Castoff and I got together yesterday because I needed OUT. You can relate.
He lives in a sparsely settled part of SC.
He took me on a tour of his turkey hunting spots ; the season starts in about 3 weeks.
And demonstrated several different calls. We got no response but it was a chilly, windy day.
We also checked out 2 rivers, the Enoree and the Broad. Both running high and muddy. There aren’t many paved ramps and the throw ins were no place I wanted to walk (slide) down , or think about crawling up.
Both Rivers, and the nearby Saluda, flow through heavy forest. Much of it National Forest.
Spring is a great time to paddle them when everything is fresh and green. Something to look forward to.
It was fun, and eating at Bill and Fran’s is never disappointing. The water was up in the rivers and running fast. They are calling for a good bit of rain starting this weekend, but Monday and Tuesday looks like the best chance of an inch or more on already saturated ground. Both the Tyger and Enoree can rise surprisingly fast having no dams. The Cardinals (called Red Birds in the South) are singing “Pretty, Pretty, Pretty”, and the Jonquils and Daffodils are blooming. Days like today and yesterday sure get the blood flowing with the promise of spring.
Here’s something to make you feel better about your rain and mud, string: the view from my den (there’s a deck somewhere underneath those drifts). Glad you two had such a great day.
We were a bit off though. The cheap shots were at a minimum, and we are both experts.
When we were calling turkeys in the piney woods, I noticed that the air was as clean as any I’ve smelled and tasted in months. A lot to be said about being 60 miles from a city.
Yes, mud. I sure hope 2019 is dryer than 2018.
“Pretty, pretty, pretty,” are the woods by muddy river,
but shadowless varmint’s speech is prognostic of misgiver.
Jack oft stalks in vortices where palmetto lambs recline,
And frozen mud might bear imprint of March between its lions.
The upstate of South Carolina is looking at
rain for the next 8 days. I think we have a lot more mud on the way.
The mud is back. Those dry days were just a tease. Our ground was so saturated that when Michael visited with his 55 mph winds it pushed over MANY trees. They just got some trails cleared in the local park and a nearby house that was badly smashed is just now being repaired. Here comes more rain.
The video could be the start of a whole new racing circuit.
Rookie. we apparently moved ahead of your general area in snow totals, just by a few inches. 109 to 106 although exact location does probably change things.
I like to check the snow thermometer near Calumet just for fun. It is at 224" so far this year. I think the record for that area was almost 400".
We’ve had ice out and mud in and mud out and snow in then everything clear half a dozen times this winter. Conditions change so often it’s been hard to know what to expect from day to day. The TV stations keep warning that “no ice is safe”. But there is much more daylight and better paddling days are on the way.
@TomL said:
We’ve had ice out and mud in and mud out and snow in then everything clear half a dozen times this winter. Conditions change so often it’s been hard to know what to expect from day to day. The TV stations keep warning that “no ice is safe”. But there is much more daylight and better paddling days are on the way.
Amen!
In southern New England we had sun and temp’s in the 40’s yesterday, so I got out for a run. A little snow on the banks, but no ice on the river, and no mud…
The water is cold, though, down in the low 30’s.
@Yooper16 said:
Rookie. we apparently moved ahead of your general area in snow totals, just by a few inches. 109 to 106 although exact location does probably change things.
We have had 11 inches of snow this year - almost embarrassing.
@Yooper16 said:
The video could be the start of a whole new racing circuit.Rookie. we apparently moved ahead of your general area in snow totals, just by a few inches. 109 to 106 although exact location does probably change things.
You’re welcome to all of it, @Yooper16, although I sure don’t wish any more pile-ups on Big Mac, as reported last week. Am uneasy driving over it in the summer let alone during a howling snowstorm with white-out conditions. That had to be one scary scene.
Yes, we’re about 10 inches below our average 141" of snow, but it’s not over till the fat lady sings a spring lullaby. That’s iffy too as late April 2018 a storm dumped 22" in one weekend.
@eckilson. How low do your winter temps drop?
This time of year days are usually in the 30’s, nights in the 20’s. We can have extended periods of time in the teens, but it hasn’t happened often this winter. I just saw the weather for next week, and we are going to have temps in the 40’s and rain. Hopefully more paddling next weekend 
If it keeps raining , I’ll be able to paddle out my back yard. It is predicted to do that for the next 5 days.
Of course down on the Suwannee River, Fl there isn’t much mud. Its covered with water.
Shoot even the swimming pools are covered up with water. There is normally mud between the building and the spring/pool. (Convict spring)
Which is all good since we went out last week with some “drifters” and averaged 4.3 mph on 12 mile run. Most of the springs though are “browned” and covered with high water. Note this was about 2-4 feet below “flood”.