Caesars Head State Park - Matthews Creek - February 6, 1999 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Caesars Head State Park - Matthews Creek |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | South Carolina |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | February 6, 1999 |
| Duration: | 2 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Light to Moderate |
| Trip Weather: | Partly Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | Light |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 61-70, Low: 51-60 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | 2/06/99 (Saturday) – I met Sikle and The Camel by 11:30am this morning at the visitors center at Caesars Head State Park and we were able to book a backcountry campsite along Matthews Creek for the evening. After a quick stop at the lookout platform to check the sights, we left a car in the nearby parking area and drove 1.1 miles down to the Raven Cliff Falls parking lot. There were numerous day hikers out today, and we had to park along US 276 since there were no spaces in the main lot. We followed the Gum Gap trail this afternoon and passed a number of day hikers headed for the viewing platform at Raven Cliff Falls. When we split from the Raven Cliff Falls trail, we were surprised to find a bunch of Wake Forest students hanging out at the top of the falls at the suspension bridge and we chatted with them for a bit. The hiking was pretty easy for the first few miles but the Naturaland Trust trail made a steep descent down to Matthews Creek where there was a difficult yet entertaining cable crossing (which made for some good photo opportunities). We spent about twenty minutes crossing the stream then hiked a short distance and found a campsite along Matthews Creek at 4pm. It was unseasonably warm for this time of year, and in the 50’s this evening. So we gathered some wood and had a nice campfire until about 10pm when we crashed for the night. (Note: By April 1999, Caesars Head State Park changed their policy and banned backcountry fires in the state park.) 2/07/99 (Sunday) – I cooked up some oatmeal for breakfast this morning, then packed up and hit the trail with Sikle and The Camel by 9:30am. We followed the Naturaland Trust Trail out of the ravine today and it was a difficult 1600’ climb back up to the visitors center and the parking area at Caesars Head. After a hot and lengthy climb, we made it to US 276 where Sikle dropped his pack and jogged a short distance to his car. He returned to pick us up, then shuttled me back down to the Raven Cliff Falls parking area to get my vehicle. It took us 1 ½ hours to make the climb out of the gorge this morning, and we stopped again at the visitors center for some snacks on the way out of town. |
Trail Map For This Area
There are no comments yet.