raging while others gently flowing; all of which ran very clear with minimal sediment, dirt or floaters; and through many rhododendron tunnels.

We saw the last petal or two of the Oconee Bells; however, there were many more wildflowers equally enjoyed – Dwarf-crested Iris and Foam Flower was visibly lining many portions of the trail; there was fragrant Pinxter Azalea and Dog hobble; also seen were Gay Wings (Polygala); Showy Orchis; white, pink and burgundy colored Trillium; Solomon’s Seal; False Solomon Seal; Rue Anemone; Wild Oats; and many more.

We didn’t see very much in the way of wildlife; outside of 3 snakes, 2 lizards, 2 orange salamanders, and a couple of wild turkeys. We saw 1 squirrel and nothing in the way of bears, deer or ground critters. We saw in only one area the ground torn up by wild hogs “rooting” for stuff to eat.

All of the designated campsite areas were well cared for and evidence of Leave No Trace were adhered to. But the ones that we found trash in we burned the rubbish. At one site we found and burned up a soccer ball, a flip-flop shoe and a Katadyn water filter cartridge. Since the area is not heavily traveled finding firewood was fairly easy.

We ran into a large group of, I’ll call them retired people, as they appeared to be in their mid to late 60s; maybe even older; comprised of 2 or 3 women and about 6 men; they had started from Sassafras Mtn and were heading to Oconee SP. They appeared to be strong hikers but commented to me that the westerly to easterly direction we chose to backpack was the direction to go. We also ran into a couple of solo backpackers wishing they had chosen the same direction we were traveling. Traveling from east to west; i.e., from Table Rock to Oconee; is the strenuous direction due to the elevation climbed over the first day and a half. By traveling west to east the elevation is climbed over the last couple of days, when one’s legs are stronger and the least amount of food in your backpack.

The trail was beautiful; the sights along the way were far greater than I had imagined; and the joy obtain through backpacking with a great group of people have imprinted memories that will last a lifetime. If you have ever thought about backpacking the Foothills Trail, get your gear together and go!

 Four hikers with shuttle driver.

Chatooga River

 Steps

Rhododendron Tunnel

Waterfall

NC SC Border

Lake Jocassee

Whitewater River

 Bridge

 Artsy Bridge

 Karl teaching macrame

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