July 19 - North Fork and Edisto River - Kill Kare to Hwy 21

The dog days of summer are here and most of the rivers have turned into long, skinny lakes. Very little water is falling from the sky to keep the our rivers full and moving, but it is going to take more than a drought to keep this duo from finding a nice stretch of river to paddle. In most cases, there isn’t much help from the current, so we are keeping our trips shorter than usual. And with all of the hazards low water can present, we haven’t been seeking out unknown stretches to run. We have been spending most weekends close to home, paddling familiar waters. We won’t bore you with those details.

But we got a message from one of our paddling friends, turning us on to a monthly paddling on the Edisto River event sponsored by the Bamberg County Chamber of Commerce. We are not usually big on paddling in groups (so we can have the freedom to move at our own pace) and the water was frighteningly low on the Edisto (192 cfs on the North Fork and about 480 on the main stem), but we figured it must be passable if the Chamber of Commerce was going to put people out there. There is information on the Chamber website if you are interested.

The plan for the day was to go from Kill Kare Landing down to Zig Zag Landing. After doing some research, we decided to stretch out our trip and go all the way down to Hwy 21. Using the information on the Friends of the Edisto website http://www.edistofriends.org/edisto-river/access-boating-edisto-river we figured that the run to Zig Zag should be about 6 miles and Hwy 21 should be about 9 miles more. We are here to tell you that the mileage on this website is wrong. Mileage from Kill Kare to Zig Zag is more like 9.5 miles. Mileage from Kill Kare to Hwy 21 is about 15.5 miles.

We arrived on the banks of the North Fork of the Edisto River at Kill Kare at 9:00 and the rest of the paddling group arrived about 45 minutes later. They decided to set shuttle before the paddle (which was 40 minutes round-trip), so we decided to go ahead and take off on our own. We had been assured that there were no portage situations, but within the first ¼ mile, we had three. Luckily, those were the only three for our entire trip. The portages were very manageable and did not require us having to completely unpack the boat. The portages had dampened our spirits a bit, but we were on our way and started feeling better when we saw a Swallow-tailed Kite and even got some decent pictures. This year, we have paddled down the Edisto for three days and have seen a Kite every one of those days.

Swallow Tailed Kite

The water was moving, and even moving swiftly in some sections. The confluence with the South Fork came at about 2.2 miles and the river immediately opened up and the amount of water under us doubled.

Looking back at the confluence. The water isn't cloudy; that's just how shallow it is.

Abandoned train bridge just below the confluence

We passed under the Hwy 78 bridge at mile 6.2.

Part of the draw of the Edisto is its “wild” feel. There are several houses along your way, which reminds you that you aren’t ever far away from civilization, but you can literally witness the changing of the river. All along the way, you can see old bends in the river that have been closed off as the river finds a more efficient route (called “abandoned oxbows”). In other places, existing curves are getting even curvier.

The mouth of an abandoned oxbow. The clearing up the middle is the old river bed

We were a little concerned about a section of the river where it splits into two channels and surrounds an island.  With the water level being as low as it was, we were worried that we would pick the wrong channel and end up having to portage. Luckily, we were actually able to travel through a (relatively) new chute in the river that bisects what used to be the island. This new section was so narrow, the water was literally rushing through. You could see trees that had very recently fallen as the new river channel is formed.

After about 4 ½ hours, we rounded the last bend before the Hwy 21 landing. Keep in mind, this is a private landing, so plan on paying $2 to park. We decided to park on a sandbar and enjoy the water for about 30 minutes before we packed up and headed home. As we pulled up to Kill Kare to get our other vehicle, a couple of the members of the Chamber group were loading up. As it turned out, Zig Zag Landing was almost inaccessible by river and they had spent a large amount of time and energy getting everyone up to the landing. They had completed a 9 mile trip in the time it took us to do 15! So, a word of caution, Zig Zag is not a good access point at low water.

Some of the wildlife we saw: Swallow-tailed Kite, lots of ducks, lots of fish that were visible because of the low water, turtles large and small, a herd of deer, herons, egrets, ibis, owl, hawk, and a 12 foot alligator that scrambled back into the water once he saw us (he was a whopper). You would have to visit the zoo to see more animals in 4 hours.

