A Walk in the Woods

Submitted by John Lane on Mon, 11/28/2005 - 5:00am. kudzu telegraph | peter's creek

Friday morning Betsy reminds me that one typical American Thanksgiving meal has the fat equivalent of eating 16 pieces of pepperoni pizza, but instead of logging our miles in the mall looking for bargains we fill our water bottles, tie on our hiking boots, and head out for Peter's Creek Heritage Trust Preserve just off Cannon's Campground Road on Spartanburg's East side.

The 127-acre Peter's Creek Preserve has two and a half miles of moderate trails, just the right terrain to burn off that turkey, ham, green bean casserole, and sweet potato pie. In the middle of the day we spot the white and green preserve signs off Cannon's Campground, drive through the adjoining neighborhood and park the car at the access and kiosk. We are only ten minutes from home but soon head into what, for me, is one of the most remarkable public spaces in the upstate.

Peter's Creek rises just south of Boiling Springs, crosses Highway 221 just about where I-85 does, then flows boldly south and east before joining the Pacolet River a quarter mile above Converse. The length of Peter's Creek's course is only a couple of miles, but after it crosses Cannon's Campground Road it carves what we could come close to calling a canyon.

I'll admit it takes a quarter mile or so after we leave the parking lot to feel like we're out of the suburbs. Natural areas in the upstate are often cheek and jowl with development. After all, we're only three miles from Morgan Square and less than a mile from the east side Home Depot.

Soon the terrain begins to get more dramatic as we drop down into the preserve. The "Gorge of Peter's Creek," I like to call it. I watch the trail and see tracks that suggest an abundant deer population. Deer always help me feel I'm in the wild, even though you're just as likely to see them in the suburbs now.

I begin to notice native plants like mountain laurel and doghobble. I know that the preserve protects the second largest known population of the rare dwarf-flowered heartleaf in the upstate.

It's easy to see how USC-Upstate Professor Gil Newberry, the principal protector and steward of the Peter's Creek Preserve, was taken with this patch of "near-by nature" when she first began to visit the site in search of the dwarf-flowered heartleaf a couple of decades ago. Newberry lives nearby and much of her important research on native plants still occurs in the preserve. Along the trail we see numerous small survey flags, each a sign that research is on-going and the shy heartleaf is hidden among the leaf litter.

Once we hike a half-mile in, we cross Peter's Creek on a line of stepping stones. We take the trail along the creek back upstream. We are hiking through mature mountain laurel higher than our heads and Betsy stops and points out vines wrapped around many of the branches, a sign of the power of the flood waters that roared through the preserve in early October. Here the water was so high it took out newly installed aluminum foot bridges that the Heritage Preserve had constructed to span the creek at two crossings.

Now the bridges sit shattered and twisted in a clearing just below the old mill dam, testimony to the power of a flood in the narrow valley of Peter's Creek. I'm a teacher so I consider how, in a learning landscape like the Peter's Creek Preserve, even such a tragedy as losing these beautiful bridges illustrates much about the power of natural processes.

At the old mill site the creek has been diverted. Now the 19th century rock dam stands side-by-side with a 21st century experiment in stream restoration. Peter's Creek now tumbles over rip-rap and bedrock, leaving the old mill pond dry. In a few years a moisture-loving stand of river birches and sycamore will volunteer in the old pond if it's left alone. As we stand looking out over the site of what was known as Wyatt's Mill on the 1820 Mill's Atlas map, I think about how much local history can be explored along our creeks and rivers. Almost every spot where rock is exposed in the creek bed is the site of an old mill. It's in places like Peter's Creek Preserve, funded with state tax dollars, where access to history is assured and our human and natural heritage is protected.

We take the trail to the top of the ridge on the creek's west side. After a sharp rise, Betsy says it feels like we are in the mountains. We stand for a moment, breathing hard, and look down several hundred feet toward the creek below. Is there a measure for the value of a walk in the woods? How much will Peter's Creek be "worth" to those seeking solitude in 20 years when the experts say there will be 340,000 more people in the upstate?

There are other trails off the main one—Mineral Springs Loop, and another called The Deer Trail. We walk them both, determined to work off as much turkey as possible before we circle back down toward Peter's Creek and the intersection of trails that will take us back to the access parking lot where we started.

