Last year, one of my parents’ friends gave them some really unique photographs
of rare plant species. The photos looked as if they could have been taken on
the moon – large craters filled with plants I had never seen before!
It took me forever to finally figure out where the photos were taken,
but once I found out that they were taken at Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve,
I convinced a friend to take a day trip to hike the trails to the rock and
locate the plants that had been so intriguing to me in the photographs!
Just about an hour outside of Columbia is the hidden treasure of
40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve in Kershaw, SC (which is actually in Lancaster
County, not Kershaw County!). A beautiful hiking trail winds through wooded
forests with streams and waterfalls, leading you to the large granite flatrock
area. Contrary to its name, the rock is only fourteen acres, but it is still a
beautiful site to see with rare and even endangered plant species such as elf orpine
and pool sprite.
Unfortunately, some of the rock has been defaced with spray-paint,
and there were some broken bottles and other litter dropped about around the
rock. However, the rare combination of granite surface, mountain views, and
varying plants provides for an interesting hike. Once we got to the rock, I was
intrigued by the solution pools which were filled with thin red colored plants.
We spent a lot of time wandering around the granite, looking in every solution
pool for the different plant species.
I’ll end by letting the photos speak for themselves!
No comments:
Post a Comment