Mark's Photo Travels

Usually when one hikes up the strenuous  Falls Creek Trail near River Falls in northern Greenville County it's to see Falls Creek Falls , a must visit waterfall in Jones Gap State Park. I've been there a number of times, and it's always a pleasure to visit, except for the difficulty making the climb. This time I came to hike Falls Creek Trail to visit a number of rarely visited smaller waterfalls, the last one being Chute Falls, all reachable by spur paths from the main trail. The parking area, just beyond Palmetto Bible Camp, has room for only two or three cars, but a limited amount of space is available off one side the road for a few more cars. Before heading up the trail, I had to visit the dam for Trammel Lake. While not a waterfall, the stone dam does make for a good photo when the water is flowing nicely. The trail by kiosk is one of the easiest parts of the trail. The entire trail, except near Falls Creek Falls, once was a logging road. This is the...

On Sunday, the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed through the area, dumping a few inches of rain and some gusty breezes. The next day was cloudy, especially where in the mountains where I needed it to be, making it a perfect day to explore some normally low flow waterfalls at their best. I chose to visit Misty Falls, Evans Falls, and Mashbox Falls, three waterfalls clustered near each other near the portion of U.S. 276 that ascends Caesars Head Mountain. I parked at a pull-off within a short distance ahead of the intersection of U.S. 276 and old Oil Camp Creek Road. I got my gear, and walked down the side of the road to the intersection. An old fading stop sign remains from years past. Another parking area is located a few hundred feet down old Oil Camp Creek Road: A green gate prevents vehicles from passing through overgrowth would do that job just fine even if the gate was open. Some areas were so overgrown I almost thought I was bushwacking: I continued...

March 17, 2015 I've been having bad luck with vacations lately. My February vacation featured cold, sleet, and snow so I stayed home. The forecast for my March vacation was for rain and more rain except for one of those days, March 11. I've been to Misty Falls and Mashbox Falls before, back in 2012 , but I wanted to see them again since I've been already been touring other nearby obscure waterfalls. On March 11, I brought everything I needed to take photos of Misty Falls and Mashbox Falls, except a camera battery I didn't realize was missing until it was way too late. Oops. Moving forward to March 17, I decided to try again with the information I gained from my first failed trip. Misty Falls and Mashbox Falls are two waterfalls off Pinnacle Pass Trail near Caesars Head. I visited them a few years ago. I parked in a small parking area off a gravel path that once was Oil Camp Creek Road located at one off a sharp bend in the road. Just beyond this parking area...