Kayak Congaree Park

Today we drove down to the Congaree National Park to Kayak. We have hiked it before, but always kept it in the back of our mind to come back and kayak. So glad we did. This enchanting forest was even better from the water. The weather was actually nice for a humid July morning in South Carolina.

We drove out to the Cedar Creek canoe access just in time to catch a group of boy scouts canoeing out to their campsite. They were so entertaining to watch. There were only two scout leaders, about 25 years old, one with some cool looking dreadlocks and about 8 scouts. There were four canoes, loaded up with sleeping bags, tents, and gear and two people paddling in each boat. The entertaining part came when we watched them launch out. Seems as if the young scouts didn't have that much canoe experience and some of the boys were crashing into each others boats, into trees, and into the bank, but the seemed to be having a good time, laughing and goofing around. We watch them zigzag down the river and then decided to put in.

The banks were so soggy that there was no getting around the mud. I about lost my right shoe, twice. You could hear that suction cup pop sound as I pulled up my foot from the sinking mud pit called the river bank. I finally get into the kayak and Boo pushes me out. He then loads up and is pushed out by another kayaker waiting to put in.

The river is like a black inkwell. Just the darkest, eeriest water you've ever seen. It was kind of mysterious and haunting at the same time and made me wonder what's really lurking beneath me. (Clips of "River Monsters" from that Outdoor Network flashed through my mind for a second. ) We start our 3 hour float along the river and I am already amazed at the scenery. If you have never been to this park, it is workth a visit just to see these huge trees towering up to 160 feet (that's 16 stories high!!!) and dripping with spanish moss. We also saw lots of wild life. I saw a ton of dragon flies. They were buzzing around us the entire time. I saw several huge spiders, I mean HUGE, as big as a man's spread out hand. They were perched up along the side of the trees, frozen, keeping an eye on us like the river's watch keeper. I saw turtles breaking the surface to see us glide by and then duck back down and swim away. Boo even saw a snake as thick as his wrist, sunning it's self on a low hanging branch. Another kayaker told us he saw a wild turkey. But we never did see the wild boars that supposedly roam freely in the park.

It was a serene trip down the the Congaree and I was glad we kayaked that morning, because that hot and humid July weather started to show itself by the end of our trip. Til next time, GET OUTDOORS!!!