I found out about this “first day hike” thing just yesterday. Seemed like a Good Idea, and there were lots of these at South Carolina Sate Parks. I picked Calhoun Falls, since I hadn’t been there before. And since I hadn’t really done any group hiking, I thought this might be an opportunity sample that.

As it turned out, it was a very small group, just the Ranger and me. So an even better way to get into this group hiking thing.

These hikes are generally aimed to accommodate beginners, so this was a pretty easy trail to navigate.

“My” Ranger pointed out things of interest, like this Resurrection Fern growing on a tree. These ferns can almost completely dry out and shrivel up, but come to life when water returns (hence the name).

And how a lot of these gullies running through the park are the result of poor agricultural practices in past. Nature can fix things, but it takes time.

The park is on the shore of Lake Russel.

This little backwater lagoon looked like the sort of place I’d expect to find water fowl or wading birds.

The day had been mostly overcast, but after a while the clouds began to thin out…

…leading to a lot more blue.

I actually made three rounds on this little 1.7-mile trail. The first Ranger-led (with just the two of us, I’m not sure who led more), then I went back to pick up my footprints, and then the sun came out and I took that as a cue to keep going.

Strava link for the solo hike: https://www.strava.com/activities/10475513815