Little Blue Heron in summer plumage

Yellow Pond Lilies

Parting advice: At any water level, you should be mentally prepared to deal with portages on the Edisto. The ones we encountered were very manageable, but it is a changing river, so there are new blockages all the time. The positive of making a trip at such low water is that there are no motorboats to dodge.

If we haven’t convinced you to visit the Edisto River yet, fine, but we won’t stop trying. We are loving every minute of being out there!

We were a little late starting our GPS tracker, but we got most of it.
Click here to see most of our route
Total distance: 24.38 km (15.1 mi)
Total time: 4:17:47
Moving time: 3:50:01

Cattle Egret

June 7 - Lower Broad - Neal Shoals to Hwy 34

As we approach mid-year, the mercury is rising and it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to find suitable paddling spots we have not already covered. And did I mention water levels? Depressing. But, we won’t let details like that get in our way of pressing on and getting it done.

For today’s adventure, we head north of Columbia to the Broad River. The Broad River originates in Western NC and flows through Lake Lure before it converges with the Green River. It eventually joins the Pacolet, Tyger, and Enoree River before meeting up with the Saluda in Columbia and becoming the Conagree; all part of the Santee Basin.

There is very little information on paddling the Broad. The best info we have found is in John Lane’s My Paddle to the Sea, which is a read we highly recommend. There is also an info flyer put out by the Sumter National Forest at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5275650.pdf

We put in at Neal Shoals, which is on the east side of the river in the Sumter National Forest. The written directions on the flyer linked above were very good. There are about 5-6 parking spots. Once you are parked, there is a trail off to the left that leads to the river. As an aside, if you are interested in coming down the Broad and portaging the Neal Shoals dam, there is a clearly marked portage trail on river-left.

Before we even got into the water, our experience was scenic. We put in near the base of the dam which was originally built between 1903 and 1905 and is now owned and operated by SCE&G. The spillway is 1,087 feet wide and had a steady trickle flowing down the face on the day we visited.

The water level just below the dam was right around 2,000 cfs. After getting pictures of the dam, we shifted our focus downstream. We heard something we don’t usually hear: the sound of falling water. We had counted on the low water, but were not expecting there to be rapids. Calm down; no Class V excitement here, but our canoe isn’t exactly built for whitewater and we didn’t much like the idea of punching a hole in the front of the boat, so we had to take things slowly.

Just before we approached the first rapid, we looked up and saw two bald eagles perched in a tree. Unfortunately, they didn’t hang around long enough for us to get a picture, so you will just have to take out word for it. The rest of the trip was more of the same: small rapids in shallow water and lots of exposed rocks. When we were in flat water, it was still relatively shallow and slow moving.

About halfway through, the clouds started moving in and we heard some thunder from a distance. Our pace picked up significantly from there, needless to say.

We cruised past the confluences of the Tyger and Enoree rivers, both of which were nothing more than a glorified trickle. With no more than a mile to go, the bottom fell out. Fortunately, the lightning and thunder was gone, so we gutted it out and took our soaking. Had we not been so close to the finish line, we definitely would have gotten off of the water. We ended up at Strothers Landing just below Hwy 34 on the east side of the river.

Miraculously, we made it down the entire river with no new holes or scratches on the boat. The weather did limit our ability to slow down and enjoy the surroundings, but it is a nice piece of water. We are looking forward to trying it again when the water is a little bit higher and the weather is more cooperative.

Wanna try it? There are plenty of sandbars for camping, but we suspect they disappear quickly with even a slight increase in water level. Some of the best camping spots were only several inches above the water level. Allow a full hour for a one-way shuttle trip. The river is very straight over this section, so the shuttle is stretched out as well. Enjoy!

Click here to se our route. Total distance: 33.30 km (20.7 mi) Total time: 4:16 Average speed: (4.8 mi/h) Average moving speed: 8.10 km/h (5.0 mi/h) Average pace: 7:41 min/km (12:23 min/mi)

And on our return shuttle, we were wondering: why did the turtle cross the road?

June 1 - Lower Saluda

We aren't going to make you read much for this one, but we took some great pictures we have to share. All pictures were taken between the Lake Murray dam and I-20.

