Sumter outdoors columnist Dan Geddings: Return to Sassafras

Through the trees below us we could see blue sky, and our ears were popping. The road was steep, narrow and winding. There was no other traffic. After the final turn, there was a short straightaway, and we could see the gravel parking area at the end.

The lot was almost full, but we managed to find a place. Ginger and I stepped out into the cool, clear mountain air. There was a very soft breeze. We had arrived near the top of the highest point in South Carolina. There was not a cloud in the gorgeous blue sky.

Just a few steps from the gravel parking lot is a wooden deck-type overlook. It sticks out over a rock outcrop. The magnificent view is toward the southwest. Some smaller surrounding mountaintops push up from the plain below. Lake Jocassee can be seen in the distance. The colors that surrounded us in the forest and on the peaks below were astounding.

We had left Sumter early that morning and headed north. Here the fall colors were just starting. Grapevines are usually the first to change, turning into a bright yellow cascade of color. Some of the sweetgums are turning orange and red. The colors got better the farther north we traveled. Patches of sumac blazed red on the roadsides.

Our destination was the Cherokee Scenic Highway 11 in the Upstate of South Carolina. We have made the drive several times in the past, but it has been a few years since Ginger and I ventured there. This time we hoped to catch the fall colors at their peak, and we wanted to see some of the other things in the area.

The road from Exit 5 on the interstate through Campobello is a two-lane country drive with very little traffic. The foothills roll along with the mountains looming over us just outside the car window. The mountains and foothills were ablaze in colors.

Our first stop was at the Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. Named in honor of Joel Poinsett, the stone bridge was built in 1820. It is the oldest in South Carolina and perhaps the oldest in the Southeast. It was built on the road from Greenville to Asheville. The stones were hand cut and fitted into a Gothic arch over Little Gap Creek. Ginger and I walked over the bridge, down a steep path and through the arch where the creek trickled at our feet.

Back on the highway, we marveled at the sights. Mountains stretched away on both sides. The road was wider now and straighter. More traffic, but still not much. Table Rock Mountain was ahead, and lunch time was approaching. We turned into the park headquarters and parked in the shade. We made a little picnic lunch with sandwiches and drinks from home.

After Table Rock, we continued on toward Lake Jocassee. We passed the road to Sassafras Mountain but decided to check it out on the way back. I noticed a group of orange-clad hunters gathered around a pickup just off the highway, and I told Ginger they were probably a party of bear hunters taking a lunch break. We turned around at the lake and headed back to Sassafras.

The road to Sassafras Mountain is a treat unto itself. Dappled sunlight through the hardwood canopy illuminated the yellows, oranges and reds of sparkling color in the forest. We've been on the mountain before but not in the peak of the season. There is also a new observation tower at the top.

After the wooden overlook, we took a small trail on up to the top. The views there are sweeping. Mountain peaks push out to the blue horizon. The state line runs across the top of the mountain and is marked in the floor of the observation tower. We lingered, unwilling to leave such a sight. A wide concrete sidewalk leads back to the parking lot.

The trip back down the mountain went too quickly, but at the bottom, I noticed something. A group of hunters was gathered at a house beside the road. I told Ginger, "They've got a bear."

The black bear was hanging in the yard of the house. I pulled over and got out. I had to see this bear up close. I spoke to the hunters, and they told me that Olivia had shot the bear. She was very shy but let me take her picture with the bear. I guessed her age at about 10. Her dad was skinning the bear. There were several trucks parked in the yard with hounds in the back. Other people were stopping, so I didn't linger.

Our trip had been an adventure, but we were ready for home and hit the road again.

Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.