Sunday, May 25 was Day 3 of our Foothills Trail hike. We camped the night before along the banks of the Chatooga River and we got a great night of sleep. We both agree that there is something to be said for finding the right campsite to help get a goodnight sleep, which will always help make your next day of hiking better. Pick a bad campsite, and if you don't sleep well, then you will have a tough day hiking the next day. Well, sleeping next to the river on a flat and comfortable site was very rewarding for us last night. We both woke up refreshed and ready to get on the trail... we were packed up and ready to hike by 8:45. The plan for the day was to hike to Lick Log Creek, which would be about 6 1/2 miles, leaving 8 for monday. We knew this was a very short distance for us, but the guidebook made it sound like there might not be any more campsites after that, before Oconee State Park.

We walked about a tenth of a mile down river, and passed the tent of the 1st couple that had passed us the previous evening. They were still dead to the world, sleeping away, so we quietly walked by hoping not to wake them. About 1/4 of a mile farther downstream, we came to the 2nd couple who were putting the finishing touches on their packs and looked ready to get on their way. Both had found comfortable campsites along the river, just as they had hoped.

Shortly after passing the second campsite, we came to a fork in the trail... the high road was marked as the "Highwater Route", and the low road skirted the banks of the river. We decided to take the easy route and risk the water... we're both adventerous people. We ended up skipping from rock to rock until we noticed a tree that had falled down making it impossible to climb over or walk around. I decided to walk ahead and check it out, and decide if we needed to turn back or if it was passable. I took one step on a slanted, moss covered rock, and both feet went out from under me. I came down hard on my left elbow and my left foot went in the water. At first, I thought I had broken my elbow, but luckily it was my pride that was hurt more than anything. We decided to turn back before anything more disasterous happened.

Back at the highwater route, we noticed the 2nd couple starting toward us down the trail. As we headed up the trail, we glanced back to see which route they would take. Obviously they thought that we must know something of the low road and decided to follow us... a smart decision. It wasn't long before we again came back to the banks of the river and again had rough trail conditions, including alot of rocks, mud, roots, downed trees and overhanging limbs.

We hiked for about 1.5 miles and came to a large rock formation on the side of the mountain. The trail was high above the river, and there was a trail leading almost straight down to the river, and another continued along the mountain downstream. There was no sign here, and thank goodness we decided to continue downstream on the actual trail... down the mountain to the river is a nice view of Big Bend Falls, but the Guidebook calls this spur trail "Rough".

Speaking of the guidebook, I tried to fish it out of the pack at about 3 miles, to see where we were and what to expect comming up. Neither of us could find it in either packs, and we came to the conclusion that we left it at the campsite and someone else would be the lucky owners of a new Guidebook. I was a little upset with myself, but fortunately, I had read it several times and could go from memory for the most part. (Just as a side note, the guidebook WAS in my pack.. tucked away in a corner pocket just out of reach of both of our hands when we each checked there)

The trail leaves the river and climbs up and over Round Top Mountain, just after Big bend Falls. The climb is not strenuous, but does continue on for a while... for the better part of a mile, you climb slowly and steadily up. As soon as you reach the top, though, you will drop back to the river's edge, making you wonder why the trail bothered to leave the river in the 1st place. There must be a section of river with steep banks along that stretch.

Once back at the river, the trail is litterally at the edge for about a mile. Some sections of this stretch would be flooded in high water, we thought. We did see a group of trail workers here, who looked like they might be making a new trail route.. so maybe they have had trouble with flooding this year.

At about 4 miles on the day, which was just after Simm's Field (A large open campsite area), the trail starts to climb away from the river for the last time. Not having the guidbook to reference, we didn't pay attention to the lack of water over the next 2 miles... even looking at the guidebook, it's not totally clear either. As we climbed away from the river, we started to realize we were dangerously low on water and that we should stop at the next stream we came to. Well, we didn't find that until we came to Lick log Creek, and by that time we were bone dry.. a situation we always try to avoid. 

As we rounded that last bend, and heard the beautiful sound of Pigpen Falls, we knew we had arrived at our water stop, lunch stop and possibly even our campsite for the night. We had put in a solid morning of hiking and completed 6 miles before lunch. After getting some water to drink, and making some lunch, we both agreed that we felt much too strong to even think about stopping now, and the idea of finishing the trail was 1st mentioned. We had never hiked 14 miles, so we didn't spend too much time talking about that. We decided to press on and look for a campsite somewhere around 8 miles... or about another hour or so down the trail.

We headed away from the river after lunch, and headed toward the intersection of route 107. From the signs at Lick Log, we knew it was about 2.5 miles to 107, and about 8.9 to Oconee State Park. We both agreed that we felt good enough to camp somewhere in between those to spots... finding a campsite would be another story. We came to small campsite along the trail after about a mile, and stopped for about 15 minutes... we both still felt great, and debated if we should stop or press on. We quickly decided to move on, since this was far from an ideal campsite, and it was way too early in the day to stop.

We arrived at the intersection of 107 near Cheohee Rd, after about an hour of what seemed like all uphill from Lick Log Creek. During that hour, we talked alot about finishing the hike and decided to give it a try. We could always stop if either one felt that they couldnt continue. Looking back, we both agreed that we felt just too close to stop and looked forward to being finished.

The next 6 miles are pretty much a blur... we covered ground pretty quickly, as it is very easy walking. Even having hiked 8 miles already, we covered the 1st 3 miles in about an hour. We decided to stop and take a break at mile 11, eat our last Snikers Bars, and refill our water bottles for the last time. We new we had one last climb before reaching the park, and the last 3 miles would not be as easy as the last 3... but we were on the home stretch and nothing would stop us now.

We slowly climbed up and over Long Mountain, enjoying the views of piedmont to the south, and feeling every step. That last 3 miles seemed to stretch into 5, but soon we started seeing familiar signs for the Hidden Falls  Trail and Tammasee Knob trail... telling us that we had made it to Oconee State Park.

At the western trailhead for the Foothills Trail, we stopped to take a few pictures before finding a place to sit and wait for our ride. We took a few minutes to reflect back on the hike that had started 2 months and 80 miles earlier. This was one of the most enjoyable hikes we have ever taken! We learned quite a bit from our adventure and have already decided we'll be back someday to do it all again!