Welcome to the Palmetto!

[Tabasco Hikes]

Many thanks to Richard Towle (Troll, 2010) and Whiteblaze for adding the Palmetto trail to their list of long thru-hikes. Hopefully, this beautiful, 500 mile trek from the South Carolina coastal lowlands to the Appalachian mountains will benefit from some much needed visibility in the hiking community and offer Palmetto thru-hikers a space to exchange their experiences and questions.

http://www.palmettoconservation.org/maps.asp/

Please check back. I begin my Palmetto thru-hike on 01/10/2015 and I will be sure to post pictures and reflections about my experience in this forum. Charles "Cracker" Cunningham is already on the trail.

Happy Trails!
Tabasco

[Taba]

I thru-hiked the Palmetto Trail at the end of 2012 and wrote the "Thru-Hiker's Manual for the Palmetto Trail". Do you have this book for your hike already? If not they are available at www.thruhikersmanual.com Good luck on your hike. If you have any questions about it contact me somehow. I'll check this thread every now and then to see if I can help out somewhere.

[Kraken Skullz]

Welcome. My avatar is from the PT. My dad and I have done a few sections of it so far. There are a lot of gaps once you get past the swamp fox section, so keep a keen eye on the yellow blazes and take your map with you. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Taba]

The gaps that you are referring to have been connected together with temporary road routes. With the help of the PCF, I designed these routes during my hike in 2012. These routes are on back roads and dirt roads, only crossing the main highways. The Thru-Hiker's Manual for the Palmetto Trail has all of these directions so if you carry the Manual you should have no problem navigating the trail now. Check it out at: www.Thruhikersmanual.com

[Kraken Skullz]

What about the section in the eutaw springs section that is completely overgrown and impassable? I did that section a few months back and did more road walking than trail walking

[Taba]

Actually I just looked at the Manual and found that I had made a note about that section just past Nelson Ferry Road being overgrown but in most of that area, the trail is only about 15 feet off the road and the road walk is a blend dirt, gravel and paved roads.

[Kraken Skullz]

Yeah. My dad and I had to ask permission from a local to go through their backyard. If you have an inside person you can talk to, this section needs a lot of work.

[Taba]

I'm sure the PCF will send someone out there when it warms up or if you live close by maybe you could get a small group to go out with hand saws and clippers. It takes a lot of volunteers, a lot of time and a lot of work to maintain these longer trail systems. Whenever I hike I carry some tools to help clean the path as I go along for others behind me. The rule is that: If it's in my way it's in everybody else's so, Move it." Then the posts might change from how poorly the trail is maintained to how beautiful the environment is around you or something more positive that is inviting for other readers to want to go out and see it for themselves. What did you think of all the tall pine trees? Did you see any wildlife other than the horses in the fenced in field on Farm Hill Circle? Was the sun shining?

[Kraken Skullz]

It's nice to have a nice attitude.

[Tabasco Hikes]

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Scot: Thank you for your note and I am sorry it has taken so long to reply. I began the Palmetto on 01-12-15 from Buck Hall and have completed the first two passages (Awendaw and Swamp Fox). Tomorrow I begin the Lake Moultrie Passage. I have your thru-hiker's guide and even plugged it in my Trail Journal. :-)

The first two passages were so incredibly well-marked and clear of debris, I fear I may have been spoiled. But I have your guide and the PCF maps. Hopefully, those will keep me headed in the right direction.

If you are interested, you can follow my hike at http://www.trailjournals.com/tabasco. I am trying to post every day, but my cell phone battery doesn't last nearly as long as I had hoped. Anyway, thanks for your good work on the guide.

Tabasco

[Tabasco Hikes]

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My dad and I have done a few sections of it so far. There are a lot of gaps once you get past the swamp fox section, so keep a keen eye on the yellow blazes and take your map with you. Let me know if you have any questions.

Kraken: I appreciate your offer to help if I get lost and as I said to Taba, I am sorry it has taken this long to reply. Now that I am on the PT, I don't get over to Whiteblaze as often. I really have to conserve my cell phone battery as much as I can. I remain hopeful that the rest of the PT is as well-marked as the first two passages. Hiking is such a joy when you can enjoy the hike rather than having to constantly backtrack to find your last blaze. :-). Regardless, I am in it for the long-haul so I'll see where it takes me.

If you have a moment, I would be interested to hear which sections you and your dad have hiked. I mentioned this to Taba, but if you have the time and interest to follow my hike, you will find my Trail Journal at http://www.trailjournals.com/tabasco. I'd like to invite you along if you are interested.

Tabasco

[Kraken Skullz]

Tabasco,

We have hiked up to the santee passage and I have done the section in Newberry at Lynches Woods. The section you have to lookout for is the Eutaw Springs section. There will be a lot of road walking and there is a section of overgrown trail that you will either have to bushwhack or go around. My dad and I went around it thanks to a nice local.

[Tabasco Hikes]

We have hiked up to the Santee passage and I have done the section in Newberry at Lynches Woods. The section you have to lookout for is the Eutaw Springs section. There will be a lot of road walking and there is a section of overgrown trail that you will either have to bushwhack or go around. My dad and I went around it thanks to a nice local.

Hi Kraken: I'm sorry I missed this note, but you were exactly right about the stretch from Eutawville to Santee. I spent about half a day looking for the trail. I finally ran into a mountain biker who explained that the trail was overgrown and difficult to find. He also explained that the PCF held a town meeting on 01/20/15 to discuss with locals the plans for the trail. His suggestion was for me to hike the CSX railway to Santee, but I don't like walking an active line so I hiked the Old Number 6 Hwy.

Thanks again for the update!

Tabasco

[Kraken Skullz]

No problem. It gets much better once you get past that stretch.