Category: Get Outdoors and enjoy a hike

ASCG: Greenway Stables Entrance: Part One -Horses and Hiking — Dogwood and Peach Loop Trails…..

My hiking 🥾 buddy, Coleman, and I drove to the Horse 🐎 Road Entrance of the Anne Springs Close Greenway on Thursday. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We’ve been having rain 🌧 showers off and on lately. So time on the trail without rain 🌧 interfering with our hike was fantastic.

The main point of interest at this entrance is of course the horses 🐎. Seeing the horses 🐎 is a highlight for Coleman. He loves seeing and petting the horses 🐎. Visiting the horses was not our main purpose on this day, even though very pleasant. Knowing Coleman, we had to stop and visit with the horses before we could begin our hike for the day.

Coleman
saying hi
to the horses

The Greenway Stables Entrance is also sometimes referred to as the Horse Road Entrance. The Greenway Stables are located at 1046 Horse Road, Fort Mill, South Carolina. On Horse Road you take a quick left on the road to enter the parking lot. When you first exit your car in the parking lot you will see the Gibson House. The Gibson House overlooks the pond and fields and offers a time for relaxing while watching the horses run. It is available for rent as a venue for wedding ceremonies, receptions, parties, picnics, and much more. Restrooms are located on the right-hand side of the building.

One of the paths to the trails is entered through the first horse stable location. After a short visit with the horses, we moved on down the path to the Dogwood Trailhead. We followed along left side of the Dogwood Trail. At this point, there were two choices to make to begin to begin the trail. We chose the path on the left. This trail passes through a scenic pasture area on the south end of the property connecting with Peach Loop.

Coleman
leading the way
to the Dogwood Trail

Coleman has a fascination of having his picture taken by the trail posts. Capturing the trail posts also reminds us of where we’ve been and what we encountered along the trail. we connected to Peach Loop after we reached trail marker 7. The Peach Loop breaks off from Timberline and the Blue Star trails as well. Dogwood runs into Timberline, so if you are not familiar with the trails you might get confused on which trail you are on or which direction you need to proceed on when the trails signs say different trails. The Peach Loop route keeps you inside the wooded area rather than being outside the timber line for this section. The loop takes you back onto the trail you started on. Therefore, after coming full “circle” on Peach Loop, it brought us back to Dogwood.

Back on Dogwood the trail wound around and led us back to the horses and the Gibson House where we began our day. The sights along the trail are amazing. The dirt surface can become muddy after the rains. On this day the trails were pretty good. The only things we had to watch out for were the tree roots sticking up along the path. If you’re not watching where you are going you could trip and fall over a tree root, so be careful as you hike the trails.

Naturally, we had to stop along the way back to the car to watch the horses in the pasture grazing about. The horses are beautiful creatures, and the views are spectacular.

God Bless. Get Outdoors and enjoy nature. There’s nothing my grandson loves more than being out in nature and hiking the trails. Thank you for visiting. Looking forward to your next visit. Remember I appreciate y’all,

ASCGREENWAY: Coleman hiking 🥾 the trails in his Trail Passport…… 5 Trails in One Day…… Loooong Hike.

The Anne Springs Close Greenway has a Hiking Challenge one can choose to participate in or not. I participated in the challenge earning mu Trail Passport certificate a year and a half ago in December of 2020. My grandson, Coleman, has been hiking the trails at the Anne Springs Close Greenway (ASCG) since March of 2021 when he was only a year and a half (1 1/2). A person earns the Passport Challenge certificate by completing all twenty-six (26) trails consisting of thirty-six miles (36) within and around the Greenway. There is a Trail Passport booklet that one can pick up at most any of the five (5) entrances to the Greenway. After completing a trail, initial and date verifying that you completed that trail. All the trails are listed in the passport. After completing all the trails, turn your initialed passport into the Greenway Gateway to receive your certificate.

Coleman
exploring the
Nature Center
area prior to
starting our hike.

While you are out on the trails, be respectful and remember the Leave No Trace Principles.

  • Plan Ahead and prepare.
  • Dispose of waste properly
  • Leave what you find
  • Respect wildlife
  • Be considerate of other visitors.

These are very important guidelines everyone should follow no matter which Greenway trail, State or National Park trail, or even a local trail you choose venture onto to for an awesome hike. My grandson being only 2 1/2 doesn’t understand all the rules yet. I constantly remind him to leave what is in the park in the park, what is on the ground must stay on the ground. He usually will pick up leaves, rocks, or sticks off the ground and I remind him to put them down that they have to stay in the Greenway.

