Every Bit The Journey

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and this is mine.

Tag: Palmetto Trail

My dike hike gap

Hiking The Dike – Part 2

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On December 26, 2023

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail

It’s still September in my mind as I finish up part two (go here for part 1) of Hiking the Dike!

Day 1: (Monday) The drive to the trailhead is just over an hour from the house. Russellville Boat Landing parking lot is about as convenient to the trail as you could ask for. The parking lot is about a hundred feet from the trail and puts me just a couple of miles from the southern end of my gap in the Lake Moultrie Passage of the Palmetto Trail I’m trying to fill in. Unfortunately, it’s just radar and I so this will be an out-and-back hike.

The parking lot is almost full when we arrive so we find a spot out of the way and gear up for our gap-filling hike. From the parking lot to the trail is only about a hundred yards so access to the trail is easy and we make fairly quick time walking along the Rediversion Canal past a rail trestle to State Road 35 which will cross over the canal. With no one around Radar is off-leash now. He’s really good about staying close to me and seems to know how to follow the trail. In this first few miles, we’re walking along the gravel road along the canal. Going past the rail trestle, the trail reaches State Road 35, jumps over the canal using the road bridge, and then the trail drops off on the other side and follows the canal back to the levy and then continues along the levee north and west. These first couple of miles are all in the open and it’s a bright sunny day. It’s pretty warm being September still so we pause for a water break on the north side of the canal under a rail trestle. I am carrying water and lunch for both of us along with a collapsible bowl for Radar.

Heading to the shade under the rail trestle on the west side of the canal.
Heading to the shade under the rail trestle on the west side of the canal.
A long trail to go
A long trail to go

Once we get past the canal we get back on to the dike. The levee is almost all in the sun without shade. Radar is up and down the levee exploring, never more than 50 feet or so from me as we continue hiking. As he gets a little warm he jumps and splashes in the water to cool off on the lakeside of the levee and it looks like he’s having some fun.

A good place to cool off? Radar getting cool
A good place to cool off? Radar getting cool

As we continue further on along the levee, I feel like hiking here is a little strange now, maybe surreal. Looking off to the north side of the levee, the area is open, mostly maintained, mowed, traveled, etc., even buildings off in the distance. Looking to south, the lakeside of the levee (you can’t see the lake from this part of the levee), it’s more primordial, almost like stepping back in time. A shallow marsh buffer lays between the levee and woods beyond, with cypress and pine trees, birds chirping, and flowering water lilies. Oh and alligators.

There is an Alligator in this swamp.
There is an alligator in this swamp.

I know there are alligators in SC. I’ve known for a long time there were alligators in South Carolina. I know they are a possibility in the lakes and rivers and I’ve seen smaller ones in Lake Moultrie before. But on this day I wasn’t thinking about them when I started. Because of the heat, Radar would go down to the edge of the water, splash around a little to cool off, and then come bounding up the dike all wet and happy. Radar had just come up from a quick dip in the water as I saw the first alligator.

An alligator in the swamp.
An Alligator in the swamp.

Seeing him surprised me a bit. He is out in the open, in the middle of the muddy marsh, maybe 50 feet from the levee, just lying in the sun. He was a good 10-12 feet long, his skin oily black, and he lay motionless in the black thick muck of the marsh, ominously waiting patiently for the next prey to wander near. There was no cuteness about him. Swim-calls for Radar are suspended until we get clear of the marshes on the return portion of the hike. Once you see one the rest are pretty easy to spot. They are pretty much everywhere in the swamp now.

Hiking the shade along the dike.
Hiking the shade along the dike.

It’s warm but we’re almost to the spur trail leading to the campsite. Reaching the spur trail closes this part of the gap for me. We reach the spur trail and follow it to the campsite. It’s nice to sit for a few minutes and take a break in the shade of the pines for lunch and a drink. The last time I was here was in October of 2003. Our group camped here overnight. It was hot and there were plenty of mosquitos for everyone. It’s better today, still warm but very few bugs today.

Spur trail to the campsite.
Spur trail to the campsite.

