A February Hike in the Woods

Duncan's February day-trip was a day of hiking and generally "messing around" in Francis Marion National Forest -- only about 30 minutes from where we live. This was a day to let Duncan's inner Park Ranger out to play and we enjoyed a couple of pretty easy hikes in the bare winter woods.  It was pretty quite and we only saw a few other people -- We agreed it was a good way to spend a Saturday.

You know you're in the Lowcountry when the bare winter woods have green fan palms sprouting up all over.

We started out on this trail through an area that used to be a rice plantation.

Our trail was clearly the old rice dike along this river that was flooded and drained for the rice crop.

Interesting the way these trees have grown and twisted. Some things you can only see when the leaves are gone.

Duncan tried his luck fishing when we took a break for lunch. He didn't catch anything and really didn't care.

After lunch we hiked a second trail that went through the woods and ended at this boardwalk on the marsh.

The boardwalk allows you to see, but still protects, an ancient shell ring  -- see that small mound at the base of the trees? It's basically a big pile of oyster shells believed to have been left by Prehistoric Indians 4,000 years ago. This is the northern-most ring in a chain of shell rings found along the coastline between Florida and South Carolina. They are thought to have been places where tribes gathered for ceremonies and annual feasts. Prehistoric oyster roasts.

We are liking our once a month get-aways. We have one more planned in March. We may have to keep it going.