Hello from BRX!
On our first day, we arrived at the Canebrake trail head and had a packed lunch of sandwiches with fruit. Then we hiked 3 miles of up and down fun to a ridge-line with a fabulous view of the Jocassee Lake. We then continued our hike downhill to a suspension bridge, and posed… fabulously. We set up camp and took a well-deserved dip in the Lake. That night, we had some dirty rice (rice and beans) and hung out, laughed and had a great night.
We woke and had a meal of fried granola, then back to our hike! We had reached a point of no return… The Heart Break Ridge dramatic music. We probably climbed 300-400 steps to Heart Break Ridge but what a view upon the ridge though… Lake Jocassee was in one direction then miles upon miles of mountains as far as the eye can see. After that, there was a lot more of up and down until one of our campers (me) sprained their ankle. I was assisted by our great leaders to the next campsite, put my feet in the cold creek water, and my pack was retrieved by Evan, one of our amazing leaders. We all chilled that night, had some delicious pasta that we prepared, and I slept in a hammock.
The next day, we were picked up in a pontoon by our guide and dropped off the other Expeditioners at a trail head. I was then evacuated back to camp. So far I have had so much fun and tomorrow will be rejoined with the group and finish the expedition.
-Brandon Watkins, Blue Ridge Expeditioner