After eating a light lunch we start retracing our path along the trail, heading back to the parking lot. On these solo out-and-back hikes, you usually have to travel twice the distance needed to cover a given piece of trail. So here we go. It’s afternoon to midafternoon on the return leg and it’s hotter. The sun is higher in the clear sky, and there is less shade now along the trail. I’m constantly watching for alligators and Radar is very obediently staying out of the water. We are burning through the last of the water I brought. Radar is panting pretty good, we steal what shade we can. We are nearing the end of the swamp finally and reach a spot where I think Radar can take a much-needed splash to cool off. I haven’t seen any alligators for a little while.

A good place to cool off? Except for the gator in the grass.
A good place to cool off? Except for the gator in the grass.

We start down the side of the levee cautiously. Radar is a little ahead of me. And then I see him. Laying in the tall grass is a 6-8 footer, waiting.

Mr. 'Gator in waiting
Mr. ‘Gator in waiting

I hastily call Radar back and we quickly climb back on top of the levee. It looks like no swim time after all. It turns out this inviting wet spot was also the last spot Radar took a cooling splash on our inbound hike. Now on the hike out, Mr. ‘gator was lying in wait. But somehow Radar understands the danger and returns to the top of the levee with me. After another quarter mile or so we finally are past the swamp and at the banks of the canal. Radar is all in for a cooling dip in the cool waters of the canal.

A shortcut across the canal.
A shortcut across the canal.

Once we’ve cooled off a bit we decide to cut a mile or two off the return trek by taking the rail trestle over the canal instead of hiking back to State Road 35. When we finally get back to the parking lot, both Radar and I are hot, tired, and out of water. I call it a day and decide to head home. We’ll pick up the last couple of miles another day. Here is my Relive video of the day 1 hike.

Day 2: (Saturday) I’m finishing the last few miles in my Lake Moultrie Passage gap. Driving back to the Russellville Boat Landing parking lot puts me at the beginning of the end of this passage. Again, it’s just radar and I so this will be another out-and-back hike.

Heading out on the trail.
Heading out on the trail.

This time it should be just a quick few miles out and back. The trail is again along the top of the level with minimal shade. But today it’s a little cooler, with scattered clouds, and not quite as hot as Day 1.

A view of Lake Moultrie from the levee.
A view of Lake Moultrie from the levee.

The hiking today is largely uneventful but seems more enjoyable. Maybe the scenery is better? This part of the trail has a much less swampy median and more water from the lake.

Radar and a turtle.
Radar and a turtle.

While I’m sure they are around, we don’t see any alligators today. The only reptile we saw today was a turtle. She looked like she is nesting on the low side of the levee. We make fairly good time along the trail covering almost three miles in just over an hour. Today is an easier hike. There was even a brief sprinkle of rain to help take a little heat off the day.

Back at the parking lot.

Reaching our turnaround point completes the entire Lake Moultrie Passage of the Palmetto Trail for me. I have a bunch of marked-up trail maps taped to a wall back at the house, now when I get home, there will be one less. Radar and I simply start heading back the few miles to the parking lot and then on to home. Here is my Relive video of the day 2 hike.

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Hiking the Dike – Part 1

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On October 17, 2023

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail

As summer is beginning to wane, I felt the urge to get out on the trail again. I also discovered I need to work on filling in some missing gaps in my Palmetto Trail journey. A little bit of the backstory first. I probably started backpacking trails while in Florida and then Texas before moving to South Carolina. Hiking in South Carolina for me started back in the late 1990’s with the Buncombe Trail in the upstate and segments of the Palmetto Trail starting with a large part of the Swamp Fox Passage. Over time it seems I’ve jumped around on the Palmetto Trail a lot. I’ll blame this on the fact the Palmetto Trail is still a work in progress. Early on the Palmetto Trail was more incomplete than complete and today it still remains not fully connected. I did my first portion of the Lake Moultrie Passage back in October 2003 with a small group of new backpackers from our troop. We did most of what is now section 2 then. I had planned a +10 mile, two night weekend backpacking trip for my troop. We started at the Northern end of the section at the Diversion Canal trailhead. This portion of the trail has a short forest section before coming out onto the dike. By the time we got to the trail in the evening, it would be dark, so the first night I plan on just camping a few hundred yards from the trailhead. There is a small flat open grass spot where a group can stealth camp together near the edge of the woods. There was a designated camp on the trail with a well, maybe about a mile in from the trail head but I believe it’s all defunct now and it doesn’t show up on the current map. Once upon a time someone had set water wells along the trail, I think some were artesian wells and some may have been hand pumps. These were a great resource for drinkable water at the time. However, over the years the well heads have been removed and capped off. Probably because they were not “state-approved.” Anyway, the next day we would get up, break camp, and hike to the designated campsite near Sandy Beach. I remember the first time I did this hike it was hot, humid, and the mosquitos were still out. I had started tarp camping back then and instead of any kind of sleeping bag, I had brought a simple bed sheet to sleep under. Even just the sheet was almost too much to sleep with but it helped keep the mosquitoes at bay. It rained the next day and we backtracked to a road access to come off-trail and head home.  I’ve since backpacked this same piece a few times with other folks. Later, in September of 2014, I hiked the lower 10-mile portion of section 1 of this passage with a different troop. One of the youth members had planned a 20-mile day hike along the Lake Moultrie dike from the Southern trailhead as an out & back hike. The weather was great. The trail there mostly runs on the flat top of the dike and is easy hiking. One of the interesting parts of the trail is it takes you through the town of Bonneau. However the open exposed nature of the dike with no shade and the hard surface of the dike and paved roads through town can wear you out fast. The out-and-back concept made the return portion a little boring and a bit of a slog to get finished. We were all very happy to finally get back to camp that night. 

Recently I was looking over some trail maps highlighting portions of various trails I’ve done and looking at the gaps remaining. While some passages like the High Hills of Santee Passage I’ve hiked completely a dozen times, I had done only parts of other passages. I figured it was about time to get out and close up some of those gaps. So this will be my Lake Moultrie make-up hike to fill in about an 8-mile gap in my Lake Moultrie Passage.

(to be continued …)

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Radar's not sure

Radar is Amazing on his first real camping trip

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On October 18, 2022

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail, Travel

My first efforts to take Radar on a real overnight campout and then hiking went incredibly well. Radar and I have hiked together a fair amount. And we’ve glamped before. But we haven’t actually tent camped and hiked in one outing before. Hopefully this overnight adventure was a test run for more fun outings to come.

We arrive at Mill Creek county park about 5:30 pm. Mill Creek county park is a popular equine camping staging area located in Sumter County, at the southern end of the High Hills of Santee Passage of the the Palmetto Trail. There are a few horse trailers already set up for camping there. We select and set up our camp site near the trailhead leading north to the High Hills of Santee trail. Radar is nervous. He doesn’t know why we’re here this late in the day. Tent camping is all new to him and he’s not sure what’s happening. I put his vest on him to see if it will help calm him down any. I’m picking tarp camping to start out with him which is a little bit of a challenge in and of itself. I guess I figure we may as well start hard and work toward easy. Park rules say he needs to be on leash in the park, although not all dogs here are. There is at least a pug and another heeler here too. The pug runs up next to my car as I arrived, dragging it’s leash, seemingly convinced it was more important to greet us as new arrivals to camp, regardless of it’s own personal safety and the potential hazards of being crushed by a moving vehicle. Anyway we’ll see how the leash thing goes. I had picked up a 50′ roll of paracord from Lowe’s on the way with the idea I could make a long lead for Radar in camp. I also brought his bedding from home to make him feel a little more at home along with his regular food and water bowls. I have a couple collapsible bowls I usually bring when we go out for hikes but will save them for the trail tomorrow. Right now he’s sitting on my lap in the chair (his choice), watching everyone and everything else around the camp.

Radar's not sure
Radar’s not sure

There is a mule in an impromptu electric fence corral next to a couple of horse trailers on the right of us. They have the pug and heeler. Across from us is another pair of horse trailers with a shepherd and lab. Everyone seems to know everyone. They started a camp fire at the pair of trailers across from us and the people from all four trailers are sitting around the fire chatting. The sun is getting ready to set so I’m going to feed Radar and eat now myself.

