Congaree National Park - Hiking

February 18,2013    11:57AM

          If I had a bucket list, the Congaree National Park would be on that list! Really if I had a bucket, it would be an old dark green moss covered wooden bucket with a worn leather strap and a small hole two inches from the bottom. Silver slime would be crawling on my water-logged list and it would be hard to read, but this would now be crossed off - Done! Y'all need to go to the Congaree NP! No, it's not Disneyland, it's a flood plain swamp with mosquito's! There is a mosquito meter for your enjoyment.

CUTE

               You have been forewarned. Come prepared and come when the bugs are on vacation. I encountered no skeeters but did find a couple of ticks enjoying my rich red blood, we did not part company as friends! I camped out in the Park at the Longleaf camping area for two nights, only tent camping allowed. Well now, let's be honest, I slept in my sleeping bag inside of my tent during the night, but I drove into town for supper both nights. First night I ate at a Ruby Tuesdays which is no big deal, having eaten at one several times before. Now the second night - OK - the second night I was tired and really hungry because I had hiked several miles in the rain and it was almost eight when I got to the restaurant. [ That was a mouth full! ] Place was called Lizard Thicket and the sign said, "Good Country Cooking", my kinda place!  Walked in the door and heard  country music playing softly all around me -  the seventy's and eighty's brand, not this new pop drivel they play today. Sign said, "Seat yourself" -- I sat! The waitress, not the server, said, "Hey, Hon what can I get you to drink?" I had sweet tea, all I could drink, country fried steak, mashed taters with brown gravy, green beans, fried okra, and rolls. Finished it off with a big piece of carrot cake. Sittin' there all by myself listening to the music, sad country music, I got to thinkin' about my Mama, who's been passed on for seven years, missin' my dog Gracie, and my little red truck that had to be scraped. I asked the waitress how she was doin' and she told me her Daddy was in jail for smackin' around his girlfriend  and her Mama had been hit and killed by a train two months before, everything you need for a good country song! About that time Willie Nelson started singin' "On the Road Again" and I knew it was time for me to leave.

          Well, that's how my two nights were; eat, crawl into my tent, look at the clear star filled sky, the bright moon, zip every thing up and go to sleep! Unzip the sleeping bag, the mesh tent, the rain fly, crawl out and take a quick, "I couldn't wait any longer," then crawl back into the tent and as Barney Fife would say, "Zip it-just zip it!" So I would zip everything up and go back to sleep! The mornings were chilly but not to bad, heated up some water and had a cup of hot tea and some blueberry pop tarts.  Ready to get the day started and do some fun hiking.


          A brief summary of each day and then I will get expand on my travels. Day one started in the early afternoon, set up camp in the Longleaf Campground then hiked on the Bluff Trail to the Harry Hampton Visitors Center. Walked the Low Boardwalk to the Weston Lake Loop Trail, stepped up on the Elevated Boardwalk and followed it back to the HHVC. Took the Bluff Trail back to the tent and from there into town and supper.  Second day was a full day, leaving Longleaf I traveled Bluff Trail to Sims Trail which ended at River Trail. Looped around River Trail and came back to Oakridge Trail and joined up with Weston Lake Loop Trail and got on the Low Boardwalk and followed it back to the HHVC. A volunteer staff member drove me back to the campground and I got my car and went to the Lizard Thicket for, as you already know, some good food!  Day three I broke camp and loaded the car with two options in mind, canoe the Cedar Creek and/or hike the Kingsnake Trail. Decided to hike the trail first and then based on time, canoe or not? Hiked up to where the Kingsnake Trail joined the Oakridge Trail and then turned around and returned to the car. That completed every trail at the Congaree National Park. It is two hundred steps from my car to the put in at Cedar Creek, I decided that that was a long way for a tired old man to carry an eighty-five pound canoe. Two times! No canoeing that day. I changed my clothes at the parking area and got in the car and headed home. Arrived home before six pm and called it a good trip!

          It was a presence which greeted me when I stepped onto the Bluff Trail, he said his name was Buddy. I could not see him but I could hear him and feel him hiking with me, very friendly and helpful. He helps you get from the campsites to the Visitor's Center, he is always there for you and will be your friend no matter who you are. Buddy said that there was no need for me to go to the primitive campground [ Bluff Campground ] we could just take the short .5 mile route to the HHVC, sounded good to me so that's what we did. Buddy apologized for not having an exciting trail just some hardwoods and loblolly pines to walk among, the woods are clean and I could see several feet on either side of the trail. Buddy left me in the care of Lanie, who seems a little stiff until you get to know her.

