Connect with us

South-Carolina

One-tank Trip: A paddle on the Edisto River and a night in a treehouse

Published

on

One-tank Trip: A paddle on the Edisto River and a night in a treehouse


Maybe you’ve seen it scrolling social media. That sponsored ad popping up with canoes, blue skies, stands of bald cypress, and rustic treehouses to pitch a one-of-a kind overnight paddling odyssey on the Edisto River. Deftly delivering the ultimate outdoor adventure fantasy, the algorithms know me well. Though I’ve canoed and kayaked on the West Coast and across the Southeast, I’ve never done so and then slept in a treehouse.

Under the spell of savvy marketing, I was soon on the phone inquiring about booking.

Headquartered in St. George, South Carolina, about 90 miles north of Savannah off I-95, Carolina Heritage Outfitters offers this unique river opportunity for individuals, small groups, and families. You can make reservations online, but since I wanted to go solo, chatting with someone about safety and other precautions seemed most reasonable.

Advertisement

Owner Chris Burbulak promptly answered. He confirmed that recently a few women had done the two-day trip alone without issue. But emphasized that since canoes are a bit unwieldy for solo paddling, he’d set me up in a kayak and deliver my supplies to the treehouse. The three treehouses, he went on, had propane stoves for cooking but lacked running water and electricity, so I’d need to bring drinking water, a headlamp, and be prepared to use the outhouse.  Chris also stressed insect repellant and rain gear as necessities.

Since no one else had yet booked on my dates, and likely wouldn’t, he figured I’d probably be alone on the 300-acre property. The final itinerary, he revealed, would entail paddling 13 miles on the Edisto, staying overnight in the treehouse, and paddling 10 more miles the next day to the pick-up point where he’d meet me after having collected my gear. With all things in tow, we’d then return to headquarters.

It sounded perfect, amazing in fact, especially that detail about getting to spend the night alone on the densely forested treehouse property. I would just need to be patient for a few more days until it all unfurled.

On adventure day, though, a massive storm system was wreaking havoc across the Southeast, and Chris and I agreed it would be safest for me to paddle the first day and stay in the treehouse, but on the next morning he’d come get me in advance of the storm. He offered to let me return and paddle another time to make up for what I’d miss.

Advertisement

And with that, on a drizzling gray Monday morning, I launched a little before 10 a.m. in a fire red kayak, with lifejacket, snacks, water, rain gear, and bug spray ready to roll on the Edisto.

From its forked headwaters in the sandhills of Saluda and Edgefield counties, the Edisto River runs unobstructed about 310-miles before greeting the Atlantic Ocean at Edisto Beach. It is the longest free-flowing blackwater river in the United States, and its watershed is home to old-growth tupelo and bald cypress, anadromous striped bass, shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon. Tracts of adjacent forest serve as lush breeding grounds for migratory birds like summer tanagers, yellow-billed cuckoos, and Mississippi kites. The endangered red cockaded woodpecker also lives within the old growth riverine system.

In my kayak, the rain-swollen blackwater moved unexpectedly fast, and at intervals, I noted large trees having recently succumbed to the current. Tussles of green waved above the surface from sunken branches, and great upended roots exposed masses of knots and runners no longer able to anchor the trees within the saturated bank. Maneuvering was more technical than I’d anticipated, and for the first two hours, alertness was key. The current combined with one too-slow turn of the boat could result in disaster, potentially capsizing the kayak and pinning me beneath a fallen giant.

Advertisement

Eventually, the river widened, slowed, and I relaxed. Life carried on loudly around me. The birds had been riotous from the start, but here in the calm, their calls were magnified, making it easier to hear the three-dimensionality of songs overlapping with notes nearby, mid-distance, and farther away. Cheering wrens, chortling tanagers, cacophonous cardinals, robins, eastern flycatchers, swallow-tail kites, questioning barred owls (yes, calling at mid-day!), Mississippi kites, night herons, hermit thrushes, and pileated woodpeckers all raucously united in a halleluiah chorus of avian delight.

At the peak of spring migration, I was blessed to be alone on the Edisto River, experiencing the force of nature that is the diversity of birds flitting and shifting in flight, sustained in fervent song. This is how and where magic begins, I mused. The clarion melodies of springtime rising and falling around cypress, tupelo, wild blueberries, water lilies to awaken them once again to the glories of photosynthesis and reproduction—this is it. Birdsong, a rarefied magic sparking all urges necessary and primordial.

I continued down the Edisto a few more hours before landing at the treehouse very much ready to get out of damp clothes and cook a hot meal. As promised, Chris had delivered my food, sleeping bag, and backpack near the stove beneath the house. After unpacking, I made a meal of mushroom and cheese ravioli with fresh red peppers, olives, and parmesan, and though I brought blueberries for dessert, I ate most of them while chopping veggies for the pasta.

After dinner, I went back out on the river to explore a cut I’d noticed. Paddling upstream was formidable, but once off the main channel, the effort was much easier. In the calm blackwater, cathedrals of tupelo and bald cypress cradled nests of cackling black-crowned night herons. I maneuvered slowly so as not to startle them and lingered in the shallows as the watery forest grew darker. I paddled to the river, and with the swift current behind me, was back at the treehouse in under 20 minutes.

