First Hike for 2013
I began 2013 with a short hike along the Natural Bridge Trail in the Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area.
To start off my hiking in 2013, I returned to the place I started this blog with, the Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area. In my first blog post, I described my hike along the Raven Rock Trail. The trailheads for the Raven Rock Trail are off of the Natural Bridge Trail, a moderate trail that takes just under an hour to travel. The main feature of the Natural Bridge Trail is, as one would expect, a rock bridge that traverses one of the creeks that can be seen along the trail. Overall, the trail is pretty moderate, although there is a rather strenuous segment near the end to be aware of. It can certainly get the heart rate up.
On this trip, I tried to get closer to the underside of the natural bridge, to get some good shots of the creek flowing under it. The recent rainfall had caused the creek to flow relatively heavily. Unfortunately, due to the light, I wasn’t able to get any passable photographs of the creek passing under the bridge, but I was able to see that it is more than just a boulder laying across the creek, as I had originally thought. Instead, it really has been carved out through many boulders by water erosion.
The strong water flow also allowed for an impressive waterfall near one of the Raven Rock trailheads. Multiple cascades traveled over the rocks in a beautiful display.
Another interesting aspect of this hike were the multiple hanging branches. In the winter, many dead branches broke from the tops of trees and were then caught in the lower branches. Thus, as one travels the trail, one can see branches swinging over head or just nearby, swaying in the breeze.
Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day, and not too cold for the first weekend in January. Certainly, if you’re looking for a quick hike in the SC Golden Corner, this is worth the trip.