Low Boardwalk

          Now, Lanie, she wasn't all high and mighty, a humble plain girl, in some places she just skimmed above the primeval swampy flat  and in other places she would rise a little higher. Lots of bald cypress and water tupelo to be seen on both sides of the Low Boardwalk. I asked her what all the pencil points were that were sticking up out of the ground, some were sharp and others were worn down to a nub. Ah! That is when she smiled and told me they were not pencil points but "knees" which are part of the bald cypress root system. Wet swampy ground on both sides of the Low Boardwalk, I was glad to be on solid wood. Lanie let me go and said she would finish our walk tomorrow, now I had to go with Wendy, who loved to wander on the Weston Lake Loop trail.

See pencil points?

          Wendy, Wendy, Wendy what a care free spirit wandering around the woods and dancing her way to Weston Lake.
       

Spanish Moss

Hollow Bald Cypress

Bridge on Weston Lake Loop Trail

         
          Wendy walked me in the mud, laughing and singing, "Step lively and don't slip!" For several steps I tip-toed and she flitted about like an elf! We got through the wet patch and the ground was easier  to walk on. According to the Trail Guide it pretty much is 2.5 miles from the Low boardwalk to the Elevated boardwalk, a couple of times Wendy eased me up next to the Cedar Creek and talked about how slow she was, just lazy water. We saw some tracks and big around trees but nothing real amazing.

       

Not sure who they belong to!

Used my trekking pole as a reference! Doesn't show how big it really is. 

Weston Lake, not big, but lovely!

               
          The Elevated Boardwalk is several steps above the Weston Lake Loop Trail and the Low Boardwalk, turn right onto the Elevated Boardwalk and it is a short walk to an overlook of Weston Lake.

Weston Lake

          So now I'm with Edward, he is the guide and guardian of the Elevated Boardwalk. Each morning the three Spirits or unseen beings, Edward, Wendy and Lanie meet here at this junction and have an early cup of coffee, or a cup of coffee early, depending on your point of view! They decide who to escort around their three trails and how much interaction they will give to each hiker.

Elevated Boardwalk

          Edward fussed at me for not talking about the several stops on both the Low and Elevated Boardwalks which point out interesting things to see and tell what they are and their importance to the  Park. [ Pick up a guide at the HHVC ] I stand corrected and apologized for my negligence. I really find Edward to be wooden and hammered together, having a higher opinion of himself then he needs to have and he looks stilted and braced for any emergency. He certainly looked and acted high above the other trails with a very bored expression, we were hiking through a diverse old-growth forest and he didn't have much to say. I was glad to hook back up with Buddy and head to the Longleaf Campground for the first night of rest.

Start of day two.

          Crawled out of the tent to a gray cloudy sky just waiting for the rain to turn this place into a swamp! Boiled some water for a cup of hot tea, Constant Comment tea, have been drinking it for years, it's a spice flavor and I love the smell and taste! Now it reminds me of all the cold camping mornings on the trail and the times I have sat on the shore of Lake Jocassee nursing a cup of tea while the mist runs off to hide for the day. My Gracie laying beside me watching the wintering loons feed in the water and hearing the absolute silence of the wilderness. Primitive camping at its best! OK, back to the Congaree NP. I ate a couple of cold blueberry Pop Tarts with frosting on them and called it breakfast. I mention the frosting because I bought some one day with out frosting and tried to share them with my wife and son, they made fun of me for getting plain Pop Tarts and they would not eat them, no skin off my nose.

          Dressed for rain with my North Face rain jacket and my high tech quick dry pants and my waterproof  LL Bean hunting boots and my wide brim Tilly hat, I was ready for the rain and for a fun day of hiking in the outer areas of the Park. Buddy met me as soon as I left the Longleaf Campground and we quickly got wet — the rain began slow and steady! Buddy handed me to Sarah of the Sims Trail and he scurried back to a dry place mumbling something about idiots that didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain!     Plum purple rubber boots, a two inch lime green strip around the top with those two upside down  U-shaped bright orange pulls on the top covered her feet. She had on bright red leotards and a black miniskirt. Her blue denim  shirt was untucked and covered with embroidered walruses of various colors and sizes. A pink plastic rain jacket, a plain simple blue ball cap and a big yellow umbrella covered with happy smiley faces finished her ensemble. Sarah batted her eyes at me and explained that this trail was pretty but plain so she had to brighten the experience for her hiker people! I was simply smitten by Sarah and her sparkling ways as we strolled with staid steps through the steady rain to the River Trail.

