Paddling – Page 5 – Random Connections

A Long Wet Hike on Long Cane Creek

May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 Tom 10 Comments

History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography

It was time to plan another Second Saturday trip with Lowcountry Unfiltered. We’ve been trying to expand our trips, visiting places that we haven’t done multiple times. There are lots of waterways in this state, so I don’t think we’ll exhaust our opportunities, but it’s fun to see new stretches of water. This time we decided to paddle part of the Little River Blueway, specifically, a section of Long Cane Creek. Our route would take us through a very remote, historical section of South Carolina, but there would be many, many obstacles before we reached the end of our paddle.

Paddling Oconee River from Dyar Pasture

April 19, 2017 Tom No Comments

Paddling, Photography

Laura was in Florida for the Easter Weekend visiting her mother and sister, and I was spending time with my brother Houston at his home in Georgia. Every time we get together Houston tells me about all the paddling opportunities near his house, but I’d never had a chance to try them out…until now. On this Saturday before Easter we decided to launch from the Dyar Pasture Recreation Area and explore Lake Oconee and the Oconee River.

Return to Church Island

April 11, 2017April 11, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

Several weeks ago I received a Facebook friend request from Deb Mims. Deb and I had never met, but she had read several of my posts here. I’m usually very cautious when I get a request like this out of the blue. However, Deb had some interesting things going on, so I accepted. I’m glad I did, as it led to an excellent kayaking trip and the potential for more exploration.

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Spring Break in Florida

March 15, 2017 Tom No Comments

Family, Music, Paddling, Photography, Travel

Spring Break in Florida. Sounds like it should be a wonderful escape. However, when the trip revolves around caring for an elderly parent things can get…complicated. Such was this past week. There were some nice escapes, and we spent lots of time with Laura’s mom.

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Exploring the Old Santee Canal – Part Four, Paddling the Canal

February 16, 2017February 16, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography

Second Saturday had finally arrived. I’d spent Friday exploring Berkeley County, specifically the Old Santee Canal Park. Now I’d be joined by my fellow kayakers from Lowcountry Unfiltered to explore the upper end of the old canal from where it enters Lake Moultrie. It was time to get on the water.

Breezy Winter Paddles on Lakes Robinson and Blalock

January 27, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling

Been a rough couple of weeks. Once again I was in need of hydrotherapy. I did a 6.66 mile trip on Lake Robinson last Friday, and on Wednesday of this week Bennie and I had planned to make an early start for Lake Tugalo. Sadly, illness in Bennie’s family kept him at home, so I was on my own. I decided to paddle a bit closer to home. I made the drive up to Lake Blalock in Spartanburg County.

Friday the 13th on Lake Russell

January 15, 2017January 15, 2017 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling

So far my paddling trips to Lake Russell have been fraught with intrigue. Last time I dubbed the trip the “Paddle through Mordor” because of all of the smoke from forest fires in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This time Bennie Waddell and I would tempt fate by going kayaking on Friday the 13th.

Return to Andersonville Island

December 8, 2016December 11, 2016 Tom 3 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Paddling, Photography, Rambling

Just because it’s December doesn’t mean that we stop paddling. Heck, for this particular trip we even went swimming, but that’s getting ahead of things a bit. Fellow explorer, and now fellow paddler Mark Elbrecht proposed a trip out to Andersonville Island to see if we could spot the ruins that everyone says are there. Bennie Waddell had just gotten a new kayak, and I lacked only 6 miles to push me over the 200 mark for the year. Of course, agreed to come along. Turned out to be a great trip with unexpected finds and unexpected excitement. But, I guess the word “unexpected” is redundant. Regardless…

Paddling through Mordor

November 16, 2016 Tom 3 Comments

Paddling, Photography

I was in serious need of some hydrotherapy. I’d been in a funk ever since the election. To make matters worse, wildfires in the mountains of North and South Carolina had cast a pall of hazy smoke over everything. I told someone that I guess it was appropriate that the world looks like Mordor now that Trump has been elected. Add to that all of the other anxieties in our family life right now, and it was time to hit the water. I was able to find some solace, but it came at a price.

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Mid-Week Jocassee

September 29, 2016 Tom 4 Comments

Paddling, Photography

Bennie Waddell and I have been trying to keep to our paddling schedule, even though we haven’t been able to make it work every week. Regardless of whether or not we can actually paddle that day (sickness, weather, conflict, etc., etc) I think it’s important that it at least be on the schedule. We’re more likely actually to hit the water than simply saying, “Oh we need to do X someday…” Wednesday the stars aligned, and we were both able to take the trip up to Lake Jocassee that we had missed last week. It was an excellent day of paddling.

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