The Swamp Things

Mundy and I decided to go to Columbia for an early anniversary weekend. I suggested to her that since we were down there why don't we hike the Congaree swamp. I mean after all what could possibly be more romantic than hiking in a humid muddy mosquito infested swamp?  As I got ready to walk out of the room grin on my face knowing the answer ( there is no way you are getting me out there) she said " Sure.  It'll probably be fun." After I picked myself up off the floor, I got real excited. 

So Sat we found ourselves getting up and driving the 20 miles south of Columbia to the Congaree National Park. We pulled in and strapped on our packs and headed up to

 the Harry Hampton Visitors Center. If you've never been there it is a really nice facility. I went in and checked in at the desk and spoke

e with one of the friendly rangers who provided me with a trail map and answered some of my questions on the trail conditions. The park has over 20 miles of trail consisting of 7 different trails. We opted for the 10 mile River trail that would take us to the Congaree river. 

We consulted the mosquito meter and lucky for us they were not too bad. So off we headed past a large (both by size of group and size of people) group waiting on a ranger to give them a guided tour of the boardwalk trails, and pressed on into the swamp. 

The trails are all interconnected and you have to hike some of most of them to get to the trailhead of your particular trail. All start out on the boardwalks and you feel as though you are stepping back in time as you head down towards  your destination. So off we 

headed down the lower boardwalks. We would have to hike half a mile down the lower boardwalk to the Weston Lake trail, another half mile on the Weston Lake to the Oakridge Trail, and yet another half mile on the Oakridge trail to the River trail trailhead. 

The boardwalk trail was beautiful and soon we ended up at the Weston Lake trail. We stepped off the boardwalk into the mud and headed out into the forest and away from the sounds of civilization. I know it sounds cliche, but when we left the boardwalk that was the last we heard of people until we looped around and caught the boardwalk on the other side of our journey. 

The trails were all well maintained, easy to find, and marked with different colored blazes, letting you know which trail you were on. Where the trail intersected with other trails, signs pointed you in the proper direction.  The Weston Lake trail was the least impressive of the ones we hiked, but this is not to say it was bad. The views were just not as great as the Oakridge in my opinion.

(cypress in one of the numerous creeks)

Right around Wise Lake, we found the Oakridge trailhead and started on the half mile journey to the River Trail. The Oakridge Trail is beautiful! Most of the time you are skirting creeks with Cypress trees growing throughout. After reaching the River Trail trailhead, Mundy wanted a look at the map. After consulting the map (and how much farther we would have to go) she suggested that we continue on and hike the Oakridge Trail. What could I say ? She had agreed to come out and hike the swamp to begin with so on we went. 

The trail was great! The numerous feral pigs that live out there must have thought that this trail was a buffet because they had rooted up tons of spots beside the trail for miles. It was nice not to hear anything other than forest sounds for awhile. We didn't encounter any other hikers on the trial which surprised us. We pressed on through some of the most beautiful forest that I have ever seen and also some of the biggest trees. Congaree Swamp is home to some of the biggest trees in the state, along with the state record Loblolly Pine. 

We saw lots of squirrels and tons of tracks including raccoon, bobcat, and boar. We were hoping to some deer or feral pig but continued on scaring squirrels as we went. Just before we hooked back up to the Weston Lake Trail, we heard a large crash and saw a feral pig go diving into a creek and run up the other side. It stopped and looked back at us on the other side of the creek before running back on through the woods. 

We hooked back into the Weston Lake trail and saw some of the larger trees in the park. Soon we were close enough to Weston Lake to begin hearing people. Loud people. It was the group that we had left earlier that morning. They were concluding their tour of the boardwalk at the lake. Lucky for us they were leaving. We walked back onto the boardwalk and sat on the bench by the lake and ate lunch, talking to the rangers that had stayed behind. They inquired about our hike and answered some questions about what we had seen. They were very helpful and extremely genuine and interested in our thoughts. We saw an alligator in Weston Lake. The rangers told us that they get gators every 10 years or so. They float in from the river when it floods. They eat everything and then leave when it floods again. 

(Mundy posing in front of one of the big trees)

We finished lunch and headed back to the visitor's center. We hiked 6.6 miles and had a great time. I'll be back sometime soon. Mundy said that she enjoyed it but was sore the next day. So if you get a chance to go, I highly recommend Congaree National Park. We'll definitely be bringing the boys here soon to do the boardwalk trail. It was also fun to hike with such a good looking partner ( no offense Brian). So I'll leave you with some pictures of the swamp.

(Weston Lake)