On Sunday when Coleman and I went to the Greenway, we hiked 5 trails:

  1. North Steele Creek Trail – This trail follows a portion of Steele Creek and connects two sections of Blue Star.
  2. Blue Star Trail – Blue Star is the longest trail on the Greenway (7.8) miles. This trail is dividing into 5 sections, and it connects to nearly every trail on the Greenway. It follows portions of the Historic Nation Ford Road. [We hike 2 sections on this day.]
  3. Muscadine Trail – This trail connects with Blue Star and Trestle Trail and Wagon Loop, Wild Azalea and Hickory trails. This trail is accessible from either the Lake Haigler Entrance or the Adventure Road Entrance.
  4. Wild Azalea Trail – The main point of interest along this trail is Lake Haigler. This trail is accessible to hikers via either the Wagon Loop or the Haigler Loop. This trail connects with Wagon Loop, Muscadine Trail and Haigler Loop. One may use Billy’s Walk as a short cut between Wild Azalea and Muscadine to be able to view the Lake Haigler Spillway.
  5. Haigler Loop – This is a very popular trail for most visitors. It loops around Lake Haigler, the largest scenic lake on the Greenway. It connects to Blue Star, Wild Azalea, Hickory and Timberline Trails and Wagon Loop.

We began our hike on North Steele Creek Trail and continued onto the Blue Star Trail. The Blue Star Trail led us to the Railroad Trestle. Coleman loves trains and was a little disappointed when a train did not pass overhead once we arrived at the Trestle. He has seen other Railroad Trestles, but this was the first time seeing the Trestle at the Greenway. Whenever he sees a trestle, he will say choo choo. He does not say train yet, but he says choo choo anytime he sees or hears a train.

The Blue Star Trail runs along one side of the Railroad Trestle and Muscadine runs along the other side. Upon leaving the Railroad Trestle area, we started on another section of the Blue Star Trail, across a swinging bridge on then ventured onto Muscadine to head back towards the Lake Haigler Entrance and the Canteen. On the Muscadine side of the Railroad Trestle, Coleman found an opportunity to get close to (and even in) the water. Being a hot and humid day, I did not object to him getting in the water. We skittered off of Muscadine and onto Wild Azalea which led us to Lake Haigler. Once down by the lake, we wondered over to the kayak launch area to obtain some information about renting a kayak on another day. I wanted to know if they had life jackets to fit Coleman. They assured me they did and informed me of the costs and for the length of time which you can rent a kayak. Coleman’s birthday is coming up later this month, so I will try to make it possible for him to go out on the lake in a kayak close to his birthday. He wanted to go out right then and there, but I let him know he’ll need to wait until another day. That we will try to kayak for his birthday.

Leaving the kayak launch area, he chose to hike part of the Haigler Loop before returning to the Rush Pavilion and the Canteen. Once at the canteen we refilled our bottles with ice and water. By this time, we had run out of drink from the 3 bottles we had on the trail with us and were in much need of replenishing our fluid intake. It was so good to just sit and relax for a couple of minutes before heading home.

God Bless. Stay Safe. Enjoy Nature. Thank you! And always remember I appreciate y’all.

Wednesday Wanderings: Walking 🚶‍♀️ _Running 🏃 @ Riverwalk

Welcome to my blog. Today I’ll be talking about my Wanderings with my grandson, Coleman, yesterday. Coleman is 2 1/2 and loves to be out in nature and go hiking 🥾. He has been hiking for over year and a half now. He’ll be turning 3 next month. I have pictures of him on hikes since at least March 2021. There is no place he’d rather be then out on a trail, out in nature, walking, running, or hiking 🥾. Anywhere, Anytime outdoors is where he would rather be.

Wednesday morning we left the house ( actually our apartment) by 10 am. Getting him and me both ready takes time. I’m not alert too early in the mornings any more. Not only do I need to get us both dressed, I have to make sure we eat a healthy breakfast and have plenty of drinks and snacks packed fir our day of hiking.

On this outing we went to our local Riverwalk Catawba Trailhead to begin our day of wandering through nature. Riverwalk has two entrances to choose from. One on the north side and one on the south side. We chose the one on the south side closest to the railroad trestle. He loves choo choo’s (trains).

Coleman
at the
Riverwalk
entrance

Coleman is always ready for a hiking 🥾 adventure. He loves to have is picture 📷taken. As you can see, he also likes to climb. Shortly after we crossed through the covered bridge we were able to view the railroad 🚆 trestle.