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A Walk in the Woods


Navigation Home Forums Links Event Calendar Contact John my flickr photosets News from the Web Books by John Lane Downloads Sections Kudzu Telegraph Columns Cornbread and Sushi Poems in Progress Essays Op-Ed Alpha Index Press Kit Extended Bio Publications Selected Reviews Publicity Photos		Home A Walk in the Woods Submitted by John Lane on Mon, 11/28/2005 - 5:00am. kudzu telegraph \| peter's creek Friday morning Betsy reminds me that one typical American Thanksgiving meal has the fat equivalent of eating 16 pieces of pepperoni pizza, but instead of logging our miles in the mall looking for bargains we fill our water bottles, tie on our hiking boots, and head out for Peter's Creek Heritage Trust Preserve just off Cannon's Campground Road on Spartanburg's East side. The 127-acre Peter's Creek Preserve has two and a half miles of moderate trails, just the right terrain to burn off that turkey, ham, green bean casserole, and sweet potato pie. In the middle of the day we spot the white and green preserve signs off Cannon's Campground, drive through the adjoining neighborhood and park the car at the access and kiosk. We are only ten minutes from home but soon head into what, for me, is one of the most remarkable public spaces in the upstate. Peter's Creek rises just south of Boiling Springs, crosses Highway 221 just about where I-85 does, then flows boldly south and east before joining the Pacolet River a quarter mile above Converse. The length of Peter's Creek's course is only a couple of miles, but after it crosses Cannon's Campground Road it carves what we could come close to calling a canyon. I'll admit it takes a quarter mile or so after we leave the parking lot to feel like we're out of the suburbs. Natural areas in the upstate are often cheek and jowl with development. After all, we're only three miles from Morgan Square and less than a mile from the east side Home Depot. Soon the terrain begins to get more dramatic as we drop down into the preserve. The "Gorge of Peter's Creek," I like to call it. I watch the trail and see tracks that suggest an abundant deer population. Deer always help me feel I'm in the wild, even though you're just as likely to see them in the suburbs now. I begin to notice native plants like mountain laurel and doghobble. I know that the preserve protects the second largest known population of the rare dwarf-flowered heartleaf in the upstate. It's easy to see how USC-Upstate Professor Gil Newberry, the principal protector and steward of the Peter's Creek Preserve, was taken with this patch of "near-by nature" when she first began to visit the site in search of the dwarf-flowered heartleaf a couple of decades ago. Newberry lives nearby and much of her important research on native plants still occurs in the preserve. Along the trail we see numerous small survey flags, each a sign that research is on-going and the shy heartleaf is hidden among the leaf litter. Once we hike a half-mile in, we cross Peter's Creek on a line of stepping stones. We take the trail along the creek back upstream. We are hiking through mature mountain laurel higher than our heads and Betsy stops and points out vines wrapped around many of the branches, a sign of the power of the flood waters that roared through the preserve in early October. Here the water was so high it took out newly installed aluminum foot bridges that the Heritage Preserve had constructed to span the creek at two crossings. Now the bridges sit shattered and twisted in a clearing just below the old mill dam, testimony to the power of a flood in the narrow valley of Peter's Creek. I'm a teacher so I consider how, in a learning landscape like the Peter's Creek Preserve, even such a tragedy as losing these beautiful bridges illustrates much about the power of natural processes. At the old mill site the creek has been diverted. Now the 19th century rock dam stands side-by-side with a 21st century experiment in stream restoration. Peter's Creek now tumbles over rip-rap and bedrock, leaving the old mill pond dry. In a few years a moisture-loving stand of river birches and sycamore will volunteer in the old pond if it's left alone. As we stand looking out over the site of what was known as Wyatt's Mill on the 1820 Mill's Atlas map, I think about how much local history can be explored along our creeks and rivers. Almost every spot where rock is exposed in the creek bed is the site of an old mill. It's in places like Peter's Creek Preserve, funded with state tax dollars, where access to history is assured and our human and natural heritage is protected. We take the trail to the top of the ridge on the creek's west side. After a sharp rise, Betsy says it feels like we are in the mountains. We stand for a moment, breathing hard, and look down several hundred feet toward the creek below. Is there a measure for the value of a walk in the woods? How much will Peter's Creek be "worth" to those seeking solitude in 20 years when the experts say there will be 340,000 more people in the upstate? There are other trails off the main one—Mineral Springs Loop, and another called The Deer Trail. We walk them both, determined to work off as much turkey as possible before we circle back down toward Peter's Creek and the intersection of trails that will take us back to the access parking lot where we started.