Total Eclipse Hike
Table Rock State Park, SC
Monday, August 21st, 2017
Total Solar Eclipse view from Table Rock State Park, SC
Spartanburg, SC (where I live and work) was right on the edge of the totality zone during the 2017 Great American Eclipse. I could have treated it like a normal day and seen a 99.99% eclipse from the parking lot at work. However, I have heard the claims that the difference between 99.99% and 100% totality is like day and night!
Unless I live to be 108 years old or move somewhere else, this will be the last time in my life that a Total Eclipse will come this close to home and I did not want to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!
I had seen partial solar eclipses before, but I have never experienced totality!
So I took the day off from work to head into the Totality Zone! I decided to get a hike in as well and selected Table Rock State Park, SC as my Eclipse viewing destination.
Apparently, I was not the only person that thought Table Rock would be a good spot to spend the day. Shortly after my 8:30am arrival, they closed the entrance gates as the park had reached maximum capacity. Maybe I should have chosen a different place to spend the day?
I started my hike on the Pinnacle Mountain Trail, which gains over 2,000 feet in elevation over about 4.0 miles. Shortly below the summit, I took my first break of the day to soak up the views from a spot known as Bald Knob.
view of Table Rock Mountain from Bald Knob
Flowers blooming by the Bald Knob Sign
Bald Knob Selfie with Table Rock behind me
view from Bald Knob
I continued on up to the Summit of Pinnacle Mountain, the highest mountain located entirely in the state of SC. (note: Sassafras Mountain is higher, but it is located on the SC/NC border).
There are no views from the actual Summit of Pinnacle Mountain, so I had to settle for a Selfie by the Summit Sign!
Pinnacle Mountain Summit Selfie
I continued on the Ridge Trail! Even on what was probably the busiest day in Table Rock State Park history, you can still find solitude on the Ridge Trail. I did not see a single other person from the Pinnacle Mountain Summit to Panther Gap.
There would be no more Solitude for the rest of the day. From Panther Gap, I continued on the Table Rock Trail making a quick stop at Governor's Rock and then on to the Table Rock Summit.
View from Governors Rock
Table Rock Summit Selfie
The best views are past the summit, so I continued on!
view from Table Rock
view from Table Rock
Table Rock Eclipse Viewing Party
Zoomed in view of Slicking Falls. Viewed from Table Rock
view from Table Rock
While the day started out clear, it was now about 95% cloud coverage which would not be good for Eclipse Viewing.
I made my way back to Governors Rock where I had originally planned to view the Eclipse. Governors Rock was packed with people who had the same idea that I had.
Eclipse Viewing Party at Governors Rock
I did not relish the idea of hanging out with all these people, or hiking back down with this crowd afterwards. And with all the cloud cover, there would be little opportunity to view the Eclipse progression, so I decided to start my hike back down. I figured if it did clear, I could see the Eclipse just as well back down by Pinnacle Lake.
During my hike down, whenever I would see sunlight break through the clouds I would grab my Eclipse glasses and take a quick peak at the progression. I did not invest in a solar filter for my camera, so I did not bother to take any photos of the Eclipse Progression.
I made it down to the trailhead and over to Pinnacle Lake in plenty of time for totality, but the cloudy sky did not look like it would cooperate.
Then about two minutes before totality, the clouds broke just enough to reveal the eclipsed sun. And it stayed clear until the sky went dark!
The rumors are true, the dissappearance of that last sliver of light that only occurs during 100% totality is what makes a Total Eclipse a truly amazing experience!
We did have a little wispy cloud pass by during our two minutes of totality, but that just added to the eeriness of the eclipse!
Total Solar Eclipse
My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157687879818286
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