Well we had originally planed to sail my Potter 19 on Lake Murray this last Friday, but an essential ingredient, the wind, was missing. So we decided to canoe the Enoree instead. It was a fine day. The water was low and there have been several flooding events since last time I paddled the section from Whitmire to Bazzleman Bridge. This river runs through the Sumter National Forest for much of it’s course. even though the temps were in the low 90s the water was 75. We stayed comfortable the whole day. In fact we spooked 3 different deer bedded near the river to take advantage of the cooler air near the river. I have seen wild hogs, and deer in the river over the years. What always amazes me is we never see anyone paddling on this river. I know they do, but the lack of use means you have great solitude in a wild setting.
The highlight of this trip was dodging the new deadwood and trees fallen in the river that happened in the recent flooding. We often have to portage around them, But as things turned out we never had to portage this trip. We manged to to stay on the water the entire trip even though there was much more debris and log jams in the river than in past trips. It was like dancing on the river with the canoe as we did sharp turns and maneuvers around the obstructions and sweepers with a 2mph current pushing us. It is a pleasure to paddle a tandem with someone and work as a unit. Frank and I have been paddling together many times, and to be in sync when it counts adds to the pleasure, and also keeps you dry! I am posting a few photos.
The railway bridge just below the put in up stream of Whitmire.
some of the dead wood in the river.
A newly fallen tree across the river.
Picking a route through.
tight way through I had to step on a log to get the back of the canoe over it.
Looks open enough.
this looks a bit tricky.
Brazzleman Bridge and an old horse buggy bridge missing the planking in the foreground.
