Heartbreak Ridge

After my 77-mile Foothills Trail hike, Eric wanted to go on a section with me. I chose a 13.5 mile stretch that was the most remote section on the trail and only accessible by boat. 

We talked Ashlyn into dropping us off at the north end of Lake Jocassee. It's actually in NC in the Jocassee Gorges at the Toxaway campsite. We waived her goodbye and wished her luck finding the boat dock again. 

Our hike started off fairly easy. 

But quickly turned difficult with what's known as "Heartbreak Ridge". This 600-step incline will defininitely get your heart rate up!

After the steep incline, it was more ups and downs as we followed the lake shore. The waterfalls and views were nice!

Our goal for day one was 8.2 miles to Virginia Hawkins Campsite. We didn't meet many hikers on the trail, so we felt pretty sure the campsite would be open. 

When we arrived, we had plenty of daylight left to pitch our tent and eat dinner.

The wood was really wet and we had a hard time getting a fire started. That worked out well, though, because we were so exhausted from the hike that it gave us an excuse to go to bed early.

In the morning, we refilled our water bottles using a filter and fresh water from the nearby streams. 

We also gathered our food  & trash from the bear bag we hung 175 feet from our tent. 

Finally, it was time to head to the car. Day two was only 4.3 miles. We crossed several bridges along the trail as it crossed over lots of rivers and streams. The white blazes (marks) on the trees indicate the path of the trail.

Eric was a great lead as he broke most of the spider webs for me! There was also a 2-mile stretch that was super buggy with lots of gnats and mosquitos. I think I'll invest in a bug net on my next hike just to have it handy.

Eric made an instructional video of our hike to educate anyone wanting to do this section of the Foothills. You can view it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRYuHwDtdK4