Just spent two weekends on the Chatooga River Trail in the NW corner of SC. The first weekend was quite pleasant, the second more of a test of the winter gear, at least here in the south.
Weatherman was calling for the coldest night yet, high 20s in this area.
Half-hitch, Aqua-man, and I reached the trailhead at Burrell's Ford about 4:00 Friday afternoon. 15 minutes earlier, it had been pouring rain on us, coming up Hwy 11. Here, there was nothing but blue skies.
We hiked north about 2 miles and found my favorite site uninhabited and setup camp.
Our shelters consisted of 3 WBBBs, UQs were two Speer Snugfits, and a JRB Mt. Washington 4, TQs were 2 down sleeping bags, and an Old Rag Mtn. TQ.
A previous renter had dragged some good sized limbs into camp and we cut them into logs with a saw.


We rehydrated some burrito meat and salsa topped it with cheese and sour cream and had burritos for supper.


I got really dark by about 7:00 and by 8:30, everyone was in the sack.
At 8:15, I was the first one up. I had hung a digital thermometer on my ridgeline and it said to wait for someone to get up and build the fire.


I love my Jetboil, but it was pretty weak on a cold morning like this. Not so with alcohol. I had my Cobalt Blue Soloist from Stoveman Dan.
You can buy one here and I recommend it.
http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/cobalt-blue-soloist.php

It's under this Caldera Cone. Coffee in no time.


Scrambled some eggs, 'shrooms, and cheese and had pre-cooked bacon for breakfast.




After breakfast, we hiked up to Ellicott Rock. This is where Andrew Ellicott, back in 1811, marked the spot where SC, NC, and GA all touch. It's in the middle of the river on the left.


The dark circle on the front right corner is THE spot.



In the afternoon, we hiked to Spoonauger Falls.



and King Creek Falls.



Throughout the trip, we were blessed with some breathtaking scenery.





We had three men stop by to inspect the hammocks. They seemed pretty amazed at the underquilts. They were doing maintenance on the trail. Two of the gentlemen were volunteers on the Foothills Trail Conference, the 3rd was a ranger. As we talked, he was explaining how they sometimes have to close down an area because people drag rocks out of the river and make furniture and huge fire rings.
This was here when we arrived...honest!


He also noticed that my hammock was closer to the water than the 50 ft minimum, but since I was hanging off the ground and had MINIMAL impact, he didn't mind. He just asked that I use caution getting in and out and try not to damage the vegetation, which right here was roots and rocks.


For supper, we rehydrated some homemade chili and used up the last of the sour cream and cheese.


Time change gave us an extra hour of sleep, so we were done by 7:30 and didn't come back out til after 8:00. It was a little cooler this night, about 28 degrees. Had to break the ice on the water bucket.
We left out about 1:00 and had one final picture.
The Bad Creek Reservoir near Lake Jocassee.


It was an incredible weekend with friends and nature.