Tubing COLA

This past summer some friends and I spend the day tubing through Columbia.  We staged a couple of vehicles downtown then carpooled up steam and put in just north of the Riverbanks Zoo.

Pre-tubing prep

Most of us drove to just about every Walmart and Target in town looking for tubes the night before.  I think there are companies in town that rent tubes, but why pay $15 to borrow someone else's when a cheap $8 pool tube works just as well?

Who put that sign there???

I wasn't sure about our parking space, but it wasn't my car, and everything seemed to work out well enough. 

We set out with tubes for ourselves, tubes for our coolers, and plenty of sunscreen and beer.

The tubing gang

The area near the zoo is a hot spot for human activity.  There were lots of folks lying about on the rocks sunning themselves, and kids playing in the cold water.   Millrace rapids are right around here, and may be right here.  We put in downstream, so I'm not sure.  Millrace easily gets up to class V when the water level is up, and being the site of an old dynamited dam, the waters are strewn with old bits of concrete and rebar (so I hear).  It's the kind of place that kayakers (without a deathwish) portage in any condition.

People lounging, kids playing near Millrace rapids

We passed a few kayakers.  They weren't making much progress downstream.  They seemed to just be sitting around doing nothing, but I expect we caught them on a break and they were back to perfecting their eskimo rolls and whatnot soon after we drifted by.

Kayakers near the zoo

We put in into the Lower Saluda, a few miles down stream from where we put in when we paddled this river.  On this trip we floated through the confluence of the Lower Saluda and the Broad rivers which come together to form the Congaree. 

Dan and Emily

The float took about four hours (I think) and a few six packs (I think).  It was a nice, relaxed time. 

John and Laura with their new, fancy Bobble cooler.

We took out at the Gervais Street Bridge downtown and loaded up the cars.  This is a nice, short trip on the water that takes very little preplanning or expense.  It's nice to live somewhere where such an activity is available.