Mark's Photo Travels

Back in February and March , I visited Rocky Bottom in northern Pickens County along U.S. 178 to explore old logging roads and waterfalls, but an area that big can't be thoroughly explored in one day. This time I went back to explore more of the area in Rocky Bottom I've explored about a year ago, Spencers Alley and Hunter Camp Road . I parked off the side of a wide part of Spencers Alley near a green gate, now open for the season. I spent most of the late morning to mid-afternoon hiking down old logging roads and whacking my way though thorny patches of blackberry vines. After returning to my car and relaxing a while, I found I still had time to visit a section of Rocky Bottom Creek containing one of my favorite obscure waterfalls: Rocky Bottom Gorge Falls. I visited this same waterfall back in April 2018 . I took the same way I found back then to reach Rocky Bottom Creek, a short distance downstream from an old dam I found back in March . This area also happens to ju...

A few weeks ago, I went out to Rocky Bottom to visit the Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve . I had wanted to find a path down to the creek so I could explore and see if I could some waterfalls. I didn't find a path, even after I had been studying old aerial maps to find logging roads, and I wanted to try one more time. Once again I parked in the Foothills Trail parking access area. I expected the parking access to empty like last time, but to my surprise it wasn't. I hiked down the road to where a satellite view showed what may have been some old logging roads, but I found nothing but forest. So I went back to my car and parked near the gate to the trailhead for the Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve. These photos are from my most recent visit: I found a spot where I thought an old logging road may have once branched off from the trail. If there was a logging road, it didn't go far. I did find an old rusting mattress box spring and some old cans of J ohnson's...

A return trip to Rocky Bottom has been on my radar since last year when I explored Rocky Bottom Creek. This time I wanted to explore Eastatoe Creek down to The Narrows on Eastatoe Creek. Fortunately, my vacation time coincided with good weather for a change and I made the hour or so trip to Rocky Bottom. I parked in the Foothills Trail access parking area. I had to place to myself. From previous trips, I knew there was could have been an old logging road leading out the back of the parking area. The old road leads downhill toward Eastatoe Creek. Good road! Except the road was taking a slight left curve toward private property. Bad road! Continuing straight away from private property wasn't really an option since that was heading sharply downhill into a gorge and would require a way too steep uphill climb. I went to plan B and headed back to my car and went down Horse Pasture Road to the small parking area for the Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve. I parked off to the si...