As we’re now in to full blown summer, remember to stay hydrated!
If you don’t get enough water, your body simply can’t perform as well and you could end up with heat related illness such as heat stress or heat stroke. Using a hydration bladder is way better than just bottled water. When people relying on just bottled water, they tend to wait until they are thirsty to get their water out and drink, then they gulp water. If you feel thirsty, your body is already becoming dehydrated. When using a hydration bladder you can sip continuously, greatly leveling out your water in-take and making staying hydrated easier. If you are sweating while hiking or working in the summer heat, remember you are dumping electrolytes too. You need to replenish them. Munching on salty snack as you hike helps keep both your energy levels up and replaces electrolytes you may be sweating out.
Carry plenty of water and a few snacks. Remember your pack will get lighter as the day wears on.
Radar and I hit the boardwalks of the Congaree National Park as part of our Palmetto Challenge and we were not disappointed. The last time I had visited the Congaree swamp area, it was the Congaree Swamp National Monument. There was just a basic visitor center, a few hundred feet of boardwalk, and an open field designated for camping. Congress did a great thing in 2003 when they re-designated the monument as the Congaree National Park.
Many improvements have been made as a result of the national park (NP) designation. The campsites have been upgraded to actual real designated camp sites with central latrines. There is paved parking and a new, much larger, visitor center which explains the history and importance of the entire Congaree basin. It’s here you can also pick up the map and narrative for the Self-guided Boardwalk Tour, which Radar and I did at the start of our walk. The best part of the the park improvements are expansion of the boardwalks and trails. There are almost two and a half miles of boardwalks with dozens of miles of foot trails winding deep through the rich swamp.
On the day of our visit, the weather was perfect. The trees were in their spring green and their high 130 foot canopy providing wonderful shade and a cool breeze. The river water however was elevated at just over 8 feet, and as part of the natural flood cycle, almost all of the low trails were underwater including a portion of the low boardwalk. We walked the low boardwalk out about a half mile to where the flooding waters took over. We stood at the waters edge and watched the water slowly making it’s way through the trees around us. It was kind of magical to be able to stand in the middle of a flooded, flowing swamp. We backtracked and followed the elevated boardwalk out to Weston Lake and then a little past where one of the trails intersected the boardwalk. The floodwaters prevented us from looping any of the trails this day, but we had a great time exploring anyway.
This park offers some great opportunities to explore a rare old growth forest, either afoot or afloat. You can hike deep in to the park on the River & Kingsnake trails. if you like paddling, you can take some amazing float trips through the swamp via canoe or kayak on Cedar Creeks and along the Congaree River itself. My first couple canoe trips in South Carolina were centered around the Congaree River and Swamp. My family and I canoed a very memorable 48 miles of the Congaree River, camping in the wilderness on the banks of the Congaree Park (National Monument at the time). The following month, I led a weekend canoe trek with my scout troop starting on Cedar Creek in the swamp and making our way out on to the Congaree River, again camping in the wilderness. Both trips were adventures in exploration of a wilderness not likely to be found anywhere else.
Conagree NP Weston Lake
As the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottom-land hardwood forest in North America, the Congaree National Park is a must-visit if you ever find yourself in the area.
Congaree National Park (120′) | SC 48 (Bluff Road) | Richland Co. | Hopkins, SC | 16 April 2019 | 6 miles | 106′ gain | Easy
Favorite Time of year: Spring and fall for camping.
Things to Know: Check the water levels prior to going, you can call or check the river gauges here. Please speak to a park ranger before setting a geocache.
Camping: You need a prepaid reservation for front-country campgrounds, you can make reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Back-country camping is allowed please the the Camping page of the NP site for details.
Pet friendly: Pets allowed in most outdoor areas but must be physical restraint or on a leash not longer than six feet. Be respectful of others on the boardwalks.
Getting There: Congaree NP is in the midlands of South Carolina, just South of Columbia about 30 miles, East of I-26 and South of I-77, just off Old Bluff Road. It’s about an hours drive from the Charleston area.
Are you looking for a new or replacement headlamp but not sure what to get? Between styles, cost, weight, lumens, batteries, different settings etc. It can get really confusing. Check out this headlamp guide from REI, it’s a great resource to help sift through some of the jargon. Whatever you settle on, consider a headlamp which uses common (AA or AAA) batteries. My headlamp uses AAA’s and I can a long time between needing to re-battery. A few years ago, while section hiking a part of the Appalachian Trail, I met a fellow hiker in the Nantahala Outdoor Center gear store. He was very frustrated, his “fancy” headlamp used special button batteries and of course the batteries had died several days prior. He had dropped off trail a couple times trying to find new button batteries with No-Joy, he couldn’t find replacement batteries anywhere and finally ended up just buying a new headlamp. Increasing your gear reliability and supportability will help save yourself some miles of future frustrations.
Located on the high limestone bluff on a gentle bend in the Edisto River, Givhans Ferry State Park offers a relaxing place to sit and watch the river flow by.
Relax on the porch of the Riverfront Hall a popular spot for family gatherings (from the SCSP web site).