          A buckskin covered man-boy of twenty or so, stepped out of the soggy swamp and grinin' like a moonshine drinkin' possum took my Sarah in his long sleeved fringed arms and laid a kiss on her that was plain embarrassing. Sarah lifted her right foot, like they do in romantic movies and kissed him back, her yellow umbrella was just a spinnin'! Well, how do you like that! I stared off at the water covered swamp and snorted as any decent man would do.

Rain falling in swamp.

          After the kiss, I was introduced to Ralph and he was introduced to me. My guide around the River Trail. Ralph --- rough, rugged, and reckless! He thought of himself as a young country soldier sent to protect me from the dangers of the River Trail. Sarah trailed her fingers along his face and whispered young love words into his ear, then she curtsied to me and said, "Good day Sir" as she backed down the trail and out of sight. [  Sir? Do I really look that old? ] Oh! Well, just me and Ralph. This is the trail that I am excited about hiking, have been anticipating it since I began researching for this trip.

Wet Trail

          Rain is steady coming down as we walk over a mile to the split in the trail, I take the right fork and Ralph adds his agreement so off we go. A very nice hike on this wet day, glad I have my rubber boots on and my wide brimmed hat, sometimes it is a torrential downpour and sometimes a drizzle.

These three pictures show the diversity of the trail as it heads to the Congaree River.

           Ralph has proven himself to be the strong silent type during the first section of a three section loop. He pretty much hunkered down and hiked watching his tall black Wellingtons splash through the soaked trail. His straw colored hair smashed by the leather slouch hat hiding his emerald green eyes, dripped rain and sadness, he misses Sarah! We come to a hard left turn and its river time!

Gauge

First glimpse of river! According to gauge it gets much deeper.

           The rain has stopped and I remove my rain jacket and cinch it under my day pack straps, both Ralph and I become invigorated hearing the rush and power of the mighty Congaree.  Ralph opens his arms and says, "Meet my friend Conrad the Congaree, he is Big and Bold and Brassy!" I stand in awe--That Congaree River is just a movin'! He's not waitin' to call a Taxi or even catch a bus, He's goin' with the flow and the flow is outta here!

Congaree River

Congaree River. Looks like a good place for a canoe!

           The second section of the River Trail follows the river sometimes close and sometimes you can't see it but he is right there flowin' along. Ralph has taken the lead and him and me are wrapped up in our own thoughts, he a thinkin' of Sarah and me a lookin' high and low for a critter of some kind, any kind! Ralph quickly stops and points with a nervous energy, Sarah is gone and a big black pig is a rootin' a few yards in front of us.

I'm zooming as far as I can, not really as close as it looks.

Very excited to get this picture!  Wild hog!

             I take these two pictures, he glances my way and runs for his life! I wasn't sure what he would do, Ralph says they are unpredictable so I showed him my mean face and away he went.

MEAN FACE!!!

            Ralph was so perturbed with me for showing my mean face that he stomped his foot and spit unkind words in my direction. He said I'd be lucky to see another hog, according to him they scare easily. A second hog raced off after the first one and all I saw was black streak, Ralph said, "You shouldn't have shown your mean face!" We stood there in the muddy trail waiting for another one to run by when I heard pigs squealing off yonder in the swampy woods. Me, being a big fan of the James Dickie  movie "Deliverance" could only think of the famous line, "Squeal like a pig!" If you remember the scene, the mountain man is twisting the ear of the city slicker and telling him to squeal like a pig, enough said about that! It really is OK if you don't remember! The wild hogs are considered a nuisance and there is a hunting season for them, Ralph said I could shoot them. I don't carry a gun so that is not an option, I carry a knife inside my day pack so I guess I could stab one of them. The only thing I have used my knife for is opening packages of hot dogs to roast over a bed of hot coals. The hogs will live another day! We hiked slowly hoping to see and photograph more porkers. Nine more looked in my direction and skedaddled off before I could focus enough to get a picture. Ralph repeated, "You showed them your mean face, you scared all of them off!" Two were small like young'uns and the others were teens and older. Total count-eleven. Fantastic emotion to feel the wild ones running through the swamp after they glimpsed, grunted, and groaned at my "mean face".

Another view of Congaree River

Small area that the hogs had rooted around in!

            Ralph and I finished the River Trail, the third leg of the loop is about a mile and then closes up and heads back to the Oakridge Trail. Nothing really exciting happened as we terminated our time together, we were now backtracking and he began to forget me and start to think of Sarah again.

"Gut" or small creek behind sign.

            I'm all alone, hiking on the Oakridge Trail.  I have read that these small creeks or "guts" carry the flood waters into and out  of the floodplain as the level of old Conrad the Congaree rises and falls. The Oakridge Trail its self is not really that long, just about 2.6 miles. Walking through a part of the old-growth forest a slender arm is slipped around my shoulder and as I am gently hugged, Oliver whispers into my ear, "Welcome to my world!" OK! creepy, but Oliver is a friendly guy and you haft to like him.

Oakridge Trail

Oakridge Trail

          Oliver has been around a while, don't  how old he is, but he does like the old-growth forest.  The jade, orange, and teal Bermuda shorts being held up with a white plastic belt were bright but worn. The knee high black socks and sandals put him in the old senior citizen category, the tie dyed wife beater T-shirt came out of nowhere and he never would explain where it came from or why he wore it. Top it all off with a pink pork pie hat and you have Oliver. He talked and told old man stories, some of them twice, I laughed and enjoyed hiking along. We came to a wide wet section and I was beginning to wonder if we could wade across, not to deep for my boots but Oliver only had on sandals. He said not too worry and away he went!

   

The trail goes between the two red markers, nothing but very wet trail! 

                His feet got wet, soaked and water ran up his black socks. He rolled the socks down and showed the ugliest whitest legs I've seen in my whole life and we hiked on! We found this downed tree and I am trying to show how big it is, but not doing it justice.

I can't see over the top standing next to it.

Downed tree in trail.
    

            Oliver said his goodbyes and turned around and walked off when we got to the Weston Lake Loop Trail, I thanked him and waved at his back as he hurried away. In less than a mile I hooked up with the Low Boardwalk and crossed the Sims Trail on my way to the HHVC. Did not see Wendy or Sarah or Lanie on my hike back to the Longleaf Campground. The only person I saw all day was a volunteer  staff worker and we talked for a bit then she offered to give me a lift to the  campground and I rode with her to the parking area. This ended the second day and as you already know this night I ate at the Lizard Thicket.

You have to drive out of the main park to get to this Access point, get a map at information desk.

Kingsnake Trail

           Moving a little slower today, it was cold when I crawled out of the sleeping bag and entered the world of the living. Frost covered my green tent and froze my finger tips as I tried to  roll everything up and neatly pack it in the backpack. Ashamed, Ashamed, Ashamed; I wadded every thing together and  stuffed it in the back of the car. All the way home I hoped I would not be in an accident and get caught being a sloppy camper. At the house I spread all the Stuff out in the basement and after  it dried I neatly put it away for the next trip. Another breakfast of Pop Tarts and my day began. After saying goodbye to my few fellow campers, I drove to the Cedar Creek Canoe Access. Two choices -- canoe the creek or hike the trail? Hike the trail and if I have the time and want to, then canoe!

Kingsnake Trail

            Even though this trail is not an up and down mountain trail I was reminded of the Upstate of South Carolina as I hiked over seven miles out and back. As soon as I crossed the bridge over Cedar Creek, Keith -- with a firm handshake and a pat on the back met me and welcomed me to his part of the Congaree National Park. Keith said that he never leaves the woods and enjoys caring for all the fun animals here in this part of the park. I believed him, he has a distinct odor and faded worn blue jeans and a flannel shirt of indiscernible color. A torn ball cap, maybe white at one time, and comfortable leather moccasins top him off and bottom him out. Keith pointed out some giant cherrybark oak trees and laughed with me when he said, "Their bark is worst then their bite!"

More Trail

         

Raccoon

Bobcat

          Trail passed by a large cypress-tupelo slough.

Slough

Lots of trees in water!

          We hiked along side of the Cedar Creek and Keith introduced her as Cherl - I would call her weak and mousy with just a touch of timid. Cherl is not only waiting for the next bus to stop by, she is sitting next to Forest Gump and listening to his stories!

Kingsnake Trail by Cedar Creek

Kingsnake Trail by Cedar Creek

A very placid Cedar Creek

I turn around and go back to car.

          Keith takes me to where Kingsnake joins Oakridge and then we turn around and head back to the trail head. This day has been beautiful and not cold or hot, Keith and I return to my car and he tries to get me to canoe so he can paddle with me, but I say no and we part as friends.

          It has been a good three days! A good place to hike! A nice clean Park and helpful Staff.



          In the woods or on the water,

          Turtle

A nice picture!