Mark's Photo Travels

Soon I'll be leading a hike up to the observation tower on Sassafras Mountain on the Foothills Trail (weather permitting of course!). I haven't hiked this section of the Foothills Trail before, and I wanted to see what it's like on my own before I lead the group hike. I also wanted to see Beech Bottom Falls, formerly known as Pinnacle Falls, while I was there. That waterfall is down a different trail I had visited in 2015. A new trail was opened in the summer of 2018, the waterfall renamed at the same time, and the old trail has been abandoned. I parked at the Chimneytop Gap parking access area, off U.S. 178 seven miles north of the intersection with S.C. 11. I thought too many cars were parked here to all be individual hikers. I figured it had to be some sort of a meetup. I also figured they were probably headed up Sassafras Mountain. But for now, I'm more interested in what's down Beech Bottom Falls Trail. Beech Bottom Falls Trail The bat roost I saw in...

With 2019's endless summer finally gone for the year and cooler less humid weather firmly established, I finally felt able to venture outdoors. I have some long hikes planned for this weekend, so I wanted something that wouldn't tax me too much. Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve fit my needs perfectly. Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve is a 65 acre nature preserve located on Glassy Mountain in Pickens County, SC , not to be confused with a mountain of the same name one county west in Greenville County. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources acquired the property in 1990. One official trail winds around the mountain up to the summit, but I also found a few unofficial trails leading to several overlooks. Glassy Mountain is an example of a monadnock , an isolated mountain rising above the foothills of the Upstate of South Carolina. Paris Mountain in Greenville County is another example of a monadnock. Paris Mountain also has hiking trails (courtesy of the state...