Radar's first night tarp camping
Radar’s first night tarp camping

Up in the morning. I was awake early but am waiting until the sun starts coming up. It was a little bit cooler than I expected last night with this early morning temperatures at about 45 degrees. Note to future-self: Things to bring on fall campouts, gloves and a warm hat. I am glad I brought my heavier sleeping bag, a 20 degree sleeping bag, which was perfect. Radar did incredibly well for his first night of tarp camping. He only got up a few couple of times in the night, left the tarp, and walked around. I think he was check out noises from the adjacent woods. No barking, just checking. I got up a couple times myself to pee and he followed me close. Because we were under a tarp, I had to keep him on the long lead most of the night but for the last hour or so waiting for sunrise. This last hour we both just lay here waiting for sunrise. The ground is pretty hard and my Z-fold pad isn’t making much of a difference. I’m beginning to think I may need a different pad.

Radar still seems a little nervous this morning so when I got up for a quick walk to the bath house, I took him with me. I wanted to use the larger stall so Radar could come in with me, but someone was already in there so we went back to our campsite. Who get’s up at the crack of dawn to use a bathhouse anyway? When we get back to the camp site, I open up the car to start getting breakfast ready and Radar jumps right in and takes his place on the front seat. I don’t know if he thinks I might leave him or not but he isn’t taking any chances. He comes out of the car for his morning meal while I have a nice trail breakfast of hot oatmeal and a café mocha. It feels good to be in backpacker/hiker mode again. I’m dressed for the trail. It’s been a while (too long) since I’ve been able to get out and do any real hiking.

Radar is ready to hike
Radar is ready to hike

After clean up and repacking my hiking day pack, I put on Radars hiking vest. I want something with a little color on him as we are hiking in the Manchester State Forest, which is public land, during hunting season, and I don’t have any blaze orange with us. I think once Radar realizes we are going hiking he really relaxes a lot. We are on trail, north bound, at 8:50 am. Radar is off leash, much to his hiking joy, once we get out of the park but I do have a leash just incase we meet horses or other hikers. Proper trail etiquette and all. Not everyone seems to like dogs.

High Hills of Santee Passage heading out
High Hills of Santee Passage heading out

The High Hills of Santee Passage I think I’ve hiked at least a dozen times. It’s a great section to hike and I usually start out new backpackers on this trail. There are a lot of access roads and the trail is well marked most of the time. Since it’s been a while for me, I’m loosely planning to hike maybe 3, 4, or 5 miles out, depending on how I feel and the day goes. Then turning around and hiking back. The trick is leaving enough fuel in the tank for the return trek. I figure if I can start hiking by 9am, we can maybe hike like +-3 hours, we could eat lunch and then hike back. Being on trail by 8:50 is a perfect start.

High Hills of Santee Passage sandy trail
High Hills of Santee Passage sandy trail

The issue with the early section of this trail (besides the quicksand patch) is it’s sandy. Sandy like walking on dry sand at the beach sandy. It really sucks the energy out of you. Starting out in the morning fresh is okay (’cause you’re fresh) but finishing at the end of a hike is tough, it’s like hiking an extra mile or two when you’re tired.

The day goes well, the weather is cool, clear and perfect hiking weather. We hike well and make good time. We covered about five and a half miles and make Christmas Mill Road by about 11:30. As we reach the crossroads, there are a whole group of trucks with hunters coming in and starting to unload. Rather than stop there for lunch, we just start our return leg and hike about an hour more before we stop for a good lunch break.

High Hills of Santee Passage young pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage young pine forest

Radar seems to understand when I tell him “we’re heading back to camp, back to the car.” His ears are up and he leads the whole way back to camp. He follows the trail flawlessly, even when the trail crosses a road or splits, he picks out the correct path on the other side. As we were hiking out of camp north bound, he would generally stay close to me alternating between ahead, behind, or off trail checking out smells and noises, usually not much more than about 75 feet away. Heading back south bound to camp, he occasionally is going off trail to check a noise or smell, but mostly he is leading with purpose, maintaining about a 50-75 feet lead ahead of me on the trail, stopping ever so often and looking back to make sure I am still with him, stopping in the shade, waiting for me to catch up, and then he starts trotting off down trail again.