May 26 - 27 - Edisto River - Hwy 21 to Givhans Ferry State Park

After nearly five whole months of paddling the rivers around the state nearly every weekend, we finally made our way to the granddaddy of them all, the Edisto River. Most of the areas we have paddled thus far (the Edisto is our ninth different river this year) have not been known to be paddlers paradises. Part of our objective with this blog is to raise awareness of lesser known paddling spots, so we have intentionally taken the water routes less travelled, but the Edisto was always in the back of our minds. It is probably the most paddled flatwater river in the state. And now we know why.

To sum it up, this river has it all. Great access points, great water, amazing scenery around every corner, wildlife out the ying-yang…you name it, this river has it.

We started our trip at the Hwy 21 landing (Whetstone Crossroads). This is a private landing, so it will cost you several bucks to park here for the day. It is right on Hwy 21 and has plenty of parking, an adequate ramp, and a small dock. We felt 100% OK with leaving our car there for the day.

There is a map of the most popular sections of the river at http://www.edistoriver.org/blog/wp-content content/uploads/2013/02/ERCKmap.png
According to the map, it is 21.6 miles to the Colleton State Park, which is where we overnighted for the trip. This is a relatively short paddle for us and we had all day, so we took our time. The water level (measured at Givhans) was around 1800cfs. We could have handled more water, but this level is perfect if you are interested in camping on sandbars. I can’t guarantee that they will all be flat sandbars, but they are plentiful.
On this first day of our two day tour, we saw a bobcat, a swallow tail kite, a dozen baby ducks, a Little Blue Heron (Look it up. It is different that a Great Blue Heron), and several other usual suspects. Around every bend, there was a different setting. The river is wide in some sections (maybe 120-150 feet) and narrow in others (maybe 35-40 feet).

This section of the river is very well maintained. You could see clean cuts on most all of the deadfall where someone has come through with a chainsaw and kept clear passage possible. At higher water, we would suspect that there are endless creeks and side-swamps deserving of exploring.

About 2-3 miles after passing under I-95, we arrived at Colleton State Park, our trip midpoint and stopping place for the night. It is right on the river and has a couple of places to take out a canoe or kayak.



The water level was continuing to fall on Day 2 of our trip, but there was still plenty enough to squeeze in some quality paddling. After breaking camp and running a shuttle vehicle down to Givhans Ferry State Park (about 30 minutes one way), we were on the water at 8:20am. The put-in area at Colleton State Park has a nice visitor information board about the section of river between the two state parks, so we felt pretty confident that this section was going to be as well-maintained as any river we have been on before, and it certainly was.

The river between the parks is an absolute case study in contrasts. There are sections where houses line the banks. Around the next bend, you feel like you are in a remote wilderness. Some stretches have a wide-open-lake feel. Other sections feel like mountain streams with a complete canopy overhead. Some sections are shallow, some are deep.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of this section of the river is the cypress trees. I mean, Congaree National Park, eat your heart out! There are cypresses around every corner and the knees are 9-10 feet tall in places.

Toward the end of our trip, the river took on an almost canal-like feel. There were steep clay banks on both sides of the river that almost look like concrete from a distance. Yet another different vista provided by this section of the river. The water speed did slow down significantly in this section, but we knew we were almost home, so we kept grinding. Givhans Ferry State Park’s canoe access landing was undergoing renovations and was technically closed, but we still had no problem getting out there. Once it gets finished, it will be a fantastic facility.

This blog post is intentionally short (if it has been boring, you may disagree about the “short” part). We want this to be nothing more than a teaser to get you to go and try some or all of this 40+ mile section of the Edisto River. You don’t need to be an expert to successfully get down this river. You will need to know how to steer your canoe to avoid deadfalls along the way, but the rest is easy. You could almost float (minimal paddling) as much as 20 miles in a day.
This really is THE place to go if you are interested in getting started in paddling or if you have been paddling for 30 years. There is an outfitter directly across the river from Colleton State Park that can put you in a canoe or kayak and get you on your way.

Here is a link to MOST of our first day's route.

Our GPS tracker overheated and shut down with about five miles to go. 

Here is a link to our second day's route.

May 10, 2014 - Great Pee Dee River – Hwy 34 to Dewitt Bluff

It has been a while since the last post, but we have been busy on the water: a film shoot on the Edisto River, a couple of trips down the Upper Santee, and Raftarama on the Saluda. Whew! We are trying to keep the blog limited to new routes. We know you are demanding readers and we don’t want to bore anyone! And now due to time constraints, we join this blog post already in progress.

