Hey guys, I am planning a 3 or 4 day trip to the foothills trail in South Carolina. I could use some advice... I’m looking for a safe place to park my car , ( without worrying about vandalism). , and basically looking for a relaxed route with water and great campsites .A loop would be nice, but I don’t mind an In and out hike. Any suggestions? Thanks!
FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
run like crazy and climb up a tree. If the bear climbs the tree and eats you, it's a black
bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone.
--unknown
Swampfox is the man with the plan. Check the foothills website. They have multiple shuttle drivers. Great folks. I'd recommend Taz as the driver to use. Plenty of options to leave a car and the shuttle really helps with that.Originally Posted by stevebo
Lots of water all along the trail. Shuttle drivers can give you more accurate current details if you call and talk to them.
Look for Swampfox recent posts and he provides data files that are so useful to generate your plan.
Best of luck. It is a GREAT trail.
"If we lose the forests, we lose our only instructors. People must see these forests and wilderness as the greatest educational system that we have on the planet. If we lose all the universities in the world, then we would lose nothing. But If we lose the forests, we lose everything." -- Bill Mollison
Take another day off and thru-hike it! If your in moderate shape 5 days is perfectly do-able. Give Heyward Douglass a ring for information and great shuttle service 864-888-7483.
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https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-South-.../dp/1889596302
This guidebook helped me plan my hike. I think it’s worth the money
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I bought that book for my through hike this May and it was worth it to me-especially as to water sources and campsites but there have been many updates on the trail since the book was published so check the internet for more current information. Here's a link to a great post from these forums: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...Trail-Planning
We through hiked it in 4.5 days doing about 16 mile days with a short last day which wasn't too strenuous. I, too, would say go ahead and plan on hiking the whole trail!
If you can't get the extra time off to thru-hike it, I'd probably park at Table Rock and arrange a shuttle to Bad Creek or Sloan Bridge then hike back to Table Rock or start at Table Rock and hike to Laurel Fork Falls and back out. That way you get to cross Sassafras Mtn.
Bill
Thanks for all the great info! 2 more quick question s- how much does a shuttle usually cost? And.... how safe are state parks for leaving your car? Thanks!
FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
run like crazy and climb up a tree. If the bear climbs the tree and eats you, it's a black
bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone.
--unknown
Just beware that there is not such thing as 100 % safe parking. My son and I hiked a bit of the trail this past spring and 3 cars were broken into at the hiker parking lot at Occonee SP. Got there just as the SC police got there to investigate. Park Ranger said they are not allowed to put up security cameras to monitor the parking lot.
I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !
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