2019 Hiking Week 11
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| Congaree Creek |
It was a beautiful weekend for getting outside. Of course, that means in South Carolina that the pollen is out as well. We were able to get back over to the
Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve, which runs near the
Timmerman Trail. Access to the trail is at the end of Old State Road, in Cayce.
Online it says that the trail (called the Guignard Clay Quarry Loop Trail) is 2.5 miles, but when we started hiking, there was a map that showed a couple of trail options. There is a large loop which is about 3 miles. I'm assuming the 2.5 mile trail is the section that cuts across midway. We followed the short cut Sunday because it said that the other section is more prone to flooding. Even though it hasn't rained in Columbia in over a week, a lot of the trail was muddy. I guess the ground has just been so saturated recently that it needs more time to dry out. I highly recommend waterproof boots or shoes that you don't mind getting muddy. I think the best time to go would be during a long dry period. Also, during mosquito season (warmer months), be prepared for mosquitoes and other bugs. There is a lot of standing water and I can imagine the bugs can get pretty bad.
This area was settled in the 1700's and during the early 1800's, there was a clay quarry operation,
Guignard Brick Works, that used this land to produce bricks. Some of these bricks are found on the USC Horseshoe. You can see where the land had been dug out over the years. There are lots of places of standing water, which also you can see how alligators may find a good home here (there were many signs warning of alligators but we didn't see any signs of them). We did see plenty of deer prints and birds. We could hear a barred owl and saw a great blue heron fly among the trees. There was something I saw at one point, either a deer or maybe a wild turkey, but I couldn't get a good look. Once you cross the cut through trail, you hike along the Congaree Creek, where I am pretty sure runs right near the Timmerman Trail. There were also a few signs of spring, besides the pollen, with the wild violet and southern crabapple blooming.
After a good hike, I recommend check out Columbia's newest brewery,
Steel Hands. It has a great outdoor space and has food. There is also another brewery in the construction phase currently over in West Columbia. Hopefully it'll open in the next year. And since it was such a nice day Sunday, I visited the USC Aboretum too. I'll work on posting that soon.
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| Signs for the trail. |
Online it says that the trail (called the Guignard Clay Quarry Loop Trail) is 2.5 miles, but when we started hiking, there was a map that showed a couple of trail options. There is a large loop which is about 3 miles. I'm assuming the 2.5 mile trail is the section that cuts across midway. We followed the short cut Sunday because it said that the other section is more prone to flooding. Even though it hasn't rained in Columbia in over a week, a lot of the trail was muddy. I guess the ground has just been so saturated recently that it needs more time to dry out. I highly recommend waterproof boots or shoes that you don't mind getting muddy. I think the best time to go would be during a long dry period. Also, during mosquito season (warmer months), be prepared for mosquitoes and other bugs. There is a lot of standing water and I can imagine the bugs can get pretty bad.
This area was settled in the 1700's and during the early 1800's, there was a clay quarry operation, Guignard Brick Works, that used this land to produce bricks. Some of these bricks are found on the USC Horseshoe. You can see where the land had been dug out over the years. There are lots of places of standing water, which also you can see how alligators may find a good home here (there were many signs warning of alligators but we didn't see any signs of them). We did see plenty of deer prints and birds. We could hear a barred owl and saw a great blue heron fly among the trees. There was something I saw at one point, either a deer or maybe a wild turkey, but I couldn't get a good look. Once you cross the cut through trail, you hike along the Congaree Creek, where I am pretty sure runs right near the Timmerman Trail. There were also a few signs of spring, besides the pollen, with the wild violet and southern crabapple blooming.
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