The first day of this new year, 2021. Rain here in SC. Helped the wife do a couple simple chores around the house and than it was time to go take a hike! I changed into my hiking clothes and put on my LL Bean hunting boots with the worn soles and experienced foot steps. My North Face rain jacket that I bought over twenty years ago to use when I canoe camped in the Okefenokee Swamp. Topped my rain gear off with a Tilley hat given to me by my sweet wife. All ready to go - so I went!
Ashmore Heritage Preserve is a superb place, simple and easy. It has become my go to place when time is tight, but time with nature and myself is important. God has blessed the Upstate with many nice quiet spots. Today, I go there to hike in the rain. It Rained! Parked the truck and retrieved my trekking poles from behind the backseat, instantly soaked by this steady shower.
Walked down the road a ways and turned left on the unused road to the trail. Love the walk as it makes it's way down into the woods. The left side is almost a wall in parts with boulders and trees anchored in the small hillside while the right side looks down at the windings of a small stream. The footpath is a running creek in places and standing water in the low spots. I splash onward stepping carefully while enjoying the smell and sound of rain on this isolated afternoon. A bridge is located at the left of the trail crossing over a fast moving creek, I always use the bridge even on the dry days. You climb a easy rise and there is Wattacoo Lake, I've also seen it called Lake Wattacoo, but anyhow there it is.
Not sure how big it is or even why it is here. Manmade with an earthen dam, the far side has an old fence still standing and you can see a drain pipe out in the middle of the water. The mountain backdrop frames the lake showing God's handy work and beauty. Looking for the waterfall on the right side of the mountain, I see it clearly today because of all the rain. Some days it's just a trickle and hard to find. A narrow steep trail is hard to follow, but goes to the base of the falls. I hiked and climbed up it one day this pass summer just to say I did. Yes, it was a challenge. A slow careful clamber using hands feet and the seat of my pants! No, coming back down was not easier, maybe faster. A couple of times almost much too fast! I clung to saplings and branches slowing down the gravity, a fall would have hurt.
I stood and stayed still for a few minutes soaking up the moment and even literally the rain, my gear was not shedding the water as it did in the past. Making the slow thoughtful walk/hike back to my truck I can only be thankful for God's blessings and goodness in my life.
In the woods or on the water
Turtle
