A rainy then cold 35-mile single night backpack
This one-night out-and-back backpacking trip on the Foothills trail started on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Oconee State Park in South Carolina. The campsite and turnaround point was at the ~17.5 mile mark.
Work had been strenuous and it had been awhile since I had a vacation, so this midweek backpack seemed like the perfect escape from stress. Of course, nothing goes 100% according to plan. Thursday morning I naturally awakened at ~5:55, noticing that my clock radio had been playing silence since 5:45. Yup. Bulldog 93.3 was off the air. Instead of leisurely heading out to the mountains, I went to the transmitter site and reset the studio transmitter link, since its signal had fallen below the squelch threshold in the heavy rain, but had not reset. Lowering the squelch threshold at the transmitter site fixed this, but it still cost me a trip over there. Fortunately the radio station was back on the air before 6:30.
The dogs and I loaded up the car and left home at around 7:30 and listened to The Bloodhound Gang's One Fierce Beer Coaster album on the trip (guilty pleasure from my middle school years), and arrived at Oconee State Park at around 9:30.
The forecast called for 80% chance of rain all day, which was to clear out by nighttime for the remainder of the trip. Temperatures stayed in the 40's for most of the trip.
Hitting the trail at 9:45am.
The backpacking trip started at Oconee State Park in South Carolina; hiking 17.5 miles to the campsite, and then turning around and backtracking to the car on Friday.
In the back of my mind I was hoping that "80% chance of rain" would mean "scattered intermittent showers". No dice. It rained almost continuously on Thursday from the time we started hiking. There were only a few 15-minute breaks from the continuous rain. We were wet but motivated by the upcoming sunny skies in the forecast. Finally around 5:00pm the rain stopped.
This trail was very well-marked. There were ample blazes and signs, which is perfect for an OCD person like me. Throughout Thursday we didn't see any people on the trail.
Another photo from the same location. Using the sign post pictured above to hold the camera. The trail paralleled roads and crossed several roads during the first part of the hike, but by later in the day we were actually were in the middle of nowhere. That's what I prefer.
Millie is thinking, "Why does this millennial have to punish me with these nature walks?"
There were several picturesque waterfalls, rivers, and streams throughout the course of this trip.
Blue skies were a welcome sight.
The rain was gone but the humidity was still high.
Mabel is thinking, "I love it out here!"
For every picture of the dogs that look decent I shoot at least five that don't make the cut. If I had a dollar for every photo of the dogs mooning the camera I would be a rich man.
I didn't take any photos of the campsite, but it was nothing to write home about. I estimate that temperatures were in the high 30's or low 40's overnight. It was cold, and my hands were numb in the morning when I was tearing down camp. The following day we saw people - workers from the American Conservation Experience maintaining the trails. We walked alongside the crew leader, who shot this photo. I thought that I was really roughing it to be outside in these elements, but apparently these guys were out there all week in the constant cold rain, so they win the award for endurance and mental strength.
Dominick, the crew leader. A 23-year-old full-time ACE employee. He told me that when he graduated from college he started doing this work because he loves the outdoors and didn't know what to do with his life. His future plans may include working for the United States Forest Service or doing work similar to what he is doing now. Dominick told me that most crew members are practically volunteers because they are only paid ~$3/hr and provided food and shelter.
I was speaking to Dominick so intently that I unintentionally followed him on side-trail leading to the waterfall pictured in the above photo. I was glad for this diversion because normally I don't take any detours, and this waterfall was beautiful.
This was the only location of the hike that I replenished my water - once on Thursday, and once on the return trip Friday. This location is 13.6 trail miles from Oconee State Park according to the sign that my camera was sitting on to take this photo. This photo was shot on the return hike, and beyond this point the air temperature began to noticeably decrease. There were times I was hiking with the thick jacket pictured, and I was actually not too hot.
I am not sure if some critter died here, but Mabel rolled on the ground in the same spot both times we passed this spot.
As we neared the car we all became increasingly tired. Even when we stopped briefly the dogs curled up and rested. When we returned home, they both went straight for their beds for the night. They didn't even go outside for a bathroom break.
Clear skies on Friday were pretty to look at. As it warms up in the upcoming months I am looking forward to backpacking trips of shorter distance and more leisure time. There are some beautiful places that can certainly be better enjoyed when the stress of covering ground is removed.
I am considering another trip to the Chattooga River Trail. This time instead of covering over 40 miles in a weekend I would hike approximately five miles to secluded beach area and just relax for a day. It would be a new twist on my backpacking adventures, but I believe it would be a lot of fun.
A washed out campsite that is approximately one mile from Oconee State Park.
Finally made it to the car around 7:30pm. Tired and glad to be finished.
The Oconee State Park sign at the front entrance.