January 5 - Lynches River - Upper Section

The Lynches River was our next destination and, based on everything we had read about it, we were very excited to get on the water. We even had someone back out of a trip down the Congaree so they could paddle the Lynches. Must be a blast, right? It has been designated a wild and scenic river and you can find tons of information about it through the SC DNR published Lynches Scenic River Water Trail Guide (http://www.dnr.sc.gov/water/envaff/river/scenic/lynchespub.html). We assumed since information about the Lynches was so abundant that this would be a well-travelled, and therefore well-maintained and easily navigable, section of river. This was a terrible assumption.
We put in at the Road 34 landing right outside of Bishopville. The landing was nice, with a paved parking lot and ramp, and signs with information about the scenic trail. The river is bordered along this section by Lee State Park and we saw lots of wildlife, mainly ducks and deer. However, by the time we paddled the 15 miles to the next landing (Hwy 401), which we had decided to skip in favor of taking out 10 more miles downriver at Hwy 76, we were ready for the trip to be over. DEAD FALL EVERYWHERE! The water was fairly high, so that helped us get through without having to portage, but not without scratches to faces, eyes, and our shiny new boat. There were very few stretches of clear water; just miles of one fallen tree after another. It became very frustrating. (Full disclosure: it was cloudy and the temperature never got over 40°F, so the weather did nothing to help lift our spirits.)
We rallied and paddled the remaining 10 miles. The deadfalls didn't get any better, and there were many abandoned oxbows and flooded areas (with the higher water) that made finding the main channel a bit difficult. We finally reached the landing at Hwy 76 - it took 6 1/2 hours to paddle all 25 miles. The landing was small and unpaved, but easily accessible for a canoe. The shuttle was 35-40 minutes, so it was dark by the time we were all packed up and headed home.

So if you ever have the choice between the Lynches and the Congaree, you will know what to do.

Click Here to see the route
Name: Lynches River - 1/4/2014
Activity type: Canoe
Description: Hwy 15 to Hwy 76
Total distance: 40.77 km (25.3 mi)
Total time: 6:38:54
Moving time: 6:13:23
Average speed: 6.13 km/h (3.8 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 6.55 km/h (4.1 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.66 km/h (6.6 mi/h)
Average pace: 9:47 min/km (15:45 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 9:10 min/km (14:44 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5:38 min/km (9:03 min/mi)
Recorded: 1/4/2014 9:38AM



If you look closely enough, you can see the boat is full of sticks from the trip. The signs of a good time...