Congaree River Overnight - March 5-6, 2005
Submitted by Pam Reutebuch on March 6, 2006 - 10:20pm.
By Tom Connor
Lows in the 40's, highs in the 60's. This was the weather forecast that faced us for our overnight trip down the Congaree. We were all looking forward to the excursion because we were going to visit areas of the Congaree National Park that the general public hardly ever sees. Sean Kelsey, an employee of the Park Service, was to be our guide along with co-trip leader Brian O'Cain.
We all met at the Visitor center at the appointed time. After shuffling some boats to other vehicles we were soon on our way. Our shuttle was provided by another club member that was not going on the trip with us.
We were on the water by 11:00 and with a fast current paddled past Boggy Gut, Deep Jackson Gut, Sandy Gut, to our first stop Little Lake Gut in record time. Sean took us on a spirited hike in search of Brady's Mound and a rusted John Deere tractor. We found the mound, but not the tractor. Our hike was gut, (excuse me "cut") short by a 40% chance of showers the weather wizards had called for. Back we ran to our waiting boats and continued on our way. As we made our way down the river, everything the weather had was thrown at us. Rain and high wind pounded us for a brief time. When it subsided we were left with a sunny afternoon.
One Item discovered on the hike was a peculiar growth on a single tree. A spiky thing no one had ever seen before. It turned out to be a Honey Locust tree.
Who Knew?
We proceeded down the river to our campsite at Dead River Gut. After a muddy and exhaustive unloading of our boats, we made camp and settled in. A few of us, led by
Sean and Brian, decided to strike out to locate a few "topographical features" armed with only a map, compass, and our lack of better judgment. First we had to traverse a large log which acted as a natural bridge across the gut. Then we hiked (with a capital "H") across swamp, guts, and more swamp and still more guts. Ed and Chris came to their wits early and headed back to camp. Roy and I, fools that we were, kept going with Brian and Sean. 
It started getting dark and realizing that it would be hard to see the "topographical features" without light, Roy and I turned tail and headed back to camp. Over stream and gut, swamp and muck, we "Hiked" finally making it back to camp and discovering that our fearless leaders were right behind us. I also discovered that I had developed a dislike for the word "Gut". Supper came and went, along with Kate's desert which she shared with all of us, and soon we were in our tents, waiting for the early morning wanderings of a family of wild pigs which happened upon us by accident. They sure can squeal.
Sunday Morning we all had breakfast and once again a few of us struck out across the guts to find more "topographical features". This time we were headed for Old Dead River Lake. We found it as well as a few swamp dwellers. More muck, guts, and water. After all this fun we broke camp, loaded our boats and headed south.
The trip down was full of surprises. We found an abandoned houseboat or two, and stopped to investigate. Our destination was Stump Gut to check out an old growth cypress which has 
a base with a circumference of 26'. It was a pretty big tree, and everybody took pictures. Edwin almost made it down a raccoon hole, but we were able to stop him before he disappeared into the dark. We also took a look at some more old growth trees that were in the general area. I am happy that the swamp has come under the umbrella of the National Park system. It would be a shame to have this treasure logged and destroyed at some future date. Hopefully it will be preserved for our kids to enjoy.
We hopped back into our boats for the conclusion of the trip, which came to an end all too soon in the shadow of the Hwy 601 bridge. It was a great trip and an experience I will long remember.
View Photo Album
Lows in the 40's, highs in the 60's. This was the weather forecast that faced us for our overnight trip down the Congaree. We were all looking forward to the excursion because we were going to visit areas of the Congaree National Park that the general public hardly ever sees. Sean Kelsey, an employee of the Park Service, was to be our guide along with co-trip leader Brian O'Cain.We all met at the Visitor center at the appointed time. After shuffling some boats to other vehicles we were soon on our way. Our shuttle was provided by another club member that was not going on the trip with us.
We were on the water by 11:00 and with a fast current paddled past Boggy Gut, Deep Jackson Gut, Sandy Gut, to our first stop Little Lake Gut in record time. Sean took us on a spirited hike in search of Brady's Mound and a rusted John Deere tractor. We found the mound, but not the tractor. Our hike was gut, (excuse me "cut") short by a 40% chance of showers the weather wizards had called for. Back we ran to our waiting boats and continued on our way. As we made our way down the river, everything the weather had was thrown at us. Rain and high wind pounded us for a brief time. When it subsided we were left with a sunny afternoon. One Item discovered on the hike was a peculiar growth on a single tree. A spiky thing no one had ever seen before. It turned out to be a Honey Locust tree.Who Knew?
We proceeded down the river to our campsite at Dead River Gut. After a muddy and exhaustive unloading of our boats, we made camp and settled in. A few of us, led by
Sean and Brian, decided to strike out to locate a few "topographical features" armed with only a map, compass, and our lack of better judgment. First we had to traverse a large log which acted as a natural bridge across the gut. Then we hiked (with a capital "H") across swamp, guts, and more swamp and still more guts. Ed and Chris came to their wits early and headed back to camp. Roy and I, fools that we were, kept going with Brian and Sean. It started getting dark and realizing that it would be hard to see the "topographical features" without light, Roy and I turned tail and headed back to camp. Over stream and gut, swamp and muck, we "Hiked" finally making it back to camp and discovering that our fearless leaders were right behind us. I also discovered that I had developed a dislike for the word "Gut". Supper came and went, along with Kate's desert which she shared with all of us, and soon we were in our tents, waiting for the early morning wanderings of a family of wild pigs which happened upon us by accident. They sure can squeal.Sunday Morning we all had breakfast and once again a few of us struck out across the guts to find more "topographical features". This time we were headed for Old Dead River Lake. We found it as well as a few swamp dwellers. More muck, guts, and water. After all this fun we broke camp, loaded our boats and headed south.
The trip down was full of surprises. We found an abandoned houseboat or two, and stopped to investigate. Our destination was Stump Gut to check out an old growth cypress which has a base with a circumference of 26'. It was a pretty big tree, and everybody took pictures. Edwin almost made it down a raccoon hole, but we were able to stop him before he disappeared into the dark. We also took a look at some more old growth trees that were in the general area. I am happy that the swamp has come under the umbrella of the National Park system. It would be a shame to have this treasure logged and destroyed at some future date. Hopefully it will be preserved for our kids to enjoy. We hopped back into our boats for the conclusion of the trip, which came to an end all too soon in the shadow of the Hwy 601 bridge. It was a great trip and an experience I will long remember.
View Photo Album
