As winter rolled in I put my bike up on blocks and switched over to "hiking season" with it's itinerate gear. My friend Chip and I planned several long hauls to Drawbar Cliffs which is in the center of two starting points, one in Table Rock State Park and one at the peak of Van Clayton Hwy. Drawbar is a nice open rock race that lies just outside of state park grounds so that campfires are not illegal. We make full use of that by cooking up the unbeatable culinary combination of Beer and Brats.
One of our goals this year was to find the elusive Petroglyphs of Pickens, SC near Drawbar Cliffs, a collection of cave drawings told to us by other hikers a few years ago. I researched as much as I could find on the net and couldn't find much and ironically linked me back to my own blog post. I did hunt down another hiker who had documented the site and badgered her into giving her best description of how to get there. Then on one hike, by hook, by crook and by a modecum of bum luck We Found the Petroglyphs. For anyone wishing to follow in our footsteps here is the map.
We then set about discovering alternative routes to the famed Petroglyphs using logging roads off Hwy 11 as pictured below:
Now, much like many other explorers, I will leave their authenticity up to your discretion. These circles carved into the blackened rock face are Not Cave Drawings at all. There is no cave and these are Not Drawings. They are circular depressions (carvings?) in the rock face and there is one collection which emulates a Tiger Paw. Fun to find but not the handiwork of Clemson Fans.
As I titled this post, Carl Sandburg and Friends, I made a personal commitment to hike that trail to Big Glassy every day. Most of the time I went alone, sometimes with friends and once in a while with my love Tess. I enjoy the 3.8 mile 700 ft elevation one hour round trip because it's finite and fun and keeps the mothballs of winter from setting in. I thought it would be appropriate to familiarize myself with some of Carl Sandburg's writings so I got the Audible version of Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years and the War Years. It is a wonderful book that acquainted me with Lincoln and Sandburg and provided an enriching experience for me as I trecked through woods and trails in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
Well the long cold winter is slowly beginning to thaw. Today is cold and rainy giving me a chance to sit and reminisce before this grand season, which also marked the birth of our second grandchild Wesley Aaron Fuller on January 5, 2015, fades in memory giving way to the next.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Brats, Beer and a Pinnacle View
This was the first hike of the 2014-2015 season and our first return to Draw Bar Cliffs for Brats and Beer. I have labled many treks in Garmin Connect as Drawbar with several variations depending on the route. Chip is the Expert in that arena so I'll let him dice the
nuances but on this trip we began in Table Rock State Park parking lot and followed the Pinnacle Mountain Trail White/Yellow blazes until the White turns sharply Left leaving the park and flanking Drawbar Cliffs 
where we vear off to do our campfire and enjoy the view over the mountains and valleys towards Lake Jocassee.
This is the map from the last time we did Drawbar on Jan 25 2014. I wanted to compare the two routes to see if the Mills Pass cut through made a difference. After further study, they are the same because Ridge Trail goes on the meet Table Rock Trail where Mill Creek Pass cuts back down to Pinnacle.
It was a beautiful day in the high 60's at least and autumn leaves still turning. I suggested that we consider doing Rainbow Falls next week but in all honesty today's 11 miles really put the old legs to the test so as for next week... We'll See!