Blue Wall Preserve

bearna gbaoithe- Irish for “wind gap in the mountains” Robert Macfarlane- Landmarks This hike includes sections through the Blue Wall Preserve within Nature Conservancy land (575 acres), as well as the Palmetto Trail. The Blue Wall Preserve is adjacent to 22,000 acres of protected watershed lands in South Carolina, perched Read more…

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Foothills Trail: Laurel Valley

Faoilleach: a Gaelic term used to describe the last three weeks of winter and first three weeks of spring 3-10-19 Wildflower season arrives earlier in the Blue Ridge Escarpment, prompting us to travel to the Foothills Trail in the upstate of South Carolina. We arrived at the trail around 10, Read more…

Iron Mountain Gap to Cherry Gap Shelter

A theme seems to be evolving around winter hiking over the past few weeks: bone chilling mist. The weather forecast was sixty degrees and sunny for Saturday March 2, so we set off to combine views and sunshine. That was optiMISTic. In reality, the temperature began with damp, fog and Read more…

Shelton Laurel backcountry: Jerry Miller Trail

2-16-19. We were greeting by a cold, rolling fog as we set out on the Jerry Miller Trail around 9:15. The Shelton Laurel backcountry is a gorgeous setting in any season. The green of the rhododendron leaves and mosses were a contrast to the grey mist enveloping the cove. Intersecting Read more…