Etoniah Creek State Forest

One last opportunity to hit the trail with Kyle aka flcracker before he heads back up to Vermont for the foreseeable future. We chose Etoniah, cause we were nearby last week and saw the forest. We were not able to get to the 5 mile point, so we parked at the end of this dirt road and shuttled to the entrance of the forest.

The trail was well maintained save for one downed tree. It followed etoniah creek which formed a ravine as we hiked. There were lookout points along the trail and you could hear the creek below.

We came upon a shelter 2 miles in. Something rarely found on the FT, this shelter looked comfortable and wish we had found it at the end of the hike. We looked at the map to see if we would make it back to the car before dark.

The kiz was amazed at Santas Beard. We saw some great fungi and moss that Sandra Friend had written about.

The hollowed stump and reflections made for good photos.

The signs warned us to be careful....however some of us ignored the signs.

The map was quite clear and we made our way through the a privately owned (GA Pacific) section of the trail. The clear cutting appeared to be to our north however it was not too visable as the trail stayed along the creek. Kim fell in love with a pine tree with a missletoe like growth on it.

I liked the large cypress tree growing out of the ravine.

The flcracker stood lookout at other spots along the trail.

The three amigos saw evidence of hunters, but saw none on this day.

The last 2.5 miles along the road were brutal, with the sandy road leading to the locked gate.