Typically we head to Greenville to see friends and enjoy the mountains. We started off strong with a great dinner catching up with old friends and a hike in the fotthills. Wednesday we headed to Furman University to see an old friend of CC's. He is a professor there and after catching up and enjoying a nice lunch,we headed off to do some hiking.
The weather was a bit weird. The forecast was for sunny weather with a front pushing through overnight. Well the weather did not read the forecast. It was cloudy as we headed out and then it started to drizzle, then rain hard. While we ate it continued to pour but then it cleared and after a fine meal we headed to the Conestee Nature Preserve.
Most trails we hike around Greenville lead to waterfalls but this one lead to waterfowl. The preserve is relatively new as a public park. It is a series of trails in and around some wetlands. The place is a bit surreal, I expect a swamp in Florida and even in the South Carolina low country but not the Upstate.
We had changed to hiking boots for the walk and having better footwear never hurts but the trail was mostly paved or boardwalk. Sneakers would have done. We saw lots of birds, squirrels and turtles. I don’t think they have gators though. After the hike we rewarded ourselves with ice cream, we still had that food credit to spend.
Wednesday night the front was supposed to push through and leave cloudy but dry skies by around 8 am. At 5:30 am I rolled over and looked at the radar. The rain had not gotten the message. There was still lots of rain to come. I turned off my alarm and we slept in. We got going around 10:00 am and headed towards North Carolina. We were going back to some falls I really like.
On the way we had partly cloudy skies and some light rain. The clouds were draped across the mountains as we entered North Carolina but eventually the skies started to clear. The last time we visited these falls it was a weekend and the place was packed. Today it was much lighter and we could actually find a parking space, a really good one at that.
The cool thing about this location is you get 3 or 5 falls depending on how you count. From the parking lot you hike across a bridge and under the highway. The trail takes a turn and then heads up and up. I mean really up. They even have a steep slope signs.
After quite a climb you come to the overlook for triple falls. You can’t get really close to the falls but it is a great view. It also gives you an excuse to stop and catch your breath without looking like you need to stop and breathe cause you probably do.
After triple falls you continue up some more, then down. This is never a good sign as it means you are going to have to repeat that to get back to the car. The trail then follows the river and is pretty flat. You have a choice, you can head back up for an overlook or continue by the river to the foot of the falls.
We followed the river which was longer but flatter. Eventually we came upon High Falls. The falls are quite impressive with both width and a good drop. The initial view is partially obstructed by some trees but if you carefully follow the very rocky trail along the edge over some sloped and slippery rocks you can get a great straight on view.
After the strenuous hike, it was nice to sit on the rocks and enjoy the view. Again, the camera was a great excuse to sit for a while instead of admitting that a break would be nice. Since it is a bit tricky to get to the end of the trail, we had the area to ourselves for a while which was nice.
It was then time to head back to the parking lot. We had seen either two or four falls depending on how you count and we had one left. The way back seemed a lot easier. Overall we had done more up than down so the way back was more down.
The last fall is Hooker falls. It is an easy hike, not flat easy but way less vertical. It is also a lot shorter. We made quick work of the trail and enjoyed the falls. They are nice and wide but short. Overall good falls but they would be better if they were taller. After a quick hike back, we started heading back down to Greenville. We were off to DC in the morning.
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