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Ascent of Big Stakey Mountain on 2011-10-23

Climber: Edward Earl

Date:

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

Big Stakey Mountain

Location:

USA-South Carolina

Elevation:

2601 ft / 792 m

Ascent Trip Report

On SC-107 about 1 mile N of Oconee State Park, I turned W on Village Creek Rd. 1.9 miles later is an irregular 4-way intersection, where a paved road goes L, a gravel road goes straight, and I turned R on Nicholson Ford Rd, which is also gravel. Nicholson Ford Rd drops steeply for a few tenths of a mile, then climbs gradually, and after 1.0 mile it tops out at a saddle, where I parked.

I bushwhacked W uphill a short distance (~50') through a rhododendron thicket until I intercepted a very abandoned, barely discernible road. I turned L on this road and followed it uphill, with an occasional detour around a thicket or downed tree. The road headed S for a few minutes, the forest began to open up, the steepness eased, and the road turned W up the crest of the ridge toward area 2200. Upon reaching the SE ridge of area 2200, my road joined another road coming in from the S. The junction is a somewhat overgrown triangle intersection, and it is easy to miss on the return trip if you're not looking for it. The road climbed over the top of area 2200 but then, up on descent to the gap between area 2200 and the main summit of Big Stakey Mtn, veered off to the N. The forest is open as far as the saddle, but then the brush thickens and moderately hinders the climb to the summit. About ¾ of the way up, the brush thins out and the forest opens up for the remainder of the way to the summit.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

631 ft / 192 m

Distance:

2 mi / 3.2 km

Route:

SE ridge

Trailhead:

Nicholson Ford Rd 1970 ft / 600 m

Route Conditions:

Road Hike, Open Country

Ascent Statistics

Time Up:

30 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Time Down:

25 Minutes

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