40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve and the Kershaw House of Pizza

40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

    40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve is a place I had heard of prior, but I did not look up much information on before going. Just made sure there was parking, dogs were allowed and that there were trails. Otis never does any prior research. I chose to park at the upper parking lot, which is at the very end of Conservancy Rd. Other than the sign above, I didn't see any informational kiosks that are normally at the trailheads on SC's Heritage Preserves. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot, so maybe there was one hidden behind them, but none right at the trailhead. Starting down the trail, the walk was pretty easy. From the parking lot the old road continues on all the way down to the exposed rock. It is about 0.6 miles from the upper lot to the rock. Otis did a lot of sniffing along this path and it looks to be very well traveled.

    A larger group with a number of children was coming out of the main entrance to the rock face when we got there. So Otis and I took a well defined side trail through a patch of Eastern Red Cedar out to the open rock to avoid barking and children trying to pet him. 

    Coming off of the path through the Cedars we were met with this view and our first look at what I thought was the coolest part of this place. Depressions in the rock face create small pools of rainwater. These are what are known as vernal pools and are temporary bodies of water that fill in rain events typically in fall or spring and by the heat of mid summer most are dry. In the past I taught programs on vernal pools, highlighting amphibian and insect species that utilize them in the northeast. These pools on this exposed granite are a unique variation of a vernal pool and are specifically important here to rare plant species, which I will cover further on in this post. 

    When I take Otis to any natural place I do my best to be respectful to the natural environment. As I just mentioned and as you will see in the coming photos, this particular site has several natural wonders not found in many other locations. This preserve needs better care in order to actually preserve the unique species that make this spot stand out. We came across graffiti all over the rock face and a lack of well marked trails has led to people creating their own, causing erosion problems below the rock face. There are so few sites like this in the state this one deserves better care, it doesn't have to be, it is what it is. If you go to these areas, please be respectful, do not bring spray paint and take with you everything you bring in. Once these sites are degraded, there may be no way to restore them. Please, at this site, stay on trails and observe the vernal pools from the edge and do not walk in them.

    Otis on the 40 Acre Rock. The exposed rock area is actually only 14 acres, nonetheless still impressive. Right behind Otis are currently dry vernal pools and further back are some with water. 

    If Otis wasn't with me I could have spent all day looking around these pools. I love seeing new things and especially a variation of an ecosystem I already familiar with. I personally would be interested in observing the different invertebrate species that inhabit these pools and seeing how they compare to other vernal pools. I saw no signs of amphibians, it does not mean that none use these, but there could be reasons they don't, day time temperatures could possibly get too hot in these shallow exposed pools for larval survival. These are certainly something I want to go back to and look at in greater detail. Otis however does not have the patience for that kind of thing. So for this trip it was quick camera snaps and moving on.

    It took me a little while to find information on the plant species in the vernal pools. Once I found the common and scientific names I was able to find a lot more information on them. The red in this photo is possibly a combination of two different species, Elf's Orpine and Puck's Orpine. The white flowers mixed in are Pool Sprite. All of these species are endemic to granite pool communities, meaning this is the only environment in which they are found. I am disappointed there was no information about these species anywhere I could see at the site. It is important for visitors to know these species are unique and should be treated with respect. 

    A closer look at the Orpine. The Orpine and the Pool Sprite are annuals, only living for one season, flowering and producing seed. 

    A closer look at both the Pool Sprite, which was in bloom, and the Orpine.

    The Pool Sprite seemed to prefer the wetter pools. There are likely more plant species in this particular pool and I know the larger pools held a greater variety. With this being a very specialized ecosystem I don't think there is very much information available on these plant communities. 

    The Orpine looked to be growing just fine in some of the dried out pools. Ecosystems like this leave me with so many questions that I likely will never know the answers to. Like how do these species cope with years of drought? and what are the mechanisms for seed dispersal from one pool to the next? I can't stress enough how lucky we are to still have these and how fragile ecosystems like this can be. I hope that future generations will be able to still go to this place and see what Otis and I did. 

One of the larger pools. The edges here had other flower species, some just coming into bloom.

Otis with his attention focused on something in the tree line. 

Pools on the rock.

    I could tell he was getting board with the rock, so we moved on to find a trail and work our way down into a small ravine with a stream. From the rock we found worn paths, but nothing marked. We talked to two women that could not find the proper trailhead even with maps on their phone. Otis and I took more than one trail that I thought would get us on or was the main path. The first led us to a dead end on another portion of the exposed rock sectioned off by a wood line. The second was well worn with significant errosion strait down to the stream. There we found the actual trail with blue blazes and several small foot bridges that crossed the winding stream. 

Otis on one of the foot bridges over the small stream.

    If you look closely at the center of this photo you can see the larval stage of a Caddisfly. Most Caddisfly larvae will construct a protective home out of small pebbles, leaf litter or twigs. This particular species is on the larger size, approximately an inch from the head to the end of its construction. It carries the home it made out of leaf and other vegetation with it as it forages along the stream bottom. Caddisfly larvae can be used to determine water quality using an EPT test. Scientists will collect specimens of Ephemeroptera (Mayflies), Plecoptera (Stoneflies) and Tricoptera (Caddisflies) from a section of stream and through diversity of species be able to determine water quality. 

    

      The trail along the stream looked to be used heavily. Along the edges there were a number of Trout Lily not yet in bloom. They are a good reason to stick to the path and not trample the stream edge. Otis and I made it up the little ravine to the waterfall. Just a small trickle of water coming down a rock face. There was another group with small children there so Otis and I decided to head back up to the rock and out.

Another view of 40 Acre Rock.

    By this point it was getting hot and Otis didn't look pleasant on the rock so we moved quickly across to get back to the main trail.

    Along the path on the way back to the car there were a number of butterflies feeding on Wild Plum in bloom. This Tiger Swallowtail was the most cooperative. In all Otis and I walked about a mile and a half. We had hoped to do 2.5, which is what the full trail is listed. If we go again I am going to try to find a better map and we might start at the lower access. 

 40 Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

1900-2398 Conservancy Rd

Kershaw, SC 29067

Kershaw House of Pizza

    Kershaw is the closest town to 40 Acre Rock and Pizza really sounded good. The Kershaw Pizza House formally Gus's Pizza House is located right on the main street. Parking was easy to find on the side street and as soon as I went in the aroma of freshly baked pizza hit me and I was already happy with the days food choice. We picked up a large pepperoni and a small traditional stromboli and headed to a park I noticed just down the road on the way to 40 Acre Rock.

    So far we are 4 for 4 in picking a great place to eat for this blog. I have not had many good pizzas in South Carolina and this ties with Tulio's in Santee as the best I have had so far. Kershaw may even top Tulio's just slightly due to the crispier crust. This made for a great meal after a good hike. The stromboli was made with fresh ingredients tasted good, but wasn't what I am use to as a stromboli. Personally I would stick to the pizza over the stromboli and if I end up in the area again I think I would try one of their salads. While waiting one customer came in to pick one up and a sign highlighted that they even sell bottles of their own house made dressing, which I think I'd like to try. 

 

    Otis was extremely pleased with the pizza stop. Both the walk and the food made for a great day trip and one that we will likely do again. I hope if you read this blog it inspires you to get out, see some things, learn about something new and grab a good bite to eat.

Kershaw House of Pizza

101 Hampton St

Kershaw, SC 29067