It rained just about all day yesterday, which prevented me from getting more trail miles in, but as the rains cleared in the evening, I started thinking I would hike with the Meetup group. Sunday, turned out to be the perfect day to hike. The group was planning to hike the trails in and around South Rockdale Park, a bit southeast of Panola mountain and about forty-five minutes from my house. It's a new place that I've never hiked, which made it a perfect choice.
I had an errand to run before the hike and so, ended up at the trailhead about thirty minutes before the scheduled start time, but before long the others started arriving. Several friends would be joining today, which always makes for a great time. The trails here are mostly mountain bike trails, which are usually unattractive to me, but these are different in that the switchbacks are spread out widely from each other. As we departed the pavement and hit the woods, it was obvious it was going to be a nice day.
After just a couple of miles, we found ourselves hiking parallel to the South River, which offered some really nice views. It seems the trail system here has been redone at some point recently, as the blazes are a little confusing and often indicate two different options when coming to a fork. Thankfully, today's leader has ridden here quite a bit and knows the way very well. Some of the older trails are covered with leaves and really difficult to find, but we manage.
At one point we stop by the river to find the foundations of a now vanished bridge. One of my friends does a quick internet search and suggests it might have been called the Daniel Bridge, as there is the remnant of a road here that dead ends at the river near where the bridge once stood. That name is as good as any - the Daniel Bridge it is. Just a bit further along the trail, we find ourselves next to rock outcropping that extends a third of the way into the river. Several of us walk out and snap some pictures.
The next item of note is a wooden suspension bridge over one of the feeder creeks. The bridge is quite a bit of disrepair, but still seems sturdy. The far end has been destroyed and we're forced to climb over some of the wreckage to get back to ground level. Nothing crazy though. From there, the trails head back into the woods and away from the river. Though there is a paved bike path through the area, we do our best to avoid that and stick to the dirt.
On our way back towards the cars, we pass a section of creek that has eroded the nearby hillside into a twenty foot muddy cliff. It's actually pretty interesting to see. Beyond that, we find the remnants of what was likely a moonshine still at some point in time. Now, it's just the rusted hull of a tank with holes in it.
Finally back at our cars, my GPS track suggests that we've hiked about 8.2 miles, which is pretty good for one of the Sunday hikes. Additionally, this was a really nice park to hike in and around. The trails are well maintained, though sometimes hard to find, and there are enough interesting things along the way to make the hike worthwhile. While several of the hikers are going to dinner afterwards, I'm headed home. What a great way to spend a day.
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