Just 35 miles from downtown Charleston, Givhans Ferry has cabins, RV, and standard tent sites, as well as a primitive camping area. This park has the unique distinction of being located at the end of the 23-mile Edisto River kayak and canoe trail which begins upriver at Colleton State Park. The Edisto River is the longest free-flowing, blackwater river in North America. There is a really nice sand beach for wading and swimming along with a new integrated ramp for launching and recovery of canoes and kayaks making this a must do for paddle craft sports.
The bridge in Givhans Ferry State Park on the River Bluff Trail
For hiking, Givhans has a fairly short 1.5 mile River Bluff trail in the main park, however if you cross the road at the park entrance you can pick up the 4.7 mile Old Loop Trail which winds around the perimeter of the largely undeveloped park boundary with woods on both sides. Radar and I took a day and hiked both the River bluff trail and then the Old Loop trail as one big loop, for just over 7.4 miles returning to where we started.
Hiking the Old Loop Trail with Radar
The park is located where there was a ferry crossing the river dating way back to the 1700’s. In the 1930’s, this was one of the original 16 South Carolina state parks built with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park consists of about 988 acres and offers swimming, fishing, boating, and bird watching. There are also picnic shelters, a playground, and several geocaches are located on the park.
On the bluff is a small grave for Mary E. Ford
Givhans Ferry State Park (123′) | County Rd S-18-30 |Ridgeville | Dorchester, SC | 11 March 2019 | 7.4 miles | 163′ gain | Moderate
Favorite Time of year: Spring and fall for camping.
Things to Know: Please speak to a park ranger before setting a geocache. Swimming is permitted in the Edisto River, but with no life guard, at your own risk of course.
Camping: Camping from RV to primitive is available at Givhans. go here for reservations or call (843) 873-0692.
Pet friendly: Pets allowed in most outdoor areas but must be physical restraint or on a leash not longer than six feet.
Getting There: Givhans is in the lowcountry of South Carolina, just East of Summerville, between I-95 and I-26, just off SC-61N. It’s about an hours drive from the Charleston area.
Looking to upgrade or replace gear? Watch for sales.
I know, I know. This sounds like “duh, no kidding.” It’s tempting, but new camping – hiking – backpacking gear can be crazy expensive. If you want to sale a little money, be patient and spend some time figuring out what you’re really looking for in a particular item. There’s so much information available now you can compare features and pricing easily. Considering last years model may save you considerably on “new” gear. Expect to pay full retail price on the new gear when it first comes out. When the “latest and greatest” new gear does come out however, stores will often discount the old or last years model to move it to make room for the new. I had been thinking about a new backpack for some time but the packs I had been considering were several hundred dollars and I just couldn’t make the plunge. And as luck would have it, one day there was an ad, I did some quick research, and was able to pick up a name brand backpack for half price because it was last years model. The best part is it’s also half the weight of my old pack!
There is little worse than being warmly huddled in a tent at 2 AM as the heavy rain starts, and there is a drip on your forehead. Except maybe waking up cold and wet to a flooded tent. Depending on how often you camp or use your gear, applying a fresh coat of waterproofing at the beginning of the season helps keep you happy when it rains.
The obvious item to hit is the tent rain fly, but also consider a healthy application of water proofing on other exposed tent fabric, backpacks, shoes, and even your rain gear. After several years of wear and tear and cleaning and washing, some of the original waterproofing may need a boost. Another useful tool in the weather proofing toolbox is seam sealer. Check the stitched seams for your rain fly’s and exposed tent seams for old or no sealer. It’s a huge help in stopping leaks where stitching pokes holes in the fabric. Apply as needed and of course follow the manufacture application instructions.
Checking your gear and applying fresh waterproofing and seam sealer (as needed) at the beginning of the camping season goes a long way toward extending the life of your tent and other gear, not to mention keeping have a dry place to go when the rains come.
I signed us up for the 2019 Palmetto Trail Challenge and Radar is going to be my plus one. He just doesn’t know it yet.
This 48 day event is hosted by the Palmetto Conservation Foundation (PCF) and is intended to inspire teams to hike or bike as many miles as possible between March 11 and April 28 “on the state’s trails, greenways, sidewalks, and hallways” (yes, they said hallways).
This is great motivation to get out and hike more. I needed some trail time to help me prepare for this summer’s Appalachian Trail section hike with our volunteer group this summer. I’ve been doing fair amount of daily walking (along with other fitness stuff) around the neighborhood, but I want to get out more and see some of the local trails too. The challenge sounds kind of open ended if it includes “hallways” but I intend to use the challenge to close some of the trail section gaps I have in the Palmetto Trail, as well as hit the local trails around me. For Radar, he loves taking walks and hikes with me. He regularly walks with me in the neighborhood and we have done a couple day hikes in state parks like Lee and Croft, he has been a really great trail partner. With this challenge I hope to include at least one overnighter with him. I fully expect to work him (and me) up to both our longer hikes and our first over night camping experience. This should be a great learning experience for both of us. I’m excited for him. He just doesn’t know it yet but he’ll be excited too.