Riverwalk
Catawba River
Railroad Trestle

Not only does he like to view the railroad 🛤 trestle, he also likes to go down to the water 💦 and watch the waters 💦 movements, and play in the water if he can get away with it.

Catawba River.
Coleman resting
on a park swing.

He enjoys a good swing and will run to one any time he sees one along the trail. Continuing along the trail, he spots a log 🪵 on the ground and immediately decides to climb on it. He then walked along the top of it like you would a balance beam ( he’s never seen a balance beam).

Coleman
balancing
on the log 🪵
and walking
across it.

Anytime there is an opening along the trail to go to the water 💦 or at least to view the water 💦, he is off and running 🏃‍♂️ towards it.

Catawba River

On the way back to the car, Coleman hears the train 🚂 whistle. He automatically says choo choo. I find an opening amongst the trees 🌲 along the trail for him to see the train 🚊 as it is moving along the railroad 🚞 tracks 🛤. He loves watching the train pass. He would have liked it better if we were closer to the railroad 🚞 trestle 🛤 , but he still hasn’t stopped talking about seeing the train 🚆.

We hiked for 2.6 miles round trip. This is one of his shorter hikes. If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend you visiting a Greenway, a local park, a local trailhead and enjoy spending time hiking 🥾 (or walking 🚶‍♀️) and observing nature.

God bless. Thank you for visiting. Remember I appreciate y’all.

Founders Trail: Along the Catawba River

Yesterday, Sunday, 05 June 2022 we decided to try a different trail that I was told about on Saturday whil I was participating in the National Trails Day 1,000 Mile Challenge. The information was given to me by Debbie Zinsky Kiggans, the leader of the Anne Springs Close Greenway Hiking Club. She informed me about the Masons Ben Trail located in the Fort Mill area of South Carolina.

Following directions, we found the parking area to the Founders Trailhead, however, we did not locate the Masons Bend Trail. Afterwards, I looked at the trail map and it appears we did not hike far enough to venture off onto the Masons Bend Trail which appears to be a jaunt off of the Founders Trail.

Founders Trail
with my
hiking buddy,
Coleman

The Founders Trail is a 2.3-mile mostly natural surface trail provides connectivity between the Piedmont Medical Center Trail, (AKA Riverwalk), and the Masons Bend Trail. It follows a beautiful stretch of the free flowing Catawba River.

Coleman
taking a quick break,
on a bench
provided by Founders

From the North, users can utilize the trail parking at the end of Weir Court in the Masons Bend Neighborhood development. When you follow the trail southward, the trail runs along the River and provides a series of bridges and boardwalks. In various locations along the trail are strategically placed benches which allow hikers and other visitors to take a break and view the river. There is an overlook at the north end of the trail affording opportunities to be inspired by the marvelous views of the Catawba River. [We evidently did not go far enough along the trail, since we did not encounter the overlook.] The overlook area is stated to be around 1.9 miles into the trail. [We went 1.7 miles today before turning around to meet my daughter who just arrived at the trailhead.]

Views
of the
Catawba River

If one chooses to head north on the Founders Trail, it will connect directly into the Masons Bend Trail allowing the user to travel an additional one and a quarter mile along the river.

Views
of the
Catawba River
from Founders Trail

If one chooses to begin at the south end, trail users can utilize the trailhead of the Piedmont Medical Center Trail. Follow the trail north on Route 21. from there, the Founders Trail begins as a sidewalk along the Route 21 Bridge over the Catawba River. The sidewalk section runs for approximately 2000′ and transitions by making a “U-turn” to the right just after the guardrails and follows the old road back and travels underneath the Route 21 Bridge.

Views from the Founders Trail
Pump House and stairs
are across the river from our location

The Founders Trail consists of Natural surface, Gravel/stone, Boardwalk, Sidewalk, and Pavement. [ we never encountered the sidewalk or pavement on this hike.] The Trail is located both in the Rock Hill and the Fort Mill areas of South Carolina. The difficulty level of the Trail is designated as easy. [It was fairly easy for my two-year-old grandson.] Dogs are permitted on the trail with a 3-foot leash. If you choose to bring your dog, be sure to pick up after them. Remember to Leave No Trace, what you pack in, Pack out with you.

The Founders Trailhead has no restroom facilities, so it would be wise to plan ahead. The Trail is open from Dawn to Dusk. Parking is limited, only 15 spots available. [Parking was not crowded, and neither was the trail. So, if you which to practice social distancing that is not a problem along this trail.

Trail Map

I encourage you to find a local trail and get outdoors and enjoy nature. God bless. Thank you for visiting. Till next time, Remember I appreciate y’all.