The area along the Chattooga is open for camping. It is a designated national wild & scenic river and one of my very favorite places to hike & camp. Enjoy!
The area along the Chattooga is open for camping. It is a designated national wild & scenic river and one of my very favorite places to hike & camp. Enjoy!
I have never actually camped on the lake, nor do I know of anywhere to camp there (not saying there isn't). It's been years since I have been there, but there use to be a place to camp right at the top of the fall's. Beautiful views of the lake. There is a trail that leads down to the base of the falls too.
Hope you have a great time and Stay hydrated.... It is absolutely blazing hot and humid down here right now!!
Jeremy
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The Carolinas Backpackpacker Chronicles
I'm drawn to the open country. Its where the world makes the most sense. When I put myself out there I always return with something new.
Here is a screenshot from my GPS. The pink line is the foothills Trail.
The diagonal line going across is the SC/NC border. On the SC side, you can camp anywhere. NC is in designated sites only. All of those tents on the NC side are designated campsites. There is a very nice large site at the northern-most point of the lake near the Toxaway Bridge.
I don't think the math will work for you to camp at the falls.
It's 22 miles from Tablerock to the falls (A5 on the map). You could do that very difficult section in one day. Pinnacle Mountain, followed by Sassafras Mountain, followed by the Laurel Valley corridor with a lot of stairs.
Or, you could do it in two days and that would leave 54 miles for the remaining 3 days. I believe I would try to make it to the falls by lunch on day2, enjoy a swim, and then continue 5.8 miles farther to Toxaway or Canebrake.
As for camping on the Chatooga.
The pink is the FHT and the black is the Chatooga River Trail.
There are too many campsites on that trail to show them all.
swampfox
He is your friend, your companion, your defender... he is your dog. You are his life, his leader, and master. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of that devotion.
Thanks, Swampfox! I'm still working on a tentative hike schedule with daily mileage and camp stops. Will let you know when I settle on something. Right now I'm looking at 5.5 days to do the trail and side trails to waterfalls and the lake.
Also, have been hiking every day about 5 miles at 3 mph in the heat. Today heat index was 105. Should be good to go for the Foothills Trail next week.
Right now I have two definite hike partners and one maybe.
Rain Man
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"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods
http://www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker
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Rain Man,
It's 11.5 miles to the Laurel Valley Access on Hwy 178. If your wife slackpacked you to there and you just had some food and water in a day pack to carry, it would make that 22 miles to the falls much more pleasurable.
He is your friend, your companion, your defender... he is your dog. You are his life, his leader, and master. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of that devotion.
As things stand right now, we are going to hike "south to north" or maybe it's "west to east." I started laying out a tentative hike schedule, but am having to factor in all the side trips to waterfalls, the lake, campsites, etc. I'm going to plan on 5.5 days, to be on the leisurely side. We'll see.
Do you know if we can climb the fire tower that is 2 miles up the trail from Oconee State Park? Might that be a place we could camp on Sunday night? We expect to arrive at Oconee SP around dark or just before. If we could do those first two miles, that'd leave an easy 14-mile day up the river to Burrell's Ford for Monday night camping.
RM
"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods
http://www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker
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I don't think you would have any problem finding a place to camp there but the fire tower has been closed to the public since 2006.
http://www.emapstore.com/sc_blue_rid...ong_mtn_sc.htm
swampfox
He is your friend, your companion, your defender... he is your dog. You are his life, his leader, and master. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of that devotion.
"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods
http://www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker
.
Hey Rain Man,
We just had a change of plans in our trip. We were headed to Roan Mt. next Thursday but due to some unfortunate events (got laid off) I need to stay closer to home. Some friends of mine are joining me for a 3 day FHT hike starting at Laurel Fork Access and heading west to Bad Creek Access. Maybe our paths might cross? We are looking to leave early Friday morning, unless I get an offer for an interview, and will be out until Sunday evening.
Hope you have a great trip and we get to pass each other.
Swampfox. . . will be sending you a PM soon.
“He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear, but then again he doesn't know the meaning of most words”
- Bobby Bowden
He is your friend, your companion, your defender... he is your dog. You are his life, his leader, and master. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of that devotion.
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