We put in at Gardendale Landing, where the "A" is on the satellite map below.
We had originally planned to paddle downstream and take out south of downtown Columbia. But, when Vikki visited the kayak shop the day before, she guys there talked her out of it. None of us had paddled this river before, and it is recommended that if beginners are going out---the teenagers had never paddled before---they be led by someone experienced who knows the river. There can be some tricky spots downstream from Gardendale. When the release the dam (you can see Lake Murray on the edge of the map) the rapids can easily and quickly rise to class III-IV, occasionally V. So we headed upstream instead.
We had to paddle up through several sets of class II rapids. Chris, being young and being in a brand new 14 ft Wilderness kayak, had things pretty easy.
The rest of us had to work a little harder (not that Chris wasn't working hard).
The two boy scouts were real troopers and approached the challenge head on!
Trepidation? I think not! Determination!
But the process was pretty exhausting.
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| Resting after one (of many) unsuccessful attempt to punch through the whitewater |
On one of my attempts, I found myself perpendicular to the current with a large boulder on my downstream side. Though I was weary of it and tried to avoid it, at some point I tipped a little too far toward my upstream side, and water started pouring over the boat. Now, this isn't as dire a situation in a sit-on-top as it is in a sit-in kayak, but it effectively served to pull the boat under the water none-the-less. So, I had to hop off and haul the boat past the shoal.
We paddled up a little ways past Saluda Shoals State park to where the star in on the map above. Vikki and I hopped out for a quick dip in the frigid water. We were not very far from Lake Murray. Lake Murray is 200 ft deep at its deepest, so the water that is released from the dam is always pretty chilly. The area of the river that we were on has a nearly constant temperature of 55 degrees. As soon as I jumped in I felt like I was swimming in Montana! It was perfect! But we didn't stay in for very long!
We paddled down one set of rapids and stopped at Saluda Shoals for lunch.
The teenage boys were being good sports, but they enjoyed the break. After eating and a little goofing around, we got back on the river.
This time, it was all down stream, and it was easy going.
Now, let's chat a minute about the difference between a sit-on-top and a sit-in kayak. Sit-on-tops are generally more stable on the water, but I've had my suspicions after numerous trips down the log-laden Cedar Creek about how well they do with...obstacles. In a sit-in, you are basically sitting on the floor of the boat, but with an SOT, you are sitting several inches higher. I've always suspected that this made them overly top-heavy. I learned a little more about this while paddling down through a set of rapids on the Lower-Saluda. Once you start to tip, there's not much room for recovery on these things! So, after smooth sailing through a couple of class IIs, perhaps I was a little over-confident. I bumped over a rock, the boat started to tip, and the next thing I knew I was in the water!
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| A soggy celebration |
But, I managed to keep my hat and sunglasses on my head! The water was low, so not much fear of drowning, but it puts the rocky riverbed right in your face. My face was okay though, I escaped with only a gash on my elbow. (I was happy to hear that the next weekend when Vikki and her husband took the same trip, he ended up in the river as well. Sorry, Brian!)
When we made it back to the Gardendale Landing, the last order of business was for the boy scouts to make a wet exit and recover their kayaks. Oh the pains of badge-earning! Chris borrowed Big Red to assist if needed.
It was a good trip, we plan to do it again.
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