Congaree just became a National Park in 2003. Prior to that it was Congaree Swamp National Monument. This park preserves some of the last remaining hardwood forest floodplains. It looked a lot like home with the Bald Cypress trees and knees, the palmettos, and the raised boardwalk over a swamp. But some things were different. There was a visible current in the water and there were Dogwoods and other trees and plants that we didn't recognize. Familiar, yet unsettling unfamiliar. We had to keep reminding ourselves we weren't home.
After a visit at the Visitor's Center to gather our maps and recommendations, we walked the boardwalk trail, and then tacked on the Weston Lake Loop Trail. Probably about 4.5 miles total. Good thing we wore our hiking boots since Weston Lake Loop was pretty muddy in spots...and under water in others. Considering it's a 'floodplain', we should've presumed this.
 |
| From 2009_02_SCNC |
We don't know if we walked past any of the Park's Champion Trees, but we did 'ooh and aah' over some wide trunks and had to do half-backbends to try and see the tops of others. The park has some record trees (Loblolly Pines, Cherrybark Oak) over 160 feet tall. The largest bald cypress is over 27 feet in circumference.
After the hike, we ate lunch in the park and then put our kayaks in at Cedar Creek Landing. We paddled upstream, back towards the Visitor Center. One paddler told us that he had to turn around 10 minutes upstream because of a fallen tree and he didn't want to portage. We did have to become contortionists to bend under a couple of fallen trees, and shimmy over some logs, but we were able to make it without portaging over the muddy banks. What worried me, though, was that shortly after our put-in I saw a snake in a tree. At first I thought it was just part of the branch - but the pattern caught my eye for a second glance. After that we kept yelling "snakes in trees" every time we had to cross under low branches. I love snakes, but not in my lap.
The best sighting of the day was seeing a Barred Owl. He was sitting on a low branch and was a full 21" tall. A stout bird with large circular dark eyes. His coloring makes it look like he has a hood over his head. And when he flew it looked like his wingspan could've been four feet. How can a bird this big be so silent? Barely a 'whoosh' when he flew across the water to sit on a branch just above the water and only a couple of feet to my side. Just before he took off to the other side I told Andy we were about to witness something tragic. A duck (or water bird of some kind) and her multitude of ducklings were just frantically escaping down the river - half running on water, half swimming under water. But two of the babies fell behind. One of them was being intently watched and followed by the owl. Our presence only deterred the inevitable, but I hope we gave the baby an edge in surviving. Nature can seem cruel at times...and it's hard when you want both sides to win and survive.
It was a great paddle. Quiet and serene. The return trip was an easy coast, mostly requiring steering and an occasional paddle to make the turns and get past obstacles. The water level on our trip was 4.60 feet - in the "perfect" category. Too low and you'll have to portage frequently. Too high, and you'll lose sight of the creek since the water will spread out over the floodplain and you won't know where the Canoe Trail is. The small brown marker signs would be impossible to find once you're off the trail. That would be interesting to see, though.
Click on any of the above photos to see more on WebAlbums.
Initially we weren't sure where to stay in order to see this National Park. There is no camping in or just outside the park (except tenting and backcountry camping - but no place for RVs). We didn't realize how small the scale was on the SC map. It just took us 40 minutes or so to drive from Lexington, which is on the west side of Columbia. The scale of miles for Florida's map is much different! Just one of those things we have to remember to look at again now that we're on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment