ACTUALLY, IT’S NOT A SWAMP
We headed in a different
direction last weekend. Christy was
looking for a long, but easy hike.
Temperatures had plummeted to near normal levels, but seemed frigid
after two weeks of spring-like weather in January. All of this combined to make Congaree National Park, near
Columbia, SC, an appealing destination.
The park features plenty of trails, but is absolutely flat, which
promised an easy hike. Plus, heading
away from the mountains assured us of milder weather.
We met SC Jack at the new
park Visitor’s Center after a 90-minute drive from Charlotte. The Visitor’s Center is just one of the more
obvious improvements since Congaree received National Park designation. Until a few years ago, it was known as
Congaree Swamp National Monument. Since
then, it became a park, but is no longer a swamp. The “swamp” was dropped from the name because, technically, it
isn’t one. Actually, it is merely an
old-growth forest that floods approximately 10 times a year. Whatever it is, it does provide a nice place
for an easy hike under some truly impressive trees.
We toured the Visitor’s
Center briefly and picked up a new, attractive trail map before hitting the
boardwalk. The park’s boardwalks make a
2-mile loop through what is probably the most scenic section of the park. They lead past cypress and tupelo trees in
the wetter areas, and towering pines in the few places that typically stay
dry. Cypress knees dot the landscape,
and bright green palmettos add color to the largely open forest.
Dogs aren’t allowed on the
boardwalks, so we had left Saucony home this time, to her disappointment. Surprisingly, dogs are allowed on leashes
elsewhere in the park.
After almost a mile, we left
the boardwalk and followed a muddy stretch of trail towards Wise Lake. We crossed a sturdy bridge over Cedar Creek,
which flows through the heart of the park.
Canoeing Cedar Creek may be the best way to see Congaree, as it flows
through the heart of the park. Most of
the park is trail-less, and too wet for cross-country travel. To see more of it, we’ll have to bring our
canoe next time.
Beyond Cedar Creek, we took
a short break at Wise Lake before continuing on towards the Congaree
River. The trail continued to pass
under impressive trees and over numerous bridges. However, the last stretch of the hike, closer to the river, was
less impressive. That part of the park
had been logged previously, and the difference was obvious. Still, it provided a pleasant, quiet place
to walk.
The trail generally stayed
back away from the river, but we found a marked side trail that led out to a
sandbar. The sandy banks could serve as
campsites, but we utilized them only for a quick lunch. We found the river to be wide and muddy, and
much less interesting than Cedar Creek and the other ponds and streams in the
interior of the park.
After lunch, we followed the
rest of the River Trail loop back towards the Visitor’s Center. We turned away from the river, following
what appeared to be a tributary. Oddly,
the water in the tributary stream was flowing backwards. Instead of flowing into the river, part of
the flow from the river was rushing into the channel, heading downstream
towards the heart of the park.
We had kept a steady 3
mile-per-hour pace on the hike out, and may have exceeded that pace on the
return. Christy and Jack were moving
fast, and I had to struggle to keep up at times. We didn’t see anyone in the morning, but passed an interesting
assortment of hikers that afternoon.
Most intriguing was a group of hippies that may or may not have been
stoned.
We returned to Cedar Creek,
and followed a service road back towards the Visitor’s Center. The gravel road provides hikers with dogs an
alternative to the boardwalks. When we
reached the boardwalk though, we followed it around to complete the loop. We finished our 11-mile hike after only 4 ½
hours of hiking time. I’m pretty sure
that set some sort of speed record for us.
The next time we visit Congaree, I hope it is in the form of a leisurely
canoeing trip.
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