Congaree National Park, which is located in the north central part of South Carolina, is not an easy park to get to. There aren’t any major roads that lead directly to it and to make matters more difficult, there isn’t any camping to speak of in the park. I believe there are 10 tent sites in the park and the closest campground with hook ups is about an hour away in a State Park. All of these factors most likely account for its relatively low visitation rate. It is however one of the last remaining lowland old growth hardwood forests in the United States. 99% of this type of forest that was here in America in the “beginning”, have now been logged and destroyed. It is also a major watershed area and is located within the flood plain formed by the convergence of the Congaree River and the Wateree River that then forms the Santee River. This park is wet and contains many creeks, pools of water, and “muck”! During the winter/spring rains, flood waters can rise ten feet or more in the park, closing trails and boardwalks. On our visit fortunately, it was wet but not flooded, in spite of the 2 days of rain while we were here. Even though it was still officially winter, we had been warned that it was already hot up here in the park and the mosquitos were already out. It was actually quite pleasant and cool when we got here and on our first day at least, we didn’t have any mosquito problems. Our first day had us doing a two and a half mile nature walk through misting rain on a raised boardwalk through the floodplain and we were pleasantly surprised to not encounter any of the flying pests. It was our first opportunity to take in the solitude and ecology of this giant floodplain and especially the tree’s and plants that make it home. Day two however had us on a 5 mile hike that took us out along Cedar Creek and the mosquito throngs were out in force. Most likely, no less than the lives of 40 or more of them succumbed to my slap assassinations, and many of them released a drop of my blood as evidence that they had already successfully drained it from me before their death. It’s not that I would begrudge them a drop or two of my blood if that was all that was at stake, but they have to inject an anti-coagulant into your skin in order to get the blood flowing and that is a foreign protein that causes intense itching. In addition to the itching annoyance, you might also be the recipient of a virus or parasite, which is enough justification for our role in their demise!

Our day two hike along the creek gave us the opportunity to observe and photograph more of the flora and fauna that you find in Congaree. Everything in life is a tradeoff and the time of the year of our visit is no different. Arriving here in the beginning of March has us avoiding the heat, the humidity, and the serious mosquito attacks, but, we also miss much of the foliage of the trees which have yet to set their leaves, and many of the animals. The American Holly trees and Loblolly Pines were in full bloom but the Cypress and other tree’s were still in their winter slumber. There were a number of animals that we were unable to photograph in spite of their abundance at this time of the year and that included the Pileated woodpecker, the Fox squirrel, Barred owls, and a variety of butterflies, in spite of us seeing them around every turn. We were able to capture, as noted in the photos above, the Loblolly pines, Palmetto trees, turtles, beetles, switch cane, Cypress trees and Cypress knees, Dorovan muck, Water tupelo trees, butterflies, and a plethora of fungi and lichens. There is a mysteriousness about this floodplain. It’s quiet and hidden and is much like looking at a black and white painting. The mud, and creeks, and streams, and rivers, and puddles dissuade many from venturing out on hikes into this watershed. It is also an incredibly important ecosystem not only for the diversity of living things that it supports, but also for the role it plays in filtering water and providing a clean source of drinking water for millions. There is so much to see in this park. Cypress and Tupelo tree’s that have approximately 8 feet of the bottom of their trunks covered in moss illustrates just how high the floodwaters come during the winter/spring rainy seasons. The Dorovan muck (mud), is 8 feet thick and consists of clay and old leaves which filters pollutants out of the water that passes through it. An increase of elevation in this area of only a few inches results in the forest floor being dominated by switch cane, which is a close relative to bamboo. The Cypress that thrive in this watery ecosystem can be over a thousand years old and are resistant to rot and water. Many of the trees here are over 130 feet high due to the rich soil that is deposited in the floodwaters, including the Loblolly pine which grows straight up but only spreads out with foliage like a lollipop at its top. Butterflies flitted quickly up and down the trails and there were a couple that just refused to be photographed. Squirrels were abundant as well as the woodpeckers which I mentioned above. If I was a turtle sunning on a log and contemplating what the afterlife may entail, heaven would certainly look like Congaree. The water and muck and abundant logs for sunning would be nirvana for these reptiles but in spite of that, it was probably too early in the season still and although I searched for them throughout the two days, I was only able to spot one. Another upside to Congaree NP is that unlike the other National Parks, you are allowed to bring leashed dogs on the trails here. It was music to Jacksons ears as he spent both days continually hunting for squirrels and other small creatures that he imagined catching and would have if not on the leash.

As John Muir was the godsend for Yosemite, Congaree had its own savior in the person of Harry Hampton. As the last remaining lowland hardwood ecosystem in the United States,  Harry, single handedly campaigned for Congaree to be saved. He was a reporter for The State newspaper and regularly wrote articles and editorials extolling the areas virtues and needs to be protected. He had spent years hunting and fishing and observing the unique nature of this ecosystem. His efforts were rewarded when the area was designated a National Monument in 1976 and then finally as Congaree National Park in 2003. Congaree isn’t the easiest to reach but it’s worth the effort, even if you only spend a day or two engaging it. The only thing I might have done differently is to have waited until maybe the end of March before coming here so that more of the wildlife had shaken off winters slumber and been available for viewing and photographing. Of course, the longer you wait, the more 30% DEET you will need to bring with you. Everything in life is a trade off.