Mark's Photo Travels

The Thanksgiving holiday is a chance for most families to get together and eat a Thanksgiving meal. I didn't have that opportunity this year so I decided to go somewhere and visit some waterfalls I've not yet visited before. I've seen many photos of King Creek Falls posted online over the years and I thought that would make a fine place to visit for Thanksgiving. After analyzing a map of the area, I chose to begin my hike at the parking area for the Burrells Ford Campground , a quarter mile away from the campground off Burrells Ford Road (FS 708). When I arrived mid-morning several cars and trucks were already there. I had expected the place to be deserted, but it would seem a few other people had the same idea as mine! The trail begins at the end of the parking area down the Foothills Trail. A sign a short distance down the trail gives the distance to King Creek Falls as a half mile. King Creek Falls Trail begins off of FS 708B and joins with Foothills Trail jus...

July is well known for being hot and humid around here, but this last week featured a welcome break from both. This presented a great opportunity to go outside and explore somewhere! I haven't really explored the area around Sassafras Mountain lately, and a new observation deck recently opened up there , so last Wednesday I traveled up F. Van Clayton Memorial Highway (off US 178 in Rocky Bottom) to the parking area near the top of the mountain. The weather report from the top of Sassafras Mountain was as good as it gets in late July: I had expected the parking area to be near empty, but it would seem others had the same idea I did: I figured most of these people were probably at the observation tower, so I decided to wait until later to visit. I wanted to head over to Roundtop Mountain, and that would take me down the Foothills Trail to the Palmetto Trail. I passed by the turn off to the Palmetto Trail to visit the John L. Cantrell homesite a short distance down fr...

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...