Mark's Photo Travels

I recently got in touch with long time friend Eric Cunningham to see if we might find a day to go exploring. I haven't been on an adventure with him since 2015 when we went to see Spider Tunnel Falls . He suggested we start at  High Bridge , what's now a pedestrian-only bridge over the Green River in Henderson County, North Carolina a few miles east of Saluda. High Bridge and Lake Summit High Bridge, also known as the Green River Bridge, carried traffic on U.S. 176 between 1927 until 2001, when a new bridge parallel to it opened. High Bridge then became open only to foot traffic. We walked past the barricades onto the bridge. Plaques on both ends commemorate the construction of the bridge. The Green River was far below, but even from the bridge it's easy to see the river is aptly named. At the far end of the bridge on one side is a steep path leading down to a service road down below, and on the other side is a less steep but longer path down to a service...

Over the years of hiking in the mountainous part of South Carolina, I've come across the ruins of old moonshine stills, mainly rusty old sheet metal barrels, or rusty metal bands by themselves. For my second adventure this week, I thought it would be interesting to actively seek out ruins of old moonshine stills and see how many I could find. I selected an area of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area near Wildcat Wayside between US 276 and Persimmon Ridge Road. One, because it's a short drive and two because the area is relatively undisturbed even by hikers. My plan was to explore up the unnamed creek with Spider Tunnel Falls from U.S. 276, then over to the base of Heritage Falls, then back down Slickum Creek to Wildcat Wayside, then back to U.S. 276. While I wasn't waterfall hunting today, Spider Tunnel Falls is too just good to ignore. Part of this waterfall can be seen from U.S. 276 during the months when trees are leafless. A faint path leading uphill is o...