Paddling with Cicadas Below Hartwell Dam

Thursday was going to be a spectacular day and I was bound and determined to take advantage of it. I ran through my list of local paddling venues trying to decide where to go. I settled on a new place that wasn’t too far away that I’d been wanting to explore. I launched from a boat landing on the Savannah River at the Smith McGee Bridge.

I had scouted this area several times before, walking out onto the remaining bit of the old steel trestle bridge that now serves as a fishing platform. That’s on the Georgia side of the Savannah. I had seen a boat ramp on the SC side, but I hadn’t really checked it out.

When I arrived there wasn’t much activity. There were a couple of trailers parked along the side and I could see a couple of boats out fishing. The water was glassy with amazing reflections of the sky. I got my gear set and ready for launch.

I headed north toward the old bridge. There is a pumping station opposite the bridge and I had observed an amazing whirlpool just off the end of the bridge when the station was active. I didn’t want to get caught in that turbulence, so I stuck to the right bank.

My GPS showed several small islands with narrow channels along the bank. I decided to follow those so that I wouldn’t interfere with a guy fishing from this boat. It got rather shallow in these spots. Looking at the sandy bottom through the clear water I felt like I was in an airship looking down at the Sahara. Sadly, I couldn’t get the same effect in a photo without a polarized lens.

From the moment I arrived at the landing I could hear the cicadas. As I paddled closer to the woods along the banks the sound became more pronounced. To me, this sounds like something out of science fiction, like a Star Trek phaser. I tried to get a recording with my iPhone. Here’s a brief sample of the sound.

Some of these were islands in the Savannah River long before Lake Russell was built. Hewin Island is one of the larger ones on this section. Behind it Big Generostee Creek flows into the river. I decided to explore it as far as I could.

Along the creek I found a beautiful refuge. There is no development along the banks and there is no way motor boats can get up here. There was a bend in the creek, a small island, then a set of impassable shoals. To me it looked like a perfect spot for a Lowcountry Unfiltered hangout with a rock ledge just right for grilling brats.

I’m not familiar with this area at all. It looks like the perfect spot for an old mill. One of the rocks looked like it had score marks, as if it had been worked. This was the only sign of civilization in the area.

I could have just hung out at this spot all day. Reluctantly, I headed back down the creek and exited from the north end of Hewin Island onto the main part of the river. From here I had a good view of the Lake Hartwell Dam and Highway 29 bridge.

I was as close to the dam as I wanted to get. I could see a line of markers across the river about a half a mile away and assumed it was a demarcation between safety and hazard.

On the other side of the river was another large island – Derritt Island. According to Google Maps it looked like there were other tributary creeks that would be fun to explore. I crossed the river and headed that direction.

As it turned out, Google Maps was wrong. I could only get a little ways behind the island before I came to a dead end.

I retraced my steps back to the main channel. Just as I rounded the north end of the island a horn sounded from the dam. I had a bit of a panic. Were they about to release lots of water? Was I safe where I was? I figured I was probably OK since I was already quite a ways downstream from the safety line. Even so, I picked up my pace a bit. The horn was still sounding as I rounded the south end of Derritt Island. I pulled in, thinking that if there was a release, I’d be OK behind the island.

Turns out I had nothing to fear. The water level didn’t change a bit, as far as I could tell. As for the island, this part was just as blocked as the north end. Instead of sand, I was now floating over eerie beds of vegetation. I headed on back out from this cove.

Heading back downstream I stuck to the Georgia side of the river. I paddled under both the new and old Smith McGee Bridges.

The landing was in sight, but I wasn’t done paddling. I saw another island back in a cove about a mile south of the landing. I decided that Green’s Island would be my turn around point. I headed on down, but when I got there, no island. Instead, there were warning signs about a shoal. I’m guessing that’s all that’s left of Green’s Island.

Back on the South Carolina side, though, there was another unnamed island with a quiet channel. That one took me almost all of the way back to the put-in.

By this time the wind was starting to pick up and the lake wasn’t as glassy as it had been. I was glad the wind was at my back, but it was time to get off the water. I hadn’t come prepared for an all-day paddle and didn’t have lunch or sufficient water. Even so, I managed 7.4 miles on this trip.

I’m glad I decided to check out this new paddling venue. It’s a keeper, and it’s not that far from home. One of the things I like about Lake Russell is that there is no development along the banks. While there may not be waterfalls like Jocassee, it’s still a great getaway for a day of paddling.