My goal for 2014 is to hike every segment of the 77 mile Foothills Trail in South Carolina. Some day I would like to do a “through hike”, but for now, I am happy to do it in pieces. This trail is split into easy to access areas that make great day hikes.
So far, I’ve done three of the segments! I am relatively new to hiking, and being outdoors and in nature is extremely soothing for me. I am always amazed at the silence. You don’t realize how much background noise is created by a society until you get away from it. I currently live in a suburban area, and this incessant background noise is a constant agitation for me. I’m moving in about a month, to be renting a house in what is definitely a rural area. In fact, it’s so rural that the only internet service I can get there is via satellite. It is also close to all of the places I like to hike, including the Foothills Trailhead.
I’ve done a lot of hiking in the last two years. I’ll probably be retroactively adding info and photos from a lot of those past hikes here, eventually. While I grew up spending tons of time outdoors, climbing trees, playing in the forest, and swimming in the lakes and streams of Northeast Pennsylvania, my family didn’t do things such as hiking or camping. I wish we had, but that’s really ok with me because now I can discover these things with my Son.
When he was born, I was still living in Rochester, NY (where I had gone to college, graduate school, gotten my first two jobs, started a freelance business, and then started an online business). Lacking a strong support system, my Mother was really adamant about my relocating to where she and my Father had moved for their upcoming retirement, a little island called Hilton Head Island, SC.
Living in Hilton Head for a decade was not something I enjoyed. It is an island inhabited mainly by the very wealthy, and living in separate areas, the people who cater to them. In addition, it is hot, humid, swampy and infested with mosquitos and no-see-ums. And tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. Life in Hilton Head was mostly tumultuous, with a short period of peace. More on that later, but my point is that Hilton Head was not a place where I wanted to be outdoors. Even in the Winter, there were biting insects. It is a place of manicured golf courses and flat, paved bike trails. Walking on the beach is messy and sandy, with the sun often glaring in your eyes, sneaking in around your sunglasses and reflecting off the water to hit you that way. You get the picture.
When I moved to the Upcountry region of South Carolina is was partly out of necessity and partly under the urging of my PDOC, who had counseled me in the importance of establishing a “no contact” situation with my Mother. If you’re thinking that there was some crazy stuff going on that led to this, you’re right. There was, but now is not the time to discuss that. We moved to Greenville County, SC in April of 2012 and not long after that, I found a sweet little greenway walking trail near the house we rented.
I started walking that little trail almost every day, and then decided I wanted to actually go to a place far away from the city and hike. Lucky for me, I had landed myself in an area with a myriad of State Parks, National Forests, State Forests and hiking trails that even were on private land holdings. Not to mention lots of beautiful lakes and rivers. From the day I did my first hike (Sulphur Springs Loop at Paris Mountain) I was hooked.
Hiking has become a big part of our lives, my Son and our dogs love it too! It is excellent exercise but also is a sort of meditation for me. It is a reminder of the constant noise of daily life. Even the electrical sounds inside of a house create a distracting hum that you only realize is gone if the power goes out. Do you think that a brain such as mine can filter that out, with no added stress? I don’t believe that it can. Sounds in the background can drive me a bit batty. Earplugs are fantastic, if not for the fact that they hurt my ears and create a weird feeling of pressure. And they are always working their way out. Noise cancellation headphones are fine for a while, but not so great when you have to take them on/off 30 times a day. And they start to make the cartilage of your ears hurt. So hiking in the backcountry, miles away from all of the din and hum? Sign me up. I love it.
So there you have it. Goal publicly announced. I will be tracking our progress hikes here, to document each segment completed. Once we’ve completed all 77 miles, I’m going to apply for the Perigrine Hiking award, which is a yearly award that is given to someone who hikes the entire length of the trail. As a new hiker, who will always have an 11/12 year old child and at least one dog hiking with me for each segment, a through hike is not possible at this time. Not to mention, it is pretty expensive to obtain the gear needed to do that. Maybe one day!
Filed under: Foothills Trail, goals, health, hiking, my journey is this