Having thoroughly enjoyed our previous two trips on the Pee Dee, we decided it would be a good day to take on the next leg. It was a low water day across the state and the Pee Dee seemed to have enough water for us to float the distance.
The Hwy 34 landing is near Mechanicsville, SC, which is nothing more than a crossroad east of Darlington. This is one of the better landings we have used with plenty of good parking and an adequate safety quotient. After a 2 hour commute, we arrived at the landing and were a little bit shocked to see just how low the water was running. It is times like these when you realize just how incredible this river is.

Today, the level was just above 5,000 cfs. Several weeks earlier, it had been running at 80,000 cfs. If you aren’t impressed with that statistic, check your pulse.
Being the determined (read “hard-headed”) couple of canoers we are, we didn’t let a little thing like low water stop us from forging on. At the bottom of the ramp, we could actually look upstream and see the last set of rocky mini-rapids before the water flattens out for good. Within about 20 paddle strokes, I got a sinking feeling that we had made a big mistake. Had we finally encountered our Waterloo? Did we bite off more than we could chew? The water was almost still. If the wind had been blowing, we would have been going backward. Could we do this for 37 miles? Only one way to find out…

The first hour was nothing but a straight grind. Not much talking, only paddling. After an hour or so, we reached the I-95 bridges. Having traveled 6 miles in one hour with virtually no help from the current lifted our spirits. We normally travel at about 5 mph WITH the help of a current. But we were far from finished and the boat wasn’t going to paddle itself, so on we went.

There were a few very large sandbars within the first 6 miles at this water level. These would make nice camping spots and are probably popular with the locals during the summer months. (There is a landing at Hwy 76, making this stretch very doable as a 15-mile overnighter. However, ALWAYS be sure to check the water level before planning to camp on any sandbar: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/current/?type=flow. We estimate the water should be below 6,000 cfs to be able to depend on these particular sandbars being above water.)

There was plenty of wildlife to be seen, but we only caught glimpses between paddle strokes: a pack of wild pigs and about a dozen piglets squealing as they ran off, an Eastern King Snake crossing the river right in front of the boat, and some unconfirmed sightings of alligators.

At mile 15, we passed under the railroad bridge and Hwy 76/301 shortly thereafter. We asked ourselves if we were going to throw in the towel and take out there, or forge ahead and finish out our original trip plan. (Spoiler Alert: We kept going.) The water was moving a little bit faster at this point, so we decided to keep plugging.

There was plenty of the same in the second leg of the trip. At low water, the river is impressive for different reasons. Perhaps the most striking, is the height of the riverbanks. We aren’t talking about the occasional bluff here. These are the riverbanks on both sides of the river. At times, you feel dwarfed by the canyon-like riverbanks. It makes you understand how this river could carry 80,000 cfs, which is about 15 times the amount of water flowing during our trip.

When we rounded the last corner, we were running on fumes. This was one of the most tiresome one-day paddles we have taken on. Just 36.6 short miles downriver, and we were finished.

If you are keeping score at home, that is 85 miles on the Pee Dee this year. Only about 75 more to finish the whole thing!

Stay tuned…the Edisto is coming up next!

To see our route, click here

Name: Great Pee Dee River - 5/10/2014
Activity type: Canoe
Description: Hwy 34 Mechanicsville to DeWitt Bluff
Total distance: 58.94 km (36.6 mi)
Total time: 7:40:18
Moving time: 7:38:32

April 12 - Lower Wateree + Santee Rivers

As busy as we have been paddling (246 miles so far this year, for those of you keeping score at home), one of our friends recently said "Gosh, I thought yall would have done more miles than that."  So we are off to put some more numbers on the scoreboard.

One of the rivers closest to us is also one that we had yet to muster the guts to try: the Wateree. The Wateree itself isn't all that intimidating, but there are very few access points along the run, so any trip down it is a major commitment. For this trip, we chose the shorter of the two long stretches of the Wateree. We started at the Richland county ramp where Hwy 378/76 crosses the river. This is a peach of a landing. Tons of good parking, two concrete ramps, and a floating pier. Signage to get there is good.

