Foothills Trail

Trail

          Went back to work Thursday the 5th- bummer -like to work and like my job, it just gets in the way of being me! Tuesday, Gracie and I drove to the Foothills trail and hiked. Boy was it cold and clear and windy and an exhilarating experience, felt like I had just eaten a peppermint  patty [ old TV commercial ] ! We hiked from the Laurel Valley Access toward the Laurel Fork Falls Area, that's over a six hundred foot elevation change in a short period of time. We moved fast both up and down the mountain, breathing hard and quick trying to stay warm. We stopped for water and I shed my fleece and hat and cooled down a minute, having warmed up too much. The trail crosses an old logging road which we turned left on and followed it until it dead ended into the main gravel road which cuts through the Jocassee Gorge Area. We then traced our footsteps back to the truck. Only gone about three hours, but they were a good three hours.

          Monday morning the 10th of Jan. we headed out to see the lakes, didn't take the canoe and wished I had  as soon as we got to Lake Keowee. It was overcast and still, not a sound except for the lake sounds and noisy  bird sounds. The lake is about five feet below full pond and a lot of shore is showing. Walking along the shore in the sand  near the boat ramp, I spotted a bear track- always heart warming to see bear sign. This was a big print, larger then my hand,and a line of smaller prints were following alongside. The prints disappeared at the cement boat ramp either going in the water or to the parking lot. Took a picture of the bear claw print, but still haven't been able to down load onto the computer. I will be getting another camera real soon, I take quite a few pictures on my journeys and feel slighted not being able to do so now! The camera phone just doesn't do what needs to be done!

          We left Keowee and drove to Lake Jocassee, entered a different time warp zone! Fog on the lake was thick as mashed potatoes covered with cotton balls. Gracie and I hiked the Bear Cove Trail to the lake shore and pushed our way through the cotton ball fog stumbling over lumpy mashed potatoes and slick red-eye gravy. Jocassee is about twenty-five feet below full pond, so the shore line around the lake is wide, rocky and steep. We walked just a short ways on the shore, fog so thick could not even see the mountain range on other side of lake.  Reminded me of the time a couple years back when we were taking a canoe trip across the lake and going to camp over night on the Foothills trail.. Fog thick that morning, right tight to the shore and surrounding the truck as we unloaded the stuff from truck to canoe, almost couldn't see between the two. Had the canoe loaded, parked truck and had to call Gracie to come lead me to the big red canoe, fog was so heavy. We got in canoe and started paddling across the mile wide lake where we would stop for a break  and let the fog burn off before making the long trip to the other end of Lake Jocassee.Normally takes me about thirty minutes to cross the lake, one easy relaxing stroke at a time, not that day! All we see is white and the paddle in my hand, I'm paddling a straight line, a bee line if you will, toward the opposite shore. The clock is ticking! I'm really having fun cutting through this heavy fog and am in no hurry, but I slowly realize that this is taking an awfully long time to reach the other side.Pulling my GPS unit out of my dry bag, turning it on and waiting for it to read  the satellites above me, I see trees off to my right- this should not be! Yes the story of my life, I'm spinning around in circles in a fog induced state goin' no where! North is the direction we want to be paddling, so I pull up the compass on the GPS and point north. Still buried in the fog, but now have a plan in place.  We get the canoe squared away and try again. Success! in just a few minutes we not only see our target but also the fog is lifting, revealing a clear sun filled sky and calm clear waters.

          Our next stop was into NC to the Whitewater Falls. I could hear the falls,but not see them, still too foggy! We drove a big loop thru NC and returned home much later than planned. Always good to see new and old haunts, keeps us grounded to what's important.

          On the land or in the woods,

          Turtle