High Hills of Santee Passage pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage open field
High Hills of Santee Passage open field

We stop for lunch around noon. Food and water for both of us. I have a couple collapsible water bowls but it’s hard to judge when hiking and how much water he needs. I make sure he has his fill of water during our lunch stop. The final leg to camp is more sandy and the day is warming up. We’re back on trail by 12:30 heading in to the home stretch now. Nearing the last quarter mile from camp we run into a string of horses with riders, we pull off trail to let them pass, Radar sits and waits. This is a big test because he loves horses. Really, really loves horses. Nipping tails kind of love. He stays, the riders pass intact. We hike on. I’m very happy. We make it back to camp around 2:10 pm. As we enter back in to camp we make for a picnic table in the shade and break out the last of our water. The hike is a win. A great hike and overall a great little campout. Radar crushed the hiking part of the trip and I think he’ll get the hang of this tent camping thing without any issues in the future. Now to figure out the next trip.

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Lake Marion Passage

Getting Back Out on the Lake Marion Passage

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On May 18, 2021

In 2021 Palmetto Challenge, Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail, Travel

It feels good to be back out on the trail.

The Lake Marion Passage is a 35.9 section of the Palmetto Trail, South Carolina’s long trail. I’ve hiked a few miles of the lower part of this trail in 2019 (Santee/Hwy 301 to Jacks Creek) before I started working full time again that year. I’ve also backpacked north on the High Hills of Santee Passage dozens of times over the years with my volunteer organizations.

On this day, Radar and I decided to hike the Lake Marion Passage from the Northern end for a few hours. With snacks and water for both of us in my day pack, we headed out South bound from the Mill Creek County Park Trail Head. Our section of trail was in fair to good condition and it was a great hike. It felt good to be out in the woods again. This section doesn’t appear to heavily traveled and we were by ourselves the whole time. The weather was great and cool enough the bugs weren’t an issue. As it’s spring everything was green. After heading out from the trailhead, we hiked in to the woods along the trail a little over a mile before we came across a long boardwalk/foot bridge over the swamp.

Lake Marion Passage - Foot bridge across the swamp
Lake Marion Passage – Foot bridge across the swamp
Lake Marion Passage Wild Flowers
Lake Marion Passage Wild Flowers

I think Radar picked up the swamp smell before we saw the bridge. He took off, bounding towards the swamp – until he started sinking in the soft mud. realizing the error of his ways, he high-tailed it back to the trail where I was laughing for him. After crossing the swamp via the designated foot bridge, the trail follows the land contour for about a mile, with cut forest on the East side and low ground and swamp canopy on the West. We picked a good turn around point where a dirt access road intersected the trail. Hopefully soon I’ll be back to hike more.

Lake Marion Passage water break
Lake Marion Passage water break

When hiking with a K-9 buddy, it’s important to include a snack and water dish in your day hike gear. I use a small collapsible bowl and carry extra water to share. On this trip I brought a small amount of his regular dog food for a his snack. After a short water and snack break at our turn around spot we headed back the way we had come. This time, Radar took the foot bridge over the swamp. But only about halfway. I guess he figured “Bridges – who needs them when you have the sweet cool savory wetness of the swamp?” and over the side he jumped. Swimming, chest deep, in to the cool mud to the other side of the swamp. Sigh. He couldn’t have been more happier.

Lake Marion Passage - a perfectly good foot bridge
Lake Marion Passage – a perfectly good foot bridge
Lake Marion Passage - Swamp puppy
Lake Marion Passage – Swamp puppy

We didn’t have any real problems on this portion of the passage. While scenic, the Lake Marion Passage does have some broken sections. Be prepared to work around some issues if you hike the whole passage. Coming out of the town of Santee, there’s a 3 mile section which uses the old 301 bridge. The bridge was closed by SCDOT “indefinitely” in 2017. The only current work around is to catch a ride on I-95 over the lake. Old River Road bridge over the Halfway Swamp has been washed out long enough for the trail to be rerouted along local roads. And depending on the lake levels, some of the trail along the lake shores may be underwater or very soggy.

Hiking Lake Marion Passage trail with Radar
Hiking Lake Marion Passage trail with Radar

Overall, this was a great in and out 5 miles round trip hike. I’m looking forward to picking up this trail where we left off.

