Saluda Lake

 

We are paddling on Saluda Lake, Greenville County SC.   -- 331 acre reservoir--  It impounds the Saluda River which separates Greenville and Pickens counties. The Put in ramp is accessed through a private lot and the fee for our canoe was $5.00. Steep slick ramp, I had to be real careful getting sat down and situated to paddle. The 10 year old was nimble enough to jump in and help secure/stabilize the canoe as I plopped myself on the hard plastic seat. 

We headed toward the right part of the lake, not knowing where we were going but hoping to find and paddle upstream. A sand bar hidden under the water slowed the exploring canoe to a stop. Paddle pushing and gut grunting we overcame the bar, I was annoyed with myself because years before the same thing happened. Finding deeper water, we followed the shore seeing turtles logged on for a group chat and a single heron standing around with a hungry look in it's eye. Quickly realized the river wasn't here, we meandered to the left side and stopped on a huge sand island once again stuck and annoyed with ourselves. I stayed on my seat and Wyatt pushed, sinking halfway up his calves. Freedom allowed him to clean up and we were once again on our way in search of the Saluda River. Deeper water and stress free paddling put the fun back into the relaxing search for the moving water. I'd been sitting on the hard seat for over an hour with my knees higher than my buttocks and I was stiff and cramped. No easy place to stop and disembark this weary body. Wyatt would stand or sit with ease, talking all the time about nothing. We searched for a spot of sand on the shoreline where we could stop and stretch without much ado about nothing, and way on the other side we found one. A fallen tree was half in the water and half on the sand making our landing a challenge; we overcame and were able to pull the bow up enough to be on firm ground. Slow and unsteady does it, with the help of dead branches and Wyatt anchoring the canoe, I pulled  myself up to a bent standing position very rusty in the joints. You see the snake which swam around the back end of the canoe and came on land, Wyatt was able to get a couple of pictures. --It is always exciting to see a snake up close. 

Time was leaving us so we set out for the boat ramp. The return paddle was uneventful because the deep channel was clearly marked with buoys. If we do this again, and I'm sure we will, the way will be easy.Years ago when I ventured up the river, I was able to move quite a ways up stream and have a nice float back down. Four hours on the lake, not hot, a pleasant way spend an afternoon.

On the water,

Turtle