With a good put-in spot, we were off to a great start. The water level was right at 8,000 and was moving at a pretty good clip. After about 20 minutes of paddling, we saw something we haven't seen all year: other paddlers. Two kayakers and a two canoers gave us a funny look when we told them we weren't taking two days to finish the run. As we paddled away they reminded us that it was 25 miles away...to the confluence...
Within another 20 minutes, we saw something we had never seen on a SC river before: a gator! We circled back to get photographic evidence, but he/she had already eased below the surface. We did get a great shot of the spot on the bank where the alligator was...

Admittedly, this picture doesn't quite capture the drama of the moment. It was a big gator.

Wondering what it is like on the Wateree? Think of the Congaree, at about 2/3 the width. The banks of the river were fairly low with an occasional bluff.

Everything was so green. The trees are putting on leaves and we even saw a native azalea on full bloom. 

It is hard to see in the picture above, but a bald cypress is growing in the main channel of the river on the outside of a bend. It is holding up the oak tree to its right. 

At mile 9, we got our first glimpse of the first of two industries located along this section. The first one is the International Paper plant. There was the inevitable smell of a paper plant, but the wind was blowing upstream, so once we passed the plant, the air cleared up. Nothing scenic here, so we will move right along. At mile 14, we came upon the SCE&G power plant. It was much more visible from from the river and much more impressive altogether. 

Almost immediately after we passed the power plant, we paddled under an old train bridge that has now been converted into the river crossing for the Palmetto Trail. 

For the last 10 miles of the Wateree,  there is one oxbow (switchbacks on the river) after another. Eventually, these will double back on themselves, but on this trip, we were doomed to take the long way around every one of them. Fortunately, the river is still very scenic through this section. Several hundred yards before the confluence we saw the second owl of our trip. These birds are every bit as impressive as any osprey or eagle. 

With the Congaree running high, the last couple of miles on the Wateree were slow. Lucky for us, we hit warp speed once we transitioned from Wateree to Santee. Our speed went from sub-4 mph to around 7!

Now on the Santee,  we were on familiar water, but still 13 miles away from the finish line. We ground it out though and managed to enjoy some of the sights of spring. 

We took out at Low Falls Landing almost exactly 8 hours later. 

See our route map here

That would ordinarily be the end of the story, but we stopped for a cold drink at the small bait store at Low Falls. The owner of the store told us of someone that had come through the store just several days earlier. He had set off from Columbia in a kayak by himself to complete the 65 mile trip to Low Falls. The problem was that he flipped his boat and took a swim not far below Columbia, and lost all of his gear. He slept on the ground that night along the trail and staggered into the bait shop hungry and thirsty the next day. 

It can be dangerous out there so be careful!

April 5 - Enoree River - SR 336A to Brazelman's Bridge

There is so much to cover on this trip, but we are into the whole brevity thing, so let’s see how much we can pack into this blog post.

Without much water in any of the SC rivers right now, we decided to go for a river we already knew, but ventured out and took on a new section of it: the Enoree. We had done the lower section on New Year’s Day, so we knew a little bit about it, but there was also twice as much water that day. The Whitmire water gauge was showing a little over 400cfs for this trip.

Unlike some of our other destinations, the Enoree River does have some good river access information out there. The link below is a river trail map produced by the National Forest Service, which owns a large percentage of the land surrounding this stretch of the river.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5275654.pdf
We put in at the 336A access point described in the trail map linked above. There is a big disclaimer in the description of this access point in the trail map. There is no boat ramp here and getting into the boat was more difficult than normal, but it is definitely possible. To get there, turn off of Hwy 72 onto Ridge Road and follow the signs. Even the road to the river is scenic!

We did see another canoe at the put-in area that looked like the twin sister of our own canoe. We couldn’t help but snap a pic.

We hope we will be putting enough miles on our boat to make it look as worn out as this old girl. The owners of the canoe were camping a few hundred yards downriver.

The first several miles were pretty slow because we were so busy snapping pictures. This is an absolutely gorgeous piece of water. At times, you are under a full canopy of trees. Imagine the Lower Saluda River, but about one-third the width. The river does have a very sandy bottom and it does get shallow on the inside of the bends. We would not recommend taking on this river at water levels below 400cfs. We could go on and on about the beauty of the surroundings, but for brevity’s sake, we will move on.

