Summit # 20 - Medlin Mountain, SC

A few buddies and I spent the weekend hiking the 20 mile Foothills/Fork Mountain/Chattooga Loop located in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness along the Chattooga River. In the process we climbed Medlin Mountain, which at 3,143 ft. is the 12th highest peak in South Carolina. This is our 12th consecutive MLK Weekend backpacking trip and over the years we have seen a little bit of everything - icy mountain roads, car accidents, sub-zero temperatures, "interesting" locals and all sorts of wildlife. One year we even hiked 9 miles in the wrong direction - I'll save that story for a future blog. This year we had a great trip and my only regret is forgetting to take a picture of our table at Wendy's afterwards. My buddy Casey shot some video with his GoPro (an awesome gadget that I now must have) so I'll have some videos to post at some point but for now here's some pictures from our trip:

King Creek Falls

Our camp on Night 1 along the Chattooga

start of the hike up Medlin Mountain

heavily wooded summit of Medlin Mountain

here we are probably talking about food

entering the Ellicott Rock Wilderness

camp Night 2

thanks to my buddy Joe (www.suburbanwino.com) for the awesome travel wine

fire picture

one of several stream crossings made difficult because of recent heavy rains

finished up back along the thundering Chattooga