waasj
04-18-2014, 21:11
I just got back from doing this hike.
Day 1 Started from Oconee around 1:00 and made it to Lick Log Creek. From the SC 107 crossing to Nichelson (sp?) Ford Road was burned over.
Day 2 Camped at Burrells Ford and had no problems. A portion of the trail was through a burned over area, but overall it was very pleasent and scenic.
Day 3 Camped at Bad Creek site. Found a cool waterfall along the section from Fish Hatchery road to SC 107. Steep path down, but worth it. Awesome walk down Whitewater River. Nice campsite, horrible weather!
Day 4 Camped at Toxaway River site. Outstanding hike as the weather cleared about midday. Up and over Heartbreak Ridge first thing in the morning. Hilliard Falls, Bearcamp Creek, Horsepature River and finishing with the suspension bridge at Toxaway made for a pretty cool day of hiking. Clear skies at night but COLD (low 30's)
Day 5 Camped at the Cantrell Homsite. Again, a great day of hiking. The section along Laurel Fork was fantastic Laurel Fork falls and Virginia Hawking falls were outstanding. Burned over from SC 178 and Chimneytops Gap.Clear and cold again as I came over Sassafrass Mountain.
Day 6 Ice in the water jug this morning! Clear and cold. Hiked out the remaining 8 miles or so with no problems. Outstanding views with numerous outcroppings and waterfalls along the way. Got a big Karma slap about 1 mile from the end of the trail, caught a root and face planted in the middle of the trail, my only real injury of the trip. It was more embrassing than painful as I was right in front of a couple of day hikers coming up from Table Rock!! Hit Table Rock about noon.
All in all a great trail with outstanding waterfalls and some fairly challenging portions. Nicely maintained with some very impressive bridges and stairs. These can be pretty slick in the rain! Most of the trail is very well blazed and there was only one time that I really began to wonder if I had gotten off the trail, but quickly picked up a blaze when I started concentrating on finding one. A good portion of the trail is on old logging road bed, so the grade is relatively easy and the path is nice and wide. There were few blowdowns and evidence of an agressive clearing effort was apparent. Lots of water to be had. Not too much trash except in some of the larger campsites. Great support from the trail community with shuttles etc. I had very little cell phone coverage, so you might want to set up your shuttles ahead of time. I was not sure of my finish date, so called in from Sassafrass Mountain and was set after only two calls.
Spring was a great time to be out in this area. Lots of wildflowers (Trillium, Oconee Bell, Bluets, and others) were in bloom and the tress were just starting to bud out, so there were many shades of green punctuated by large dogwoods in full bloom. I was able to see or hear several species of bird (Osprey Pileated Woodpecker, many unidentified warblers, Barred Owl) but saw very few mammals, mainly squirrells. Spotted a few Garter Snakes and a Black Racer, and was serinaded by many of the spring frogs and toads.
I would defnately recommend this trail if you are looking for a couple of days of peace and quiet. I saw relatively few people and had Lick Log and Bad Creek to myself. Only two other groups at Burrells Ford and Toxaway, and two other people at Cantrell Homesite. Only ran into about 10 people on the trail except during the first mile or so at Oconee and the last few miles into Table Rock.
Day 1 Started from Oconee around 1:00 and made it to Lick Log Creek. From the SC 107 crossing to Nichelson (sp?) Ford Road was burned over.
Day 2 Camped at Burrells Ford and had no problems. A portion of the trail was through a burned over area, but overall it was very pleasent and scenic.
Day 3 Camped at Bad Creek site. Found a cool waterfall along the section from Fish Hatchery road to SC 107. Steep path down, but worth it. Awesome walk down Whitewater River. Nice campsite, horrible weather!
Day 4 Camped at Toxaway River site. Outstanding hike as the weather cleared about midday. Up and over Heartbreak Ridge first thing in the morning. Hilliard Falls, Bearcamp Creek, Horsepature River and finishing with the suspension bridge at Toxaway made for a pretty cool day of hiking. Clear skies at night but COLD (low 30's)
Day 5 Camped at the Cantrell Homsite. Again, a great day of hiking. The section along Laurel Fork was fantastic Laurel Fork falls and Virginia Hawking falls were outstanding. Burned over from SC 178 and Chimneytops Gap.Clear and cold again as I came over Sassafrass Mountain.
Day 6 Ice in the water jug this morning! Clear and cold. Hiked out the remaining 8 miles or so with no problems. Outstanding views with numerous outcroppings and waterfalls along the way. Got a big Karma slap about 1 mile from the end of the trail, caught a root and face planted in the middle of the trail, my only real injury of the trip. It was more embrassing than painful as I was right in front of a couple of day hikers coming up from Table Rock!! Hit Table Rock about noon.
All in all a great trail with outstanding waterfalls and some fairly challenging portions. Nicely maintained with some very impressive bridges and stairs. These can be pretty slick in the rain! Most of the trail is very well blazed and there was only one time that I really began to wonder if I had gotten off the trail, but quickly picked up a blaze when I started concentrating on finding one. A good portion of the trail is on old logging road bed, so the grade is relatively easy and the path is nice and wide. There were few blowdowns and evidence of an agressive clearing effort was apparent. Lots of water to be had. Not too much trash except in some of the larger campsites. Great support from the trail community with shuttles etc. I had very little cell phone coverage, so you might want to set up your shuttles ahead of time. I was not sure of my finish date, so called in from Sassafrass Mountain and was set after only two calls.
Spring was a great time to be out in this area. Lots of wildflowers (Trillium, Oconee Bell, Bluets, and others) were in bloom and the tress were just starting to bud out, so there were many shades of green punctuated by large dogwoods in full bloom. I was able to see or hear several species of bird (Osprey Pileated Woodpecker, many unidentified warblers, Barred Owl) but saw very few mammals, mainly squirrells. Spotted a few Garter Snakes and a Black Racer, and was serinaded by many of the spring frogs and toads.
I would defnately recommend this trail if you are looking for a couple of days of peace and quiet. I saw relatively few people and had Lick Log and Bad Creek to myself. Only two other groups at Burrells Ford and Toxaway, and two other people at Cantrell Homesite. Only ran into about 10 people on the trail except during the first mile or so at Oconee and the last few miles into Table Rock.