Returning to Raven Rock
Lake Jocassee can be a serene place to sit and read after walking the Raven Rock Trail, but only until all the motorboats find the cove beneath one’s aerie of solitude.
During the later part of the summer, as summer was starting to move into fall, I returned to the Raven Rock Trail, part of the trail system around Jocassee Gorges Wilderness Area. Oddly enough, the trail seemed very different in many ways. It may very well have been that I took a different part of the trail last time.
The advantage to this, however, is that it seemed pretty new. It’s a pretty trail, with some nice moments of elevation change to get your heart rate going. It’s by no means a highly strenuous trail, but you’ll definitely want to be prepared to get a workout. The trail branches off from the Natural Bridge Trail, which is a nice trail in its own right. The Raven Rock trail then climbs up one ridge, goes down towards the shore of Lake Jocassee. After following the shore line for a bit, it climbs up to a high rocky point overlooking the lake, and then goes back down towards the beginning of the trail.
While up on the rock overlooking the lake, I took some time to relax, have a snack and do a little reading. The view was nice, the weather was pleasant, so I was very much enjoying the time. However, it seemed like all of a sudden, multiple motorboats converged on the spot below my vantage point. Between the noise of the boats and the various musical soundtracks to the festivities, I could tell that my moment of peace was over. So, I packed up and continued on.
But, it was still a beautiful day and an enjoyable hike.