Advertisement

Around 7 p.m. the barred owls began calling, and by 7:30 p.m. I was tucked in my sleeping bag and didn’t wake until 7:30 a.m. when Chris texted to let me know he’d be there in an hour. The big thunderstorm was anticipated to hit the area around 10 a.m.

I was packed and ready when he arrived, but nothing in me wanted to leave. Experiencing the birds and great trees of this stretch of the Edisto made an indelible impression that I hope to be part of again later this summer. Sleeping in the treehouse beside the constant push of the river with the sounds of owls and whip-poor-wills lulling me to sleep was a gift of some of the best rest I’d had in months.

If such an adventure appeals to you, and this summer you’ve the time and means, I recommend booking it. The experience won’t fit everyone’s budget. Going into it, I didn’t reveal I was a writer and purposely paid the full $200 because I wanted to see what the experience would be like as a solo, paying woman, and not as someone paid or invited to review it. And to that end, a young family now owns the property and business after having painstakingly purchased it six years ago. Adventuring with Carolina Heritage Outfitters not only gets you a unique and supported experience on the free-flowing Edisto but also directly sustains a South Carolina-local family—making it a win on many, many levels.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

South-Carolina

South Carolina offers transfer portal DL

Published

on

South Carolina offers transfer portal DL


South Carolina continues to mine the transfer portal to fill needs and the Gamecocks have sent out another known offer to an interior defensive lineman.

Bowling Green transfer portal DL Davonte Miles posted on Twitter/X Saturday that the Gamecocks have offered the 6-foot-5, 275-pounder.

In addition to South Carolina, Miles is hearing from Mississippi State, Memphis, Northwestern, and UConn.

South Carolina Transfer Portal Resources:

Advertisement

Miles is expected to play in Bowling Green’s bowl game on Dec. 26 and will likely make a decision after that.

Listed as a redshirt sophomore, Miles should have two years of eligibility left.

Miles collected 10 tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, and two quarterback hurries this season.

He is originally from River Rouge, Mich.

South Carolina is expected to bring in multiple interior defensive linemen from the portal as the Gamecocks will have to replace Tonka Hemingway, Boogie Huntley, Deandre Jules, and likely T.J. Sanders from this year’s talented group.

Advertisement

Carolina already has one portal commitment at the position in Texas A&M transfer and former five-star Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy.



Source link

Continue Reading

South-Carolina

South Carolina signee finishes Shrine Bowl week domination with huge defensive touchdown

Published

on

South Carolina signee finishes Shrine Bowl week domination with huge defensive touchdown


This week, some of the top high school players from both South Carolina and North Carolina took part in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. South Carolina had 11 signees selected for the game, but some did not participate due to early enrollment at USC.

One name that popped up all week was Havelock, North Carolina native Donovan Darden. In fact, On3’s Charles Power picked Darden as his practice MVP. The future Gamecock linebacker got reps at both defensive end and linebacker.

[Join GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days]

On Saturday, in what became a dominant 49-24 victory for the Tar Heels, Darden put his stamp on the strong week with a big-time play. Late in the 3rd quarter, North Carolina led 28-10 when the future Gamecock effectively ended the game. Irmo High School quarterback AJ Brand rolled right out of the pocket to escape pressure and tried fitting a pass through a tight window. Darden, who was in a short zone, stepped in front of the pass and picked it off. An elite athlete, he also made short work of the 48-yard return as he took the interception back for a score.

Advertisement

You can watch the play below.

[GamecockCentral has gift subscriptions]

Advertisement

Darden will join a linebacker room at South Carolina that could need a youngster or two to play. The Gamecocks use their ‘backers in a variety of ways, and his experience as a pass rusher could help him get on the field. He also has a solid frame already, measuring in at 6’4″ and 225 pounds. On3 ranks Darden as a 4-star EDGE prospect. In On3’s rankings, he is No. 122 nationally, No. 6 in North Carolina, and No. 13 among EDGEs. He will start his USC career in the linebacker room but could grow into an EDGE.





Source link

Continue Reading

South-Carolina

Radford visits South Carolina after Murray-Boyles’ 22-point outing

Published

on

Radford visits South Carolina after Murray-Boyles’ 22-point outing


Associated Press

Radford Highlanders (10-4) at South Carolina Gamecocks (8-3)

Columbia, South Carolina; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

Advertisement

BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina hosts Radford after Collin Murray-Boyles scored 22 points in South Carolina’s 91-88 overtime victory against the Clemson Tigers.

The Gamecocks are 6-1 in home games. South Carolina has a 1-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Highlanders have gone 3-4 away from home. Radford scores 77.1 points and has outscored opponents by 6.3 points per game.

South Carolina’s average of 8.0 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.6 fewer made shots on average than the 8.6 per game Radford allows. Radford has shot at a 44.9% rate from the field this season, 3.7 percentage points higher than the 41.2% shooting opponents of South Carolina have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Murray-Boyles is averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Gamecocks.

Advertisement

Brandon Maclin is averaging 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Highlanders.

LAST 10 GAMES: Gamecocks: 8-2, averaging 76.9 points, 32.8 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Highlanders: 7-3, averaging 75.5 points, 38.2 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Advertisement




Source link

Continue Reading

Trending