Why I Chose to Hike the Foothills Trail

I live in a small town not far from the Adirondack State Park, right here in New York. I am surrounded by beautiful mountain trails and vast plain trails. As an active hiker here, if you ever run out of established backpacking routes, you can easily create your own and never stop hiking.

Why would I want to go anywhere else?

• Novelty: the excitement of experiencing a new, faraway place from home.
• To remove the safety net: Moving further from home makes it harder to quit. If you quit, it will have to be for a good reason.
• To be able to travel another remarkable path.

But why the Foothills Trail?

Why not something like Benton MacKaye or Long Trail?

Believe me, I would love to hike any of those trails. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a trail you wouldn’t immediately want to say yes to. My trail choices this year have depended on how much time I feel comfortable taking away from the real world at once.

The Foothills Trail is considered a 77-mile, moderately strenuous route that goes back and forth between North Carolina and South Carolina. That’s short enough to spread out my vacation. It’s also long enough to make me feel like it’s doing something to lift me out of the «weekend warrior» category.

Some curious facts:

• Foothills Trail shares approximately 15 miles with the Chattooga River, which is where the movie «Deliverance» was filmed.
• This trail is often used as a warm-up for the Appalachian Trail.
• As you hike this trail, you’ll see the tallest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains.
• The Foothills Trail passes by the highest point in South Carolina and offers 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains.
• On this trail, you’ll pass through one of only two temperate rainforests in the United States.
• There is a Facebook group for the Foothills Trail with a lot of support and resources, including information about trail angels and shuttles.
• Information about the Trail Conservatory is also available. website.

Most commonly, hikers begin their Foothills hike at Oconee State Park.

Although you can do it in any direction.

Beginning the hike in Oconee, the trail will gradually become more challenging as you progress toward the highest point in South Carolina, Sassafras Mountain. As the elevation becomes more challenging, my lunch bag will become lighter, making the overall trip noticeably easier for me.

Other than a daily parking permit fee, for those who want to leave a car at a starting or destination location, there are no fees to hike this trail. I’ll leave my car at Table Rock State Park, go to Oconee State Park, and then walk back to the car. I will pay for my transportation, five days of parking permits, and register at the Oconee Foothills Trailhead.

There are no shelters on the Foothills Trail. When determining what equipment to bring, I had to choose between a hammock or a tent. My two setups are similar in weight. In the end, I chose to stick with a tent because it’s what I feel most comfortable setting up. From what I’ve heard, there are many campsites on this trail and they are very well maintained.

As a general summary, my research has shown several things I can expect next week:

• This trail is well maintained.
• There are many campsites available.
• There are many sources of water.
• There will be a LOT of stairs, like… A surprising amount of stairs for how far into the forest I’ll be.
• This will be a beautiful, magical and memorable experience.

I will fully embrace each section of this path and, if possible, see what side quests I might experience along the way.

What do you want to know about this trail? Let me know in the comments!

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