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