On the second half of the trip, things switched from “beautiful” to “interesting”. At times, we felt like we were trapped in a game of Frogger, dodging all sorts of things in the water. The first was man-made. We came up on what looks like a dredger anchored in the middle of the river. Based on the piping and large sand mound of the left bank, we are guessing that this is a sand mining operation with the dredger simply collecting sand as it flows downstream. Be careful as you pass by. There are anchoring cables that could be dangerous. The river deepens significantly after this point since there is much less sand downstream.

Shortly thereafter, we came across our second gift: a freshly fallen (large) pine tree spanning the length of the river. We pulled up alongside and just dropped the boat on the other side. No worries.

We came across another tree shortly thereafter where we had to get out of the boat and lace it underneath several limbs.
And then we come to the most noteworthy of the “interesting” things were encountered. A picture doesn’t do this complete justice, but you will have to trust us on this one. This logjam and trash pile would rank somewhere in the “epic” category. Needless to say, we could not get over or under this one, so we had to do a full-blown portage. This mess doesn’t show up on Google satellite, so I don’t think it is a permanent fixture, but if you do run into this one, portage on the right. We made the mistake of portaging on the left.

After getting past the dredger and then getting out of the boat three times for obstacles, we were finally on the home stretch. Again, we cannot put into words how great the setting and scenery is for this river. If you are willing to risk several portages, this is one of the best pieces of water you will find.

We took out at Brazzelman’s Bridge landing only to find that the brake line was busted on the truck! Nothing like riding the parking brake all the way home. But, we didn’t let it ruin an otherwise great trip. We enjoyed this trip enough to where we did not view the portages as a negative; it was just part of the fun!

And don’t forget:
http://www.canoeingforkids.org/raft-a-rama.html
Annual Raft-A-Rama is on May 17th, 2014

And if you do try this section of the Enoree, say hello to the friend we made on our trip.

Click here to see our route

Name: 4/5/2014 9:25AM

Activity type: Canoe

Description: -

Total distance: 25.83 km (16.1 mi)

Total time: 4:27:09

Moving time: 3:59:07

Average speed: 5.80 km/h (3.6 mi/h)

Average moving speed: 6.48 km/h (4.0 mi/h)

Max speed: 8.86 km/h (5.5 mi/h)

March 14-15 - Congaree + Santee Rivers

If you have been reading along in the blog, you already know that our primary objective is to raise the awareness of the rivers in SC and give canoers and kayakers the information they need to feel confident about going out there and doing it themselves. That said, we admittedly went off-the-board on this trip. This one was more about finding our limits and really maximizing our seat time in the canoe.
The Congaree Blue Trail is something everyone should experience at least once in their lives. This river trail covers all but the first two and last two miles of the Congaree River, starting in downtown Columbia and ending at the Hwy 601 Landing near Fort Motte. The total distance is 50 miles (49 if you have high water and can cut off the corners, 52 if you take the long way around every bend).
Sounds like a pretty serious trip, but we had done this trip a couple of times already, so we knew we could pull it off. The first time was non-stop for 8 ½ hours (not recommended) and the second was over two days (highly recommended). But since we were playing hooky from work, we decided to challenge ourselves and spend as much time on the water as we could reasonably squeeze in. To do that, we tacked on an extra twenty miles by continuing past the end of the Blue Trail, through the Santee River, and on into Lake Marion.

Day 1
It seems to be a theme this year, but the lords of water (aka the engineers at the upstream dams) were kind to us yet again and gave us some water from the Lake Murray dam. We set out Friday morning with water flowing at about 16k, which is just about ideal for this run. You can see from the picture below that it was just enough to come up to the last step at the Riverwalk Park steps below the amphitheater.

As ideal as the water level may have been, there was one rock we couldn’t dodge and put the first scratch on an otherwise spotless boat. But she remained more than seaworthy, so we carried on. There is no better place to witness the hustle and bustle of Columbia than from a boat in the Congaree . You gotta try it! Look up Canoeing for Kids and ask them if they can schedule a guided trip for you!
Soon after we zipped under the I-77 bridge, we had our first real brush with the wilderness when a medium-sized bald eagle flew directly over us at no more than 50 feet. We didn’t even bother scrambling for camera; we just sat back and enjoyed watching him (or maybe her) cruise overhead, looking for some breakfast, no doubt. We knew we had a long way to go, so we tried to put our heads down and paddle, but we did look up long enough to see lots of deer, a muskrat or two, hawks, and osprey.
We paddled for a total of about 8 hours and decided it was time to set up camp. Our original campsite was washed out (the sandbar on river right just after mile 35), so we found a spot on the left to string up our hammocks and crash.
Click here to see our Day 1 route

