Happy Mother’s Day!

For some complicated reason, Carolina Mountain Club didn’t have a all-day hike today. So I headed to Dupont State Recreational Forest (DSRF). At nine o’clock, the Visitor Center parking lot was half-full. I spotted cars from Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota and even Ontario. This forest must be on everyone’s list.

I’m now keeping track of the trails that I’m walking. My aim is to hike all the trails in Dupont, not necessarily in the most efficient manner. The history of Dupont is fascinating and I’m walking what seems important at the time.

I took Buck Forest Rd. to Guion Farm.

At this time of the morning, there were two categories of cyclists – millenials speeding and baby boomers, many without helmets plodding up the road. Dupont isn’t known for its abundance of flora. So I was surprised to see one lonely pink lady slipper on the side of the road.

On the way back from Guion farm, I turned left to Thomas Cemetery Road. The Thomas family was one of the first to move here after the Revolutionary War. Micajah Thomas, with a trail named after him on the other side of the forest, stayed in the area and built a hotel for South Carolinians escaping the heat of the summer.

Before I arrived at the cemetery, I found a  circular table and four stone benches as a memorial to Murray Claydon (1927-2012). No idea who he was and why someone thought it was OK to just leave a memorial there! Whoever put it up never came back to care for it as the table has fallen on the bench.

On the way back, a woman on a horse was having a conversation on her cell phone as she crossed the covered bridge. So much energy at Dupont – hikers, walkers, bike riders, horse riders and just front porch sitters.

When I got back to the Visitor Center, the Generation Xers with their babies, toddlers and dogs had awakened.

They were circling the parking lot, which was full by now. They checked at the visitor center for suitable activities for their broods.

I had done seven miles but it was only noon. So after lunch, I drove to Cascade Lake Rd. to walk Rock Quarry Rd. Actually what was more important was to find the quarry.

I parked at the entrance to Rock Quarry Trail, walked past the logging site and continued. I reached the Dupont boundary, obvious because of the gated trail. No quarry.

I found Dave, a cyclist,  and together we tried to find the quarry. Sure enough I had missed it. It’s on an unmarked offshoot of  Rocky Quarry Trail. Lenny had been there on a Carolina Mountain Club hike a few years ago and wrote a blog post.