Radar Radar sporting his Ruffwear day pack
So, whats a challenge without a goal? I’m going to put 200 miles on the table as our goal. We’ll see. I thing it’s obtainable with enough stretch to be motivating. But I’m not including any hallways.
Each week the teams send in their prior week total mileage, it gets recorded and displayed on the PCF website to help motivate the other teams. It seems last years participants hiked 8,000 mikes. If you are interested in taking up the challenge, then March 4th (noon) is the last day to register!
In today’s local paper, it was reported state tourism is at record levels “marking six years of consecutive record-breaking growth for the state’s visitor industry” according to the Post and Courier. Buried about half way through the article was a couple paragraphs indicating the state park system has “become almost entirely self-sufficient.”
Traveling across the country, I’ve often camped at parks. They are a welcome change from the commercial overcrowded main-stream lodging options. I love state and federal parks, there is so much hidden beauty and history in them. When I first moved to South Carolina over twenty years ago, it was readily apparent the states parks were under funded and under maintained. Kind of like a well worn deck of playing cards, a bit worn around the edges. Heck, some were out right in horrible shape. Colleton State Park was little more than a gate with a dirt road to the river front. Today it’s a little gem in the South Carolina crown of park jewels. This rise from the dust didn’t happen overnight and improvements across the state seem to be ongoing. A lot of hard work by dedicated park rangers have elevated each park from dependency to independence.
Having a park system which is paying their own way is a huge plus-up for the state. With over $30 million in park revenue last year they are just about paying their own way now and still improving. The powers that be are to be commended for the long hard trail to self-sufficiency they have been hiking. Support your local parks system, Come Out & Play!
This is one of the biggest outdoor conservation bills in a long time and it looks like it’s been done right. While the bill still needs to make it through the House and then be signed by the President, this bill has an impact in just about every state of the nation and when signed, will have a positive and lasting impact for a long time to come.
The Senate, working together, in a seemingly and sometimes rare bipartisan manner, passed S.47 – Natural Resources Act. The bill is to protect millions of acres of land, hundreds of miles of wild rivers, and establishing four new national monuments. Legally, by congress coming together to pass federal legislation. This is hugely important to the outdoor community and should be as important to everyone. The outdoor community at first was celebratory with former President Obama’s executive orders declaring new areas as protected lands, then anguishing as current President Trump looked at undoing some of these “protected” areas. Many may have felt rightly upset, as if the outdoor conservation rug had been pulled out from under them.
This bill makes a giant step forward in cementing the protection of what Americans love about our lands. From wilderness area, to historical areas, to outdoor sports and activities we enjoy, this bill has something for just about any one who steps outside of their house. This new legislation is a huge win for everyone really. If you read the Tribune’s article, you get an idea of the magnitude of this piece of legislation. And unlike executive orders, bills like this will have the proper funding to go with it for park and program maintenance.
Hiking back down from Pike’s Peak into the forest
A view down from Pike’s Peak with the boulder field in the foreground
The tundra along the trail to Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak
The new 14er hikers, all finished safe and mostly sound
The value of this bill really struck home with me as I was reading over the introduction in Section 1 of the bill. One of the very first things I read was about the Crags Land Exchange to enhance the Pike’s National Forest and provide permanent trail easement. This is the side of Pikes Peak I climbed with my family. For me anyway, this is an amazing section of trail and land. The experience was something I will hold dear to me. If any of the rest of the areas or items in the bill are worth even a fraction of the Crags portion and my experience hiking there, then this bill is priceless in providing current and future generations with the best outdoor experience possible.
If you like the outdoors, then Croft State Park has something for you. From horses to bikes to hiking to boating to shooting sports, this park offers a heavy helping of fun for everyone and is another outstanding South Carolina destination to explore.
Located in the rolling, wooded terrain of the upstate, Croft has an amazing amount of trails within the park to explore. All the 50 miles of trails at Croft are open to hikers and include the 12.6 mile Croft Passage of the Palmetto Trail, almost 17 miles of trails for Mountain Bikes, and another 17 miles of horse trails. While my girlfriend rode the horse trails with her friends, Radar and I took a day and hiked just about 13 miles of various trails including 8.5 of the Palmetto Trail section. We barely scratched where we could go.
This park opened in 1949 and with 7054 acres, is the third largest in the South Carolina State Park system. Besides the hiking, biking, and horseback riding, this park is packed with other things to do too. There are about 190 acres between the two lakes which support fishing, boating, and bird watching. There are picnic shelters, a playground, and several geocaches are located on the park. This is also one of the few South Carolina Sate Parks with a shooting range (contact the park for more information).
Favorite Time of year: Anytime for camping.
Things to Know: Please speak to a park ranger before setting a geocache. Swimming is not permitted in the lake, but you may wade in the Fairforest Creek at your own risk of course.
Camping: Camping from RV to primitive is available at Croft. Call 1-866-345-PARK (or go here for reservations).
Pet friendly: Pets allowed in most outdoor areas but must be physical restraint or on a leash not longer than six feet.
Getting There: Croft is in the upstate of South Carolina, just 5 minutes South and East of Spartanburg, between I-26 and US-176. It’s about a 4 hour drive from the Charleston area.