Day 2
After a night of being serenaded by turkey and owls, we kicked it back into gear so we could get a jump on the 30 miles ahead of us.  The water had been turned off from the Saluda River at around noon the day before, but fortunately we were so far down the river that the water was still running strong. By 9am, we were peeling out. After a relatively short time on the water, we were approaching the train trestle, which comes at around the 48 mile mark. We hung around long enough to catch a train crossing the river (you can see on our route map were we circled back to wait for it).

A couple of more miles downriver, something felt odd about passing underneath the Hwy 601 bridge without ever slowing down. Most sane people would have stopped here, but our determination made us keep going. Passing under the 601 bridge also signaled the end of our quiet, peaceful trip. Every bass fisherman with a jon boat in the in the state of SC congregated on the Santee River on this morning for a fishing tournament. Evidently, “the stripers was bitin.’” For those of you unversed, this means that there were way too many excited fishermen out there trying to catch a striped bass or two. We are here to tell you that the only living things inconvenienced on this day were two canoers (we didn’t see a single striper being inconvenienced) trying to avoid being plowed over by the most disrespectful group of boaters you will ever encounter.
We couldn’t wait to be done with the chaos, so we ducked over to Stumphole Swamp as quickly as we could. Finally, we were on the home stretch. Off in the distance, we could see the Santee State Park, which is the most visible landmark that happens to be close to our takeout point. But, as it was so eloquently said/sung by Bob Dylan, “they say the distance is not near.” Without the help of the river current, lake paddling sometimes feels like paddling in a bowl of pudding. We found ourselves giving every last bit of energy we had left to cross the finish line. After 14 ½ hours of paddling over two days, we stretched our legs and declared ourselves the winners of our one-boat race.
Click here to see our Day 2 route

While this run is definitely more than the average paddler would want to attempt, we would strongly encourage you try to get down the entire Congaree Blue Trail, even if it takes you several days to finish. You can camp anywhere on the left side of the river once you have passed the national park boundary. You do need to get a backcountry camping permit, which you can get by calling the park. If the water is any higher than 6-7k, don’t count on there being any sandbars for camping. They disappear quickly when the water rises. It is easy to take out at the Hwy 601 bridge, but the parking lot can get covered if the level gets above 20k.
So now you know all you need to know. Now get out there and do it!

March 8 - Saluda River - Buzzards Roost to Hwy 121

We will try to keep this blog post short since we have covered most of this in our earlier trip, but did want to provide the details since this was a little bit shorter run and one we view as the preferred trip distance on this stretch of river.
Rather than paddle to the headwaters of Lake Murray, we wrapped up the trip at Hwy 121, which is about 7 miles upriver from the Kempson Bridge Landing we used last time out.
We were under some time constraints, so we chose the shorter route. What we didn't expect was a little help from Mother Nature (and the engineers at the dam) to speed things along. Water coming out of the dam was at around 4500 cfs when we put in.
As an aside, we did use the Newberry side of the river to put in this time. It is less of a descent, but it is easily 1/4 mile hike to get to the water from the parking area. If you have a heavy boat, you may have a tough time making this trek. It is much easier to set out in the water, but the hike to the water is Class V. Don't let this picture fool you.

When we set off, the water was nice and green. That was short-lived, however, thanks to a muddy creek coming in to the river about 500 yard after we got started. It was nice and muddy the rest of the way.

By the time we got to Hwy 39, the water was up to 5000 cfs, so we found ourselves sitting back and enjoying the ride; paddles across our laps for much of the trip just so it wouldn't be over so soon.

We managed to stretch it out to around 4 hours, which is easily do-able for anyone at this level. If you want to camp along the river, don't think about at this level. The several sandbars are under water. The takeout is just downstream of the Hwy 121 bridge on river left. There is a sign on the road showing the way.

And these guys were hoping we didn't make it...licking their chops as we paddled by.

