Caching the Historic Cowpens Geotrail...Part 1

Though I had entertained high hopes of attending the festivities at Geowoodstock this year, at the last minute these plans fell through and I found myself with unexpected time on my hands. 

I figured this was an excellent chance to cache the Historical Cowpens Geotrail that was recently released in South Carolina. 

If you do not already know about this trail, it is a reward trail in a lovely area of Spartanburg County.  Just like most reward trails, you print out your passport, find a certain number of caches, fill in the code words inside those caches, then turn in or mail your filled out passport to the predetermined officials. 

As there were only 16, with just 12 being required to receive your reward should you be super pressed for time, I figured it would be rather easy to finish in the course of one day.  But what fun is doing a trail by yourself, so I invited along three more fellow cachers and off we went!




The four intrepid cachers off on an adventure

The trail is set up to honor the Battle of Cowpens, widely regarded  as one of the most brilliant tactical operations ever fought on American soil. In other words, we kicked butt!

Due to the restraints of adhering to business hours, we decided to begin our adventure at the local library.  Thanks to a previous find on a local trail, I knew exactly what we were looking for and how to find it.  The mini-cachers decided to take this time to stage their own battle with a friendly game of chess. 

As both sides were familiar with the game and tactical strategies, this was not quite the landslide sort of win that this area was used to seeing, but both kids had fun.


After signing the log, Jody picked up a new travel companion in the form of a cute purple monkey, and we made our way to the downtown area. 

I must tell you that the from the first moment you step foot onto the sidewalk, you are met with a constant stream of Southern charm and small town quaintness, the likes of which are rarely seen any more.  You will be in wonder as you wander around the small shops and local flavors while feeling like you have stepped back into a simpler time and place. 

Truly, Cowpens is one of those rare places that puts a huge smile on your face, the kind that you don't even realize is there until your cheeks start to hurt.  

That feeling alone is worth the drive there and the time it takes to discover this hidden jewel of a town.

Though the trail itself only took us around 3 hours to complete, we ended up spending almost the entire day here just enjoying the sites and smells and tastes, while enjoying the good fortune of meeting several very charming and endearing locals who only served to enhance our good memories of a day well spent. 

I look forward to writing more about our trip in a future post.  As inspired by the town itself, I feel no need to rush through, but rather to spend some time and enjoy the moment.