Most college students who spend spring break in South Carolina spend it in Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. I did not. Instead, I traveled to Northwest South Carolina and Southwest North Carolina to hike the Foothills Trail from west to east (that's a lot of directions).
History
The Foothills Trail is a 76.2-mile long trail that is mostly in South Carolina and dives in and out of numerous gorges while periodically traversing mountain ridges in the southeastern-most reaches of the Appalachian Mountains.Going west-to-east, which seems the most popular option, takes one from Oconee State Park to Table Rock State Park, passing over Sassafrass Mountain, the highest mountain in South Carolina, in between.
Day 1
I left for Table Rock State Park in the morning (about 5 hours from Raleigh) and catch a shuttle to Oconee State Park, then get to one of the campsites in the guidebook between 5 and 12 miles into the hike. I got my picture taken at the Oconee trailhead and marched off, knowing I had 76.2 miles to go until freedom. My plan was to hike from Tuesday until Sunday, which would come to an average of 12.7 miles per day. However, I really wanted to get back to Raleigh Saturday, bumping that average up to 15.3 miles per day.
With only 4 hours of daylight after getting on the trailhead, I was determined to put in a big chunk of mileage. In my experience, there are essentially no campsites that aren't listed in the guidebook, so I had two campsites in mind. After spending a combined 6 hours in cars, I had a head full of steam and a ton of energy, taking off at a pace that I was determined to set as the standard for the trip, 8 miles every 3 hours. Section A14 was a nice stroll over some ridge tops, with views over the Piedmont, but the tree coverage was too much to translate well into pictures. Already, the sun was beating on me and the weather felt hotter than the 64 F my weather app claimed it to be. I quickly came upon my first campsite option and easily decided that continuing on was the best option.
 |
| Well-Maintained Trail |
 |
| Piedmont View |
Section A13 is extremely short and is never very far from the road. There are continued views of the Piedmont, but otherwise nothing in the way of water or camping options.
 |
| One of many footbridges |
I continued on into Section A12, and eventually came to Lick Log Falls, a nice, short waterfall with an abundance of nearby campsites. Gauging my options, I elected to stay here and gathered up just enough dry wood for a small fire. I ate grits and drank hot cocoa and fell asleep listening to the falls. Spirits were high.
 |
| Lick Log Falls |
 |
| No camping next to the falls, but plenty ~50 yards away |
Day 2
Daylight savings had just come into effect, and as a result, waking up at 7:00 AM (sleeping in by my usual standards) meant waking up before the sun. I opted for a cold breakfast of granola bars and was on the trail by 7:30 AM. The trail climbs out of the canyon formed by Lick Log Creek to the rim of a gorge above the Chatooga River, which here forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina (the filming location for the film Deliverance is several miles downstream in Talullah Gorge). The trail parallels the river, but it does not run right next to the river the entire time. It actually dips in and out of gorges next to the river, and while the views of the river are excellent, the effect on the body is pain. Some areas of this section are exquisite, and the river churns over and around giant knife-edges formed by boulders. This reminds me of the Linville Gorge Trail, and while the trail is generally well maintained, this section was where most of the downed trees were. Eventually the trail goes through some sandy sections, thankfully not too long, and skirts up right to the edge of the river. I passed a group of 7 or 8 middle school girls and went on to Burrell's Ford campground, site of an old ford pioneers used to use. I did like thinking how some of the trail may have been tread by the famous explorer, for lack of a better term, John Bartram. |
| Sunrise |
 |
| Overlooking the Chatooga |
 |
| The trail abuts the river |
At this point, having hiked about 8 miles, I sat and ate a light brunch of granola bar and muesli with Nido fortified powdered milk, which is actually pretty good when eaten like this. I continued on, planning on doing my expected 16 miles, but at this point I was feeling a little worn out from all the ups and downs along the Chatooga. I have never done a thru-hike like this before, and perhaps it's due to my personality, but it was very hard for me to relax. Every single minute felt like it was time I could have been hiking. Hiking 16 miles in one shot sounds easy when you're lying in a tent, but in practice it is mentally and physically taxing. However, the plans one makes start to feel like commitments, and to not hike 16 miles becomes a failure.
I pushed on over the Burrell's Ford Section A10, which traverses the Medlin Mountain ridge, the 3rd highest part of the hike. I did not personally find the views here much to write home about. This lack of visual stimulation lead to some despair, as I was getting tired and the weather on my app was showing rain all day the next day and storms all day the next, leading me to believe my Saturday goal would not be achieved unless I put even more miles in today. This section was also virtually devoid of water sources.
