Source to Sea
I am in the process of planning a paddling trip that I will be going on this December. I and three friends will be paddling from just below Lake Adger in North Carolina, down the Green River, through the Broad, Congaree, and Lake Marion, and on out to the Atlantic this December. I am currently living in Hendersonville, NC and we are feeling the drought as much as you guys are down in Columbia. So what I need to find out is whether or not this trip is really possible. I was hoping that somebody who reads this forum might have been out on the Broad or Congaree sometime recently and know what the water level is like. Or even if you haven't been out recently, maybe you have some idea where trouble spots might be, including rapids, shoals, whatever. I was looking at the USGS site on water levels, and it looks bad, but I'm not familiar with the Broad River so I don't really know how bad.
Any information you might have would be a huge help. Thanks!
Kelly
Adventure
Sounds like a great adventure. Make sure you research dam locations on the Broad.
While these guys didn't paddle the Broad, but the Catawba instead, these reports are probably worth a read.
http://www.paddling.net/places/showReport.html?663
http://www.paddling.net/places/showReport.html?64
Have a good trip and please post your experiences.
Congaree River
I'm sure you know that there is a diversion dam across the Broad , before you get into the city ... then Congaree thru Columbia City is low-n-slow , plenty of rocks , but definately navigatible by kayak . We paddled thru at end of October . Then after Columbia it is really slow flow & there are lots of LARGE sandbars , but no problem for a kayak all the way down to Lake Marion . Lots of commercial ramps & marinas are DRY due to drought . Shoreline for both rivers and lakes will be a little different than 'normal' too , but certainly better than raging flood condition ! And not as much debris in the water either . And power boats will be running more cautious , not so fast ! Hope you have a really big adventure ... it should be ' laid back ' .