Congaree Swamp, January 13, 2007
By Lee Olson
Trip timing and route traveled followed the announcement. It was a beautiful warm day and a little overcast which lessened some of the spectacular shadowing which occurs in the flooded swamp.
The four who attended were all experienced paddlers with extra gear and food which were not needed. We were a little ahead of schedule and had a very leisurely lunch on the bridge to Wise Lake. The Water level had dropped from a high of 10.6 a day earlier to 9.2 feet (picture of gauge provided) which necessitated pulling the boats over part of the hiking path (see picture) from the Bridge at Wise Lake to Wesson Lake. We encountered only 2 or 3 spots where river wide blockages/strainers made passage difficult. We were surprised to see a snake this late in the year, but attribute that to the warm winter. The snake was too far to get a picture, so we provided a picture of a twisty vine instead. We saw many trees which had extensive chewing marks (picture provided) and I was requested to take a picture in order to get confirmation of the source. We later found out from the park biologist that woodpeckers made this these of marks when harvesting bugs. Pictures have been sent to her for positive confirmation.
Congaree Park flood trips are inherently a last minute event and interested paddlers are encouraged to check the Swamp gauge for Cedar Creek on line when the Columbia area experiences excessive rain. Levels over 8 feet require experience/maps/GPS to keep from getting lost.
The Trip Announcement contains most of the essential information.
