One of the most popular lakes in upstate of SC is Lake Hartwell, because of this I have always stayed off of the lake. Yes, I am a chicken! The speed boats, pontoons, jet skis, and all the crazies driving these different types of water craft have little or no respect for the humble canoe. But, one day a couple of years ago I bought a map of Lake Hartwell and opened it up. Well, well, well, It is much different looking then what you see as you pass over it on I-85. In the spirit of Lewis and Clark, Gracie and Turtle have begun exploring the nooks and cranny's of Lake Hartwell. This is a big lake,will take more than a day to see all this lake has to offer.
One day last year we drove all the way to GA and put in at the Walker Creek Access, according to my map this is the farthest north access point on the Tugaloo River. It is deep enough to back boat trailers into the water, even with the current flowing at a steady clip. The canoe was easy enough to put in and after loading it up and heading downstream it floated easy with the current. Wasn't long before we were on the flat water and no current, this is where I like to paddle. Just slow and easy, enjoying the shore line and looking for critters and stuff that may be laying around on the shore. The only thing of interest was a coyote standing and watching us float by, as we got closer to him he would walk ahead and stay away from us. Finally he just loped off into the woods leaving paw prints in the sand. We went under one bridge and paddled until we saw the railroad trestle and then the Hwy 123 bridge. The lake started getting wide and the boat traffic began to pick up so we turned around and headed back up stream. Very few houses on this part of the lake and the ones we saw were older homes and not in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range.
Paddling back to the boat landing became a challenge when we encountered the water flowing with reckless abandon toward the lake. Side note-easier to go with the flow than against it! When we got to the landing I just kept paddling up stream to see how far we could go, current so strong we did not even get out of sight of landing. Floated back to landing, took canoe out, and loaded truck. A car was parked in the lot with two older ladies watching what I was doing, Being the nice guy that I am I say "Hi", they respond with a similar greeting and then ask one of my favorite boat ramp questions--Are you ready for the question? And the question is-------Is that your dog?-------They have just watched the dog, Gracie, get out of the canoe, walk to the truck and wait for me to open the door. When I open the door she slowly puts her front paws on the seat and looks back at me, saying "Will you lift me up, I'm rather tired! it's rough laying around in a canoe all day." I help her into the truck, she walks to the far seat and lays down absolutely spent. I have yet to come up with a good answer, all I can say is "Yes, that's my friend Gracie." Oh well!
It's been a good summer, I'm way behind on the up dates of my out doors life. Easier to do than to sit down and write. Have been to Hartwell two times, Jocassee two times, and taken one short hike with out sharing with the World Wide Web. Will try to catch up and do better.
Water or Woods
Turtle
