Hiking The Foothills Trail
The Foothills Trail is a nearly 77-mile trail that begins and ends in South Carolina. The trail also goes into North Carolina for approximately 20 miles more or less in the middle portion of the trail.
The Foothills Trail is the trail of "many bridges." For most of the trail, the Foothills trail is near water with more bridge crossing over rivers, streams, and creeks than any other trail I have been on. I didn't keep count on how many bridges this trail has, but I'd venture the number is in the high 40s at least.
The Foothills Trail was the first "long distance" trail I completely finished, albeit in sections. It is also short enough that I can see myself doing a thru hike of the Foothills Trail in the future. I can see the trail being done comfortably in 4 days.
Unfortunately, my trip report of this hike is going to be severely limited as I lost my guidebook on the last hike to finish the trail. I lost all of my notes. I guess it is better than losing it on day one. I will have to go off memory--a dangerous proposition!
I did this hike in three sections. The first section was the middle section of the Foothills Trail from Bad Creek (31.7 miles) to Laurel Valley (61.8 miles). I did this 30.1 mile section with Kestrel and CG as a (technically three) but really it was a two day hike. I did this hike on my birthday weekend. Of the three Foothills sections, this was my least favorite, but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. I just really, really enjoyed the other two sections. (Note: This section cannot be divided into smaller sections. It pretty much must be done as a continuous hike as Bad Creek and Laurel Valley are the only trailheads for this 30 mile stretch of trail).
The second section I did solo. I did Bad Creek (31.7 miles) to Oconee State Park (0 miles) as a two day hike. However, I decided to do a side trail that I missed last time to Lower White Water Falls, which added 4.8 miles to my hike. This was my second favorite section, with three major highlights: Upper White Water Falls, Lower White Waterfalls, and hiking along the Chattooga River.
The last section I did with Kestrel again as a day hike. We hiked from Table Rock State Park (76.2 miles) to Sassafras Mountain (66.4 miles). But before I did this hike, I had to finish Sassafras Mountain (66.4 miles) to Laurel Valley (61.8 miles). So we decided I would do this 4.6 mile section before Kestrel got there early that morning, and she was kind enough to meet me at Laurel Valley to continue our hike from Table Rock to my car at Sassafras. This was by far my favorite section thanks to Pinnacle Knob and Sassafras Mt, the easiest mountain in SC.
With this last hike, I finished the Foothills Trail!!! I conquered my first trail, but it surely will not be my last.
The Foothills Trail is the trail of "many bridges." For most of the trail, the Foothills trail is near water with more bridge crossing over rivers, streams, and creeks than any other trail I have been on. I didn't keep count on how many bridges this trail has, but I'd venture the number is in the high 40s at least.
The Foothills Trail was the first "long distance" trail I completely finished, albeit in sections. It is also short enough that I can see myself doing a thru hike of the Foothills Trail in the future. I can see the trail being done comfortably in 4 days.
Unfortunately, my trip report of this hike is going to be severely limited as I lost my guidebook on the last hike to finish the trail. I lost all of my notes. I guess it is better than losing it on day one. I will have to go off memory--a dangerous proposition!
I did this hike in three sections. The first section was the middle section of the Foothills Trail from Bad Creek (31.7 miles) to Laurel Valley (61.8 miles). I did this 30.1 mile section with Kestrel and CG as a (technically three) but really it was a two day hike. I did this hike on my birthday weekend. Of the three Foothills sections, this was my least favorite, but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. I just really, really enjoyed the other two sections. (Note: This section cannot be divided into smaller sections. It pretty much must be done as a continuous hike as Bad Creek and Laurel Valley are the only trailheads for this 30 mile stretch of trail).
The second section I did solo. I did Bad Creek (31.7 miles) to Oconee State Park (0 miles) as a two day hike. However, I decided to do a side trail that I missed last time to Lower White Water Falls, which added 4.8 miles to my hike. This was my second favorite section, with three major highlights: Upper White Water Falls, Lower White Waterfalls, and hiking along the Chattooga River.
The last section I did with Kestrel again as a day hike. We hiked from Table Rock State Park (76.2 miles) to Sassafras Mountain (66.4 miles). But before I did this hike, I had to finish Sassafras Mountain (66.4 miles) to Laurel Valley (61.8 miles). So we decided I would do this 4.6 mile section before Kestrel got there early that morning, and she was kind enough to meet me at Laurel Valley to continue our hike from Table Rock to my car at Sassafras. This was by far my favorite section thanks to Pinnacle Knob and Sassafras Mt, the easiest mountain in SC.
With this last hike, I finished the Foothills Trail!!! I conquered my first trail, but it surely will not be my last.