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21 Hike Challenge Logo

Spring has Sprung with the 2021 Palmetto Trail Challenge

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On March 22, 2021

In 2021 Palmetto Challenge, Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail, Travel

Last year, for reasons we’ll not discuss, the Palmetto Trail folks didn’t have an annual hiking challenge. Well this year they are making up for it with a get-21-hike-in-10-months challenge. Oh and the hike need to be on the Palmetto Trail. So I signed up for a fresh hiking start for the new year with the 2021 Palmetto Trail Challenge.

The Palmetto Trail is South Carolina’s long trail. When finished it will run about 500 miles from the mountains to the ocean. Of the currently open sections I’ve completed about a third of the passages so far. Some passages I’ve hiked a dozen times, most only once.

After a year of being trapped inside, I’m looking forward to finding my hiking boots and getting them a bit dirty again. I’ve already completed some sections of Palmetto trail and am hoping to use this challenge to motivation me to stitch in some new sections. But this years tasking will be a bit challenging with my full time job and volunteer schedule. I’ll need a plan to hit those 21 trails in 10 months.

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2019 Palmetto Challenge

We’re Off and Hiking (Part 2 – we’re done)

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On June 7, 2019

In 2019 Palmetto Challenge

We Completed the 2019 Palmetto Challenge and I figured I would give you a quick update on how we did.

Backstory: In March, Radar and I signed up for the 2019 Palmetto Challenge and I was very pleased to learn I could include his mileage with mine for this event. I had set a pretty arbitrary personal goal 200 miles for the seven week challenge.

How we did: We came in third place of the two member teams! We logged just over 298 combined miles together, which is almost a hundred miles more than my original goal. I only counted the miles where both Radar and I actually hiked together.

What we did: Together, Radar and I hiked just over;

  • 7 miles of the Givhans Ferry State Park trails,
  • 6 miles of the Congaree National Park trails,
  • 10 miles of the Palmetto Trail,
  • and 139 miles of other local trails and around our neighborhood.

What I learned: The rules indicated you did not have to hike together, even if you were in a team. You could just gather the individual team members mileage and combine it for a weekly team total. The rules also did not limit you to just the outdoors and trails, you could count steps at work, at home, etc., basically you could count steps from the time you got up in the morning to the time you went to bed.

Next year I’ll get us both FitBits.

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Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail

South Carolina – Eutaw Springs & Santee Passages

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On April 3, 2019

In 2019 Palmetto Challenge, Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Travel

Are you looking for a nice +20 or 30 mile section of trail to take you through shaded woods and rolling meadows to see nature while you hike or backpack? Possibly a secluded camp overnight? Then these two sections of the Palmetto Trail are not for you.

The Eutaw Springs Passage is a 21.3 mile section and the Santee Passage is a 12.7 mile section of the Palmetto Trail bridging the end of the Lake Moultrie Passage to the south and the Lake Marion Passage to the north. I selected both of these sections to explore and hike with Radar as part of our Palmetto Challenge mileage. Boy was I surprised.

Often when trails overlap roads out of necessity, the trails will run parallel with roads. Sometime the trails will be just off the road in the woods, occasionally using a short section of asphalt as a bridge or to link the actual hiking trail. So when I looked at the maps for these areas, I didn’t think anything of the route following along the roads. However, in this case the roads are the trail. Make no mistake here, there is no hiking “trail.” You will be walking along the roadway. For miles. There are short sections of wooded hiking trails used to link the miles of roads these routes claims to be. Out of the 34 miles these two sections make up, there is only like about 5 miles of what most people would call actual hiking trails. There is a statement included on the back of the Eutaw Springs map which states:

“Much of this trail uses rural highways and dirt roads. You should prepare for possibility of unleashed dogs and wear bright clothing (and reflectors) to warn drivers. The spur trail is occasionally wet and muddy”

Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail
Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail

I can honestly say, it’s an understated but accurate statement. I drove from the start of the Eutaw Springs Passage to mile 7 before I could find where any of the “trail” left the road for a walk in the woods. The trail section from mile 7 to 9 is a wooded trail. Radar and I hiked this in and back, enjoying a light trail side lunch. At mile 9 the wooded trail yields again to more paved road. Once we got back to the car, we drove most of the remaining route trying to identify any remaining wooded trails. Absolutely much of the roadway travels through rural neighborhoods and communities on the southwest side of Lake Marion. To call some of the houses, trailers, and buildings along this section of trail “rustic” might be a bit too generous. It looks like from mile 10.5 to 12.2 is another wooded trail section joining roads. Fedcon Road (miles 12.5 to 17) is a deceiving dirt road which was impassable somewhere around mile 15 due to really heavy deep mud ruts. There was a pick-up truck with an older guy and his hound dog, traveling ahead of us, which ended high-centered and stuck. I tried to help push him out but we ended up turning around in my car and taking him and his pup back to his home so he could get a wrecker to extract his truck from the mud.

Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail, between mile markers 7 & 9
Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail, between mile markers 7 & 9
Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail, at mile marker 7
Eutaw Springs Passage of the Palmetto Trail, near mile marker 9

I would not recommend hiking any of this section in the summer as you will be out on the open road and under the sun 90% of the time. And I wouldn’t hike if it’s rained recently. While most of the roads will be fine, any actual hiking trail will likely be wet and or muddy. The Rocks Pond camp ground (about a mile down campground road from mile 13) is mostly RV sites but likely has some tent sites as well. The other camp site on the trail (about mile 18.5) we didn’t make due to helping out the stuck truck, but looks like it’s on the only other section of wooded trail. We explored the Santee Passage section and it’s virtually all roadway with no designated camping.

Eutaw Springs Battlefield
Eutaw Springs Battlefield
Eutaw Springs Battlefield

The one really cool place to visit is in Eutaw Springs. Located just past a turn in the trail/road is the American Revolutionary War era Eutaw Springs Battlefield. This was one of the last major engagement of the war in the Carolina’s, both sides claimed victory. We forget sometimes, how old our country is and the sacrifices our forefathers made to create a new nation. Definitely worth stopping, walking, and reading the self guided interpretive signs around the battleground.

Favorite Time of year: Maybe the Spring and fall (low bug time) for camping when its cool and dry.

Things to Know: You will be traveling on public roads most of these two trail sections. Pick a day with good cloud cover and use a good sunscreen.

Camping: RV and tent camping is available at Rocks Pond Campground, trail side primitive camping around mile 18.5 on the Eutaw Springs Section. There is no designated camping in the Santee Passage Section.

Pet friendly: There are no known restrictions on the trail but I would keep on leash while on the roadways. Watch for unleashed local dogs.

Getting There: The Eutaw Springs Section starts at the Diversion Canal, about an hours drive from the Charleston area. Good luck.

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2019 Palmetto Challenge

He doesn’t know yet …

By

On March 3, 2019

In 2019 Palmetto Challenge, Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, SC State Parks, Travel

I signed us up for the 2019 Palmetto Trail Challenge and Radar is going to be my plus one. He just doesn’t know it yet.

This 48 day event is hosted by the Palmetto Conservation Foundation (PCF) and is intended to inspire teams to hike or bike as many miles as possible between March 11 and April 28 “on the state’s trails, greenways, sidewalks, and hallways” (yes, they said hallways).

This is great motivation to get out and hike more. I needed some trail time to help me prepare for this summer’s Appalachian Trail section hike with our volunteer group this summer. I’ve been doing fair amount of daily walking (along with other fitness stuff) around the neighborhood, but I want to get out more and see some of the local trails too. The challenge sounds kind of open ended if it includes “hallways” but I intend to use the challenge to close some of the trail section gaps I have in the Palmetto Trail, as well as hit the local trails around me. For Radar, he loves taking walks and hikes with me. He regularly walks with me in the neighborhood and we have done a couple day hikes in state parks like Lee and Croft, he has been a really great trail partner. With this challenge I hope to include at least one overnighter with him. I fully expect to work him (and me) up to both our longer hikes and our first over night camping experience. This should be a great learning experience for both of us. I’m excited for him. He just doesn’t know it yet but he’ll be excited too.

Radar sporting his Ruffwear day pack
Radar Radar sporting his Ruffwear day pack

So, whats a challenge without a goal? I’m going to put 200 miles on the table as our goal. We’ll see. I thing it’s obtainable with enough stretch to be motivating. But I’m not including any hallways.

Each week the teams send in their prior week total mileage, it gets recorded and displayed on the PCF website to help motivate the other teams. It seems last years participants hiked 8,000 mikes. If you are interested in taking up the challenge, then March 4th (noon) is the last day to register!

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