Click here to see our route

Name: Saluda River - 3/8/2014
Activity type: Canoe
Description: Buzzard's Roost (Hwy 34) to Hwy 121
Total distance: 31.30 km (19.4 mi)
Total time: 4:10:28
Moving time: 3:53:30
Average speed: 7.50 km/h (4.7 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 8.04 km/h (5.0 mi/h)
Max speed: 12.31 km/h (7.7 mi/h)

March 1 - The Great Pee Dee River - Cheraw to Society Hill

We decided we liked the Pee Dee so much that we came back for seconds only a week later. We expected it to be somewhat different because the water was about half the flow from the previous weekend and we moved upstream, putting in at the riverfront park in Cheraw an taking out at Society Hill.
And just as we expected, it was a different experience. There wasn't as much help from the current and the low banks we saw the week before looked more like bluffs.
We won't bore you with details since most of it is a repeat. What we will tell you is that the river is actually more scenic at lower water. Even at 8k, we never encountered any shoals that spanned the entire width. At this water level, there are plenty of camping spots along the bank.

Both put-in and takeout are excellent facilities with good parking.
Click here to see our route
Name: Great Pee Dee - 3/1/2014
Activity type: Canoe
Description: Cheraw to Society Hill
Total distance: 28.72 km (17.8 mi)
Total time: 4:14:28
Moving time: 4:10:19
Average speed: 6.77 km/h (4.2 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.88 km/h (4.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.40 km/h (6.5 mi/h)

February 22 - Great Pee Dee - Society Hill to Mechanicsville

Having clicked off most of the routes we are already familiar with, we geared up for unfamiliar territory and made the trek to the upper waters of the Great Pee Dee River. Well, at least the upper waters of the Pee Dee in SC. We had high hopes based on the name of the river alone. I mean, they can't call it the Great Pee Dee without it being great, right? We were feeling ambitious and decided to bite off one of the longer stretches and one that was geographically about as far away from Columbia as we could find. Road time is always longer than expected since we are hauling the boat and avoid interstates.                                                                                    
We were pleasantly surprised to find an excellent landing at the takeout site at the base of the Highway 34 bridge near Mechanicsville. (Don't bother looking up Mechanicsville on the map; you probably won't find it). There was some added drama when we dropped the car at the takeout. It looked as though someone had been nice enough to set some of the brush and railing around the parking lot on fire. So, after we had doused the smoldering embers, we cruised on up to the put-in via Mechanicsville Highway just west of the Hwy 34 bridge.  
The shuttle up to the booming metropolis of Society Hill was a little less than 30 minutes. The landing at the Hwy 15 bridge is top notch with plenty of parking and two concrete ramps. It is on the southwest corner of the intersection of Hwy 15 and the Pee Dee.                                                                    
There had been a good bit of rain several days before, so the water was flowing at around 18k, about twice the normal level. The river was fairly wide, deep, and clear of deadfall. We tend to see more wildlife in the morning than in the afternoon, and we weren't disappointed this morning. We had only been paddling for a few minutes when we spotted five young deer on the left. They were wet and shiny from a recent dip in the water, and after seeing us they sprinted off of the sandbar through a swampy area and out of sight.

The higher than usual water covered up a lot of the different land and water features, which caused the landscape, though very scenic, to become a bit monotonous after a few hours. We did, however, notice a few areas along the river bank where the land had been artificially built into a mound. We wondered if maybe farmers had built these berms many years ago as places for livestock to ecape high water. Now they were just part of the landscape with mature trees growing out of them. We also passed by some round metal structures in the current that must have been part of an abandoned bridge. We can't seem to find any information on it, though.

Thirty miles and five and a half hours later we reached the takeout. This was a very long paddle, and we were grateful for the high water to help move us along. We only saw 2 or 3 fishing boats as we got closer to the landing. You can probably expect many more as the weather starts to warm up - we didn't come across any shoals, so the water would be very navigable for motor boats.

This was an enjoyable river to paddle. The landings were nice, we didn't have any deadfall to contend with, and the current was a constant help. We only wish it were a little closer to home!

Click here to see the route

Name: Great Pee Dee River - 2/22/2014
Activity type: Canoe
Description: Hwy 15 (Society Hill) to Hwy 34 (Mechanicsville)
Total distance: 49.01 km (30.5 mi)
Total time: 5:27:37
Moving time: 5:20:03
Average speed: 8.98 km/h (5.6 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 9.19 km/h (5.7 mi/h)
Max speed: 11.70 km/h (7.3 mi/h)