Chattooga River Trail – Salt Trough Ford - February 22, 2004 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Chattooga River Trail – Salt Trough Ford |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | South Carolina |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | February 22, 2004 |
| Duration: | 1 day |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Light |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny, Partly Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | Light |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 61-70, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | 2/22/04 (Sunday) – Sunny and nice with temps to 60’s H, 30’s L overnight. I woke around 6:45am this morning when Rebel wanted to get out of the tent and play with Buddy. He was back an hour later, and we all slept until around 9am this morning. The Camel and Sikle were already up and The Operator was stirring by the time I climbed out of the tent. It was still chilly, but the sun was out and it was warming up quickly. The Operator recorded 32 degrees on his watch overnight, and Sikle said there was frost on the ground when he got up this morning. We cooked up some oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast and didn’t break camp until noon. The hike out was easier than yesterday, but we still had five miles to the SC 107 trailhead. The Camel, Sikle and The Operator got a fifteen minute lead on us but waited at the intersection with the Bartram Trail at Lick Log Creek. This is the junction of three trails: The Bartram, Chattooga, and Foothills trails and it is a confusing intersection. The Gomite, CA and I decided to take a twenty minute lunch break here, while the others pushed on to the truck. I walked briefly down to the waterfall and campsite that we spotted on a previous trip here on September 15, 2001. It’s still a nice area, but I understand that it is frequently used on weekends. The Gomite, CA and I made it to the Thift Lake parking area in under twenty minutes, but the rest of the group had moved on. I decided to ditch my pack here with the Gomite and CA, and I hiked the last two miles fairly quickly although it was mostly up hill. Fortunately, I tagged a waypoint on the parking area with my GPS before I left. It would have been very difficult to find this trailhead without the waypoint, and it still took us about thirty minutes to drive to it which was more than I expected. I rode in the back of CA’s truck with Rebel to get to the Thrift Lake parking area. With four people and four packs there wasn’t room up front. Once we added the Gomite, CA and Buddy to the mix (with two more packs), it was a crowded ride back to the Burrell’s Ford parking area. The Gomite and I squeezed in the back of the truck with the two dogs and it was a chilly ride to Burrell’s Ford. We made it there by 2:30pm and hit the road within about twenty minutes. CA, The Operator and I stopped in McDonalds for some food in Walhalla, then made it back to Atlanta by 6pm. |
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