Day 5, Fish Hatchery Campsite to Lick Log Campsite

I found a small amount of condensation inside my tent when I woke up this morning. The outside shell of my quilt felt damp, so I made a mental note to lay it in the sun when I stopped for lunch.

Keeping with our attitude of not hurrying, Polecat, Sasquatch, and I didn't leave our campsite until 8 a.m. It helped to know the trail would be even easier than the last couple of days. Because we will follow the Chattooga River for part of the way, we knew there wouldn't be many climbs.

Of course, without climbs to higher elevations, there usually aren't many opportunities for views. That was the case today. The only view we got was early in the day.

Where the trail followed the ridgetop of Medlin Mountain, Whiteside Mountain could be seen between some trees. The 4,930-foot mountain was nearly eight miles away in North Carolina.

From this vantage point, it was easy to understand how Whiteside got its name. A white patch of bare vertical rock stood starkly against the side, looking as if the mountain had a patch of snow. The cliffs are claimed to be the highest perpendicular patch of bare rock east of the Rocky Mountains.

Though we knew much of our hiking today was on a flat trail, it didn't start that way. The first 2.5 miles went up, but the elevation change was modest, climbing less than 500 feet in that distance.

I began to see backpackers during the morning. The number was greater than any day so far on this trail. Among them was a family with two small children. It took a while before I remembered today was Friday and part of a holiday weekend.

I passed a sign at 10:30 a.m. marking the boundary of Ellicott Rock Wilderness. In truth, the trail didn't stay in it for long. Mostly, it straddled the wilderness area's boundary and only for the next three miles.

The 8,274 acres preserved by Ellicott Rock Wilderness spans across portions of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, making it the only wilderness in the U.S. overlaying three states. The boundaries of those states intersect at Ellicott Rock, which is named for surveyor Major Andrew Ellicott. He marked that remote spot in 1811 while surveying the boundary to settle a land dispute between Georgia and North Carolina.

Ellicott was also the surveyor who laid out the boundaries for Washington, D.C., and he marked the borders of several other states.

Shortly after leaving the wilderness area boundary for good, the trail passed through a narrow gap between two large boulders. According to the FarOut app, this rock feature is called the Lemon Squeeze. The name must have been borrowed from the Lemon Squeezer, which I remembered from my Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

This one didn't come close to matching the squeezing a hiker must endure on the AT, which is in New York's Harriman State Park.

The trail reached the Chattooga River a half mile past the creek. From there, it would continue along the river's banks for most of the next seven miles.

The Chattooga is one of the few rivers in the Southeast that is still free-flowing. It was protected as a Wild and Scenic River in 1974, with different segments classified as wild, scenic, or recreational. The portion the trail follows was designated as "wild" because it can't be accessed except by trail.

Much of this river's 57 miles form the border between South Carolina and Georgia. The segment next to the Foothills Trail was so shallow I could have waded across to Georgia. Farther south, the Chattooga becomes a Class II river with sections of Class III-V rapids. The motion picture Deliverance featured some of those rapids.

The trail stayed at water level for about 2.5 miles before briefly climbing above it. The trees in their fall colors made this part of the trail especially scenic.

When the trail dropped back to the river's edge, I arrived at a sandy beach. Sasquatch and Polecat had stopped there to take a break. The time was getting close to noon, so we stayed to eat lunch.

Remembering that my quilt had gotten a little damp from the condensation in my tent, I pulled it out to dry in the sun.

Polecat and I walked together for most of the afternoon. The trail remained as enjoyable as it had been this morning. Again, it mostly followed the river but sometimes climbed above it.

White wood asters were blooming here. They flower in late summer to fall. Though mostly found in the Appalachian Mountains, they also grow in adjacent lowlands. The centers of these flowers are typically yellow, but the ones I saw had changed to red.

Greater tickseeds were also growing along the river. They are a common wildflower in this part of the U.S.

Although some clouds appeared in the afternoon, there was no threat of rain. The weather remained ideal.

We stopped at 2:30 p.m. for another lengthy break on the river. There was plenty of time to kill because we now had just three more miles to go to our campsite.

When we arrived there at 4:30 p.m., a backpacker was already set up, but there was plenty of room for us without getting in his way.

I felt tired when I crawled into my tent after dinner, even though there didn't seem to be a reason for that. It had been a lazy day with easy miles and an early finish. Thru-hiking doesn't always have to be strenuous, and for today, I was glad for that.