I pushed into the Fish Hatchery Road Section A10, which drops into a canyon in which the East Fork Chatooga River flows. This section is honestly a blur to me, and I remember little because I was totally exhausted by now. I should have camped along the East Fork, but I was not yet at my 16 mile goal, so I pushed on. Typically at this point in a hike, my feet and legs would be in a lot of pain, but I recently bought new boots that had pretty much alleviated that. Instead, the source of pain was my pack. I tried to keep my base weight down, but being my first hike of such a long distance, I overpacked, especially when it came to food, and my total pack weight, not including water, was between 35-40 lbs. Some things I could easily leave home include: extra batteries for headlamp (barely use it, and if it has fresh batteries at the start of the trip it will be fine), extra tent stakes (no high winds in forecast), a lot of the food I brought, GPS (basically impossible to lose the trail), and some other things. Another gear mistake was bringing the Sawyer Squeeze Mini. I got this filter for Christmas, and I tested it before I came on this trip with good results, but I only needed to filter a little bit of water when I tested it. The amount of time it takes to process 2-3 liters of water is on the order of an hour, and it is not practical. Because it took so long to filter water, and to keep my pack weight down, I was not filtering enough water as I hiked as I should have been, and I am fairly sure I was dehydrated by the end of the day. The filter would be good to keep in a car in case of emergency or to use on a day hike when all you need is a Smartwater bottle, but I will never bring this on a backpacking trip again.
The Sloan Bridge Section A9 had some great views of Lake Jocassee and the Bad Creek reservoir as I crossed into North Carolina. My pack at this point was weighing quite heavily on me (especially my upper back and chest, beginning to cause breathing pain), and I was extremely thirsty. I did finally stop at a water source, but after filtering for 20 minutes I only had 2-3 cups of water. I came upon a spur trail that lead to campsites, which was my last option for camping for the next 8 miles, but since it was only 3:00 PM, I decided (wrongly) to continue on.
 |
| Lake Jocassee far; Bad Creek Reservoir near |
I switched-back down to the road access to the Upper Whitewater Falls Section A8 access, where I had been with my shuttle driver just 24 hours before, and braced myself for the remaining 6 miles. The next 6 miles of switchbacks and stairclimbing was unbearable, and the weight of the pack plus my minor dehydration were punishing me. Unfortunately, despite what I would retrospectively call the most beautiful part of the trail I did, I did not have the energy to appreciate the Upper Whitewater Falls, which are the tallest falls east of the Mississippi and completely breathtaking.
 |
| Taken from the bottom of Upper Whitewater Falls |
I passed the intersection to the trail coming from the Bad Creek Access Section A7, and dragged myself to a campsite with a pitiful, but nonetheless flowing, water source. I shared camp with 2 other small groups, but the noise was minimal, and I was so exhausted and thirsty that I could have fallen asleep to anything. I ate nothing due to nausea and filtered water as fast as I could, boiling a pot of unfiltered water to speed up the process. I realized at this point that I had some combination of dehydration and exhaustion, and tried to figure out what I could stomach that would replenish electrolytes, and hot cocoa did the job enough to make me feel good about going to sleep. Total mileage for the day was 24 miles, and I had made up my mind to bail out the next day.
Day 3
I woke up, filtered more water, and felt a little more normal. I had second thoughts about bailing out, but there is no road access on the trail for the next ~30 miles, so I texted my shuttle driver and arranged a ride from the Bad Creek access. My legs and feet felt fine, but after putting on my pack to hike the 2 miles to the road access, my breathing pain was still present, and I felt comfortable in my decision. |
| Hiking back to the road |
In postmortem, I tried to do too much (obviously). Had I committed mentally to finishing Sunday, forced myself to take all day to do 16 miles, and not tried to squeeze in extra miles, I would have done it. My pack was heavy, and could have been lightened, but it was not alone the source of my troubles. Hiking 24 miles in a day (or 16 miles in 6 hours) is not appropriate with that pack weight, and I could have gotten away with it if I were on the ultralight spectrum of things.
I look forward to using these lessons learned to go back and complete the hike. I only have 44 miles left and could comfortably finish in 4 days. I plan on coming back for fall break in 2019 and getting the Peregrine Award!
Miscellany
This is my first blog of 2019, so Happy New Year! I will be going back to New Mexico this summer for a shorter summer than last year, but I still plan on getting at least one overnight trip a month in while I'm there. I wanted to spend more time in Colorado, but snowfall has been above average this year (versus last year's drought), so I may only get one trip in. I am planning on doing the Art Loeb Trail near Brevard, NC, on Easter weekend, and will make a post for that if it all goes well. I am also happy to say that I will be attending the M&C 2019 conference in Portland, OR, this year, and I am planning on renting a car to do a long day hike in the Mount Hood National Forest.My time in North Carolina feels like it's winding down. As I write this, I am writing my PhD proposal, and I personally do not feel it will take me more than a year after my prelims to get my degree. Thus, I am considering a bucket list of things I want to see before I leave. Finishing the Foothills Trail is certainly on that list. I also would like to summit Clingman's Dome, Mt. Mitchell, and Mt. Rogers, the highest peaks in TN, NC, and VA, respectively. Finally, I'd love to go to the Outer Banks. With the driving distance it takes for me to get to these places, those very well could be all my future backpacking trips before leaving the state.