Table Rock Ridge Trail via Pinnacle Mountain Trail -- 11.2018

I have alway found that it is good for us as humans to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone and at times to just go with the flow (even if mass amounts of people gives you anxiety). This was my experience on the Table Rock Ridge Trail via Pinnacle Mountain Trail at Table Rock State Park.

Initially a group of friends and I had sent out to look at the fall colors and I was leaned on for planning since I had hiked Table Rock State Park A few times previously. We decided on the approximately 10 mile loop that hikes up not only Table Rock Mountain, but Pinnacle Mountain as well. Pinnacle Mountain is the tallest point in the state of South Carolina and has a glorious look out at Bald Knob before the steep summit. Then you can connect to Table Rock by a ridge trail through the woods.

We started off on this brisk morning at the Table Rock State Park parking lot that over looked a "smoke on the water" scene at the lake. As we gathered together our hiking gear and spirits, we signed in the visitors book and eagerly headed up the mountain trail. There were several waterfalls along the way, then came a fork in the road; right took us to Table Rock and left took us to Pinnacle Mountain . Being the purpose of the hike was to look at the fall foliage and fall color blooms, we decided to go the more gradual incline up to Pinnacle Mountain. Upon this split it was already obvious the amount of foot traffic difference between the Pinnacle Mountain Trail versus the Table Rock Trail. We were relieved to have chosen the least followed path up Pinnacle.

Along our way up the trail we passed several small waterfalls, several unique large rock formations, a handful of fellow hikers and witnessed a large family of hawks circling about now our eye level that were using the gentle breeze to guide them higher and higher. 

Upon the last push to Bald Knob Lookout, the trail opened up to a fantastic view of South Carolina and all of its autumn splendor. The color variation that you could see from the lookout were anything short of unbelievable! We took a small break, grabbed some water, then made the final push to the summit of Pinnacle Mountain; the highest point in South Carolina.

The summit from Bald Knob to Pinnacle Mountain was extremely vertical. It is a test on the mind and physically on the burning felt in your legs to go that vertical so quickly.  When we finally reached the summit, we were relieved, high-fived each other and took a quick photo.  After a short break, we then started on the Ridge Trail towards Table Rock Mountain.

The ridge trail was very easy to negotiate along and had some great canopy cover that offered us a reprieve from the days bright sun. We ran into a trail maintenance team that was on the way to Pinnacle Mountain to take care of some of the overgrowth that the past heavy rains had caused. Before we knew it, the Ridge Trail merged with the Table Rock Mountain Trail. This was obvious for one main reason: the shear amount of people on the trail! It was packed!

There were several novice hikers, sightseers, fall foliage enthusiasts and a few veteran hikers as well . It was great to see people of all sorts from kids to the elderly liking up Table Rock. Trailside manners took a backseat to trying to stay out of the way of the very casual hikers who were likely unaware of the unsaid rules.  We stopped briefly upon reaching Governors Rock and took a quick break and some photos.  The views again were spectacular!  Eventually, we went moving on to the final relatively flat push to the Table Rock Overlook.

On the way to the Table Rock Overlook we passed the Table Rock Mountain summit and continued on. We had already been to the highest peak in the South Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, so the rest was literally downhill!  The Overlook was packed full of people doing the same thing as we were; admiring the fall colors changing the landscape into a unique watercolor palette. We took a small break at the Overlook and marveled at God‘s handiwork that happens only a few weeks a year . Afterwards, we started our decent back.

The hike down was the most arduous and painstaking part of this 10 mile adventure. Being that I had to have Gus on his leash versus normally letting him go off leash, it was tough negotiating him down some of the very steep inclines that we encountered. A matter of fact, it got so painful on some of my rarely used leg muscles that I started to cramp to the point that I had to ask my friend Chaz to take Gus's leash for the last 2-2.5 miles.

When we finally got back to the parking lot there was a strong sense of accomplishment and joy witnessing some of the sites that we could have only experienced that day by putting in the work to get to the high viewpoints we visited. Our whole group was very grateful not only to have had the experience, but also to have completed a harder hike.

A few lessons learned from this particular hike is sometimes no matter how hard you plan or how your previous experiences went, there is always unexpected variables that can change a hike for you. The views were more spectacular than I thought, however the amount of people hiking on only Table Rock Trail was amazing . I also wondered why nobody hikes Pinnacle Mountain the same way they hike Table Rock? The views are just as good, if not better on Pinnacle versus Table Rock. I do not personally understand this scenario, but maybe I will just keep it a hidden gem between me and my friends for now. Until next time…

Table Rock Ridge Trail via Pinnacle Mountain Trail stats:
Distance:  10.3 miles
Vertical:  3,290 vert ft
Time:  5 1/2 hrs (w/ breaks included)
Fun Factor:  Whoa! The Views!!!  & my legs are smoked!

AllTrails Link

Video from our Hike on Table Rock Ridge Trail via Pinnacle Mountain Trail: