This was likely the final big trip of the season. The Helpdesk team and Gusto headed to Mount Pleasant, SC, for their second visit to the KOA campground this year. This time, however, we began our adventure at Ashley River Park, located along the Ashley River. We kayaked a total of 8.7 miles round trip—paddling downstream before turning around and making the return journey against a steady current.

After this paddle we checked into our cabin at the KOA and then had dinner at Home Team BBQ in Mount Pleasant. Good Paddle and good food.  Also a very nice sunset from just outside the cabin. 

We experienced some early morning nature action in the canal behind the cabin. Really interesting to watch these guys hunt.  They would scratch with their feet and hold their mouths open waiting for a crab or fish to come up from the bottom.  

After the bird watching was complete we headed off to Bulls Island.  I've heard it referred two both ways; Bull Island and Bulls Island.  So I did some research and found the following document.  Seems like it is Bulls Island afterall. Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

Bulls Island, as it is known today, was originally called Oneiscau, a name given by the Sewee Indians. The Sewee tribe inhabited the region north of Charleston and along the Santee Rivers throughout the 1600s and into the early 1700s. They thrived in this area, hunting game and fishing the tidal creeks for food. The name "Oneiscau" is thought to mean "island people," a fitting description of the Sewee's deep connection to the islands and waterways in this region.

In 1669, English settlers set sail for the new province of Carolina, which would eventually become South Carolina. On March 15, 1670, they arrived at Oneiscau and were greeted by the Sewee people. After a brief encounter, the settlers continued their journey down the coast to the Kiawah River, where they established what is now Charleston.

Among the early settlers was Stephen Bull, a prominent leader who would later be appointed Colonel of the militia for the province. Over time, Bull’s name became so strongly associated with Oneiscau that the island eventually came to be known as Bulls Island—a name that has endured to this day.

It was an awesome day for a paddle.   We started out mid morning and rode the outgoing tide.  Helpdesk needs to work on his navigation skills as we did take a slightly wrong turn early on but really didn't matter too much as it was just a left around an island vs a right.  We still got where we were headed.  It was even more adventurous on the way back as the GPS was only showing the way out and therefore I had to turn the map upside down to follow the track back.  I now have a better map source and have it loaded in multiple places.  

It was a really nice trip.  The weather was perfect for the entire trip.  Definitely doing this again.

Helpdesk out. 

 

Lake Jocassee September 2024

What we thought would be just another late summer trip to Jocassee turned into an adventure we never expected. Little did we know, we were about to face some major storm events.

We spent our first night, a Monday, at Devils Fork State Park, setting up our tent in the early afternoon. Eager to explore, we paddled across what we fondly call the “Big Water” to check out the boat-in-only sites. However, the low water levels made access difficult, and even at full pond, these sites would be a steep climb. After hiking around the point and evaluating several options, we concluded they weren’t for us.

As midday approached, the sky grew ominous with rain in the forecast. We returned to our camp, where we enjoyed salmon burgers for dinner and caught up on some reading before bed.

Tuesday dawned early as we packed up our camp and decided what to take for our 8.8-mile kayak trip to the Foothills Trail camp. With our boats loaded, we set off mid-morning, making good time to our destination. We detoured to Laurel Fork Falls, but the low water levels prevented us from getting as close as in previous years.

Anticipating rain, we quickly set up camp and rigged a tarp to shield our tent. This proved invaluable later. 

With camp ready, we hung our hammocks and relaxed. As darkness fell, we started cooking dinner—chicken helper and rice. Midway through cooking, the rain began, and by the time we were eating, a full-blown thunderstorm had descended upon us. The tarp collected water on the left side of the tent, releasing it in bucketfuls, splashing mud and water everywhere. During a brief lull in the storm, Gusto managed to rework the tarp, redirecting the water flow off the back, just in time for more rain overnight.

We awoke to a calm morning, the rain finally ceased. After a quick breakfast, we began loading the boats, only to discover Gusto’s kayak had filled with water overnight, requiring him to pump it out.

Once ready, we decided to head back without any stops. We made the return trip in just over two hours, averaging slightly over 4 miles per hour—our fastest paddle yet.

I had planned to track our journey with GPS, but my watch didn’t capture data in Kayak mode. I later learned that GPS isn’t available in this mode, unlike hiking, biking, or walking. Although disappointed, I found an old set of data from a similar path, allowing me to create an overview of our trip back to Devils Fork.

Dupont Forest August 2024

 Well,  Helpdesk, Gusto and Pepe' make a two day trip to Dupont Forest just outside of Brevard NC.  Mountain biking was on our mind and we delivered. Our plan was to get out in front of tropical storm Debby on Thursday August 8th and we had hoped that we would be far enough west to keep us dry.  We made it all morning and completed a 6 mile ride before the rain started.  We rode by lake Julia and on to bridal vail falls.  After making our way back to the visitor center we grabbed a little snack and hung out at the visitor center porch, we took some time to hike to high falls and hooker falls in the rain. 

On Friday we had much better and warmer weather.  We did a shorter ride, but found out way to Grassy Creek Falls and concurred some nice long hills there and back.  (Note most of these are cascades not falls 😲)

 

Relive 'Hooker Falls and Triple Falls'

2024 April Trip to Cat Island

 First paddle of the year.  Helpdesk and Gusto made a trip to the Charleston area to get in a few days of paddling.   Unfortunately the first day was a bit delayed due to multiple accidents (involving others, not us) on the drive down.   This put us a couple of hours later than we expected and therefore messed up our timing for hitting the tides correctly.   We looked for a couple of other solutions but with little water at the put in for Capers Island we decided to just settle for a paddle in the lake near the cabin we had rented in the Mount Pleasant KOA campground.  

 

On Saturday we got up took a walk ate a little breakfast and then headed to Paradise Island Boat Landing on the Wando River.   From there it's a short paddle down to Cat Island and the tide took us down river nicely.  

The paddle down was pretty fast.  We did the ~ 3.7 mile trip in about 45 minutes.  We did decide to go on further to the Ship Yard Park area.   There is a marina there and a few places to eat.  We weren't planning on lunch or anything but wanted to get out and stretch our legs and look around.   Well,  seems that is a private marina and they weren't too keen on us getting out on their docks and leaving our boats.  So we got back in (almost fell in) to our boats and paddled against the tide back to Cat Island.  That short paddle against the tide took about as long as the entire trip to that point.  Back on Cat Island we found some shade on the beach were there was some breeze and had lunch.  It was busy that day with a number of boats showing up with families and some college aged kids as well.  We agreed we like the mid week crowds, or lack thereof, better.   I didn't take a lot of shots this trip but got a few.  There are some nice homes on this part of the river. 

I did take a very short video.  It was nice and quiet as we moved away from the homes and closer to the island. 

Here are a few sunset shots from near the landing. 

Overall it was a great time and I can't wait to get back down for some barrier island paddling. 

Helpdesk and Gusto 

Another year and another trip to the Edisto.  Unlike last year two things were different this trip.  First we all had our sea kayaks and no one was having to paddle a shorter 10 foot recreational.  Second this is the first trip for Pepe on the Edisto and it was nice to have all of us together.   We did a shorter paddle on the first day, leaving from Colleton State Park and paddling up river for a few miles.  There was a significant benefit using the current on the way back to the cabin and we would take advantage of that current the next day on our almost 23 mile trip down river to Givhans Ferry State Park.   The weather was a bit cool as we started off on the longer paddle but it seemed to settle down and while I will not say got warm it was nice.  I kept on my layers until after lunch and was never really uncomfortable.  My fingertips were a bit numb early on but they thawed as the day went on.   The cabin was nice and except for the first night when the heater just couldn't keep  up with the cold outside it was pleasant inside.  Overall this was a great trip again and we look forward to returning and doing more segments south of Givhans Ferry.  Maybe next year we stay in one of their cabins and see what adventures we can find further south.    

For kicks I had Chat GPT rewrite the story.  Here's AI's version...

We had a blast at the Edisto this year. It was different from last time because we all brought our sea kayaks and nobody had to use a short 10 foot one. It was also Pepe's first time there and it was great to have him with us. We did a short paddle on day one, starting from Colleton State Park and going up river for a bit. Then we used the current to help us get back to the cabin. The next day we did a longer paddle, almost 23 miles, down river to Givhans Ferry State Park. It was chilly at first but it got better later. I wore layers until lunch and then I was fine. My fingers were cold at first but they warmed up eventually. The cabin was cozy and warm, except for the first night when the heater couldn't keep up. We had a lot of fun and we want to come back and explore more of the river south of Givhans Ferry. Maybe next year we can stay in one of their cabins and see what else we can find.