Carol and I keep plugging away at the Palmetto Trail in South Carolina. The chilly days of late winter/early spring are best for hiking in the state’s shallow wetlands and swamps before the alligators wake up.
The plan: Four days hiking the Lake Moultrie & Eutaw Springs Passages (a fancy word for sections) and camping at Angel’s Landing Campground & Marina. This was a good central location, cheaper than a motel, providing safety, electricity, bathrooms, showers, a camp store and a small restaurant.
Despite a poor weather forecast, Carol wanted very much to go ahead with our plans. I was reluctant, but I knew we’d push through. Many years on trail together, we always figure out something or just get wet.
We met up around 9:00 a.m. at the eastern end of Lake Moultrie Section 1. We left one car and drove to Amos Landing for an 11-mile hike back to the start.
Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion were created in the 1940’s as part of the Santee Cooper Project for the WWII war effort. This section of the Palmetto Trail runs along the dike on the north and eastern sides of Lake Moultrie, very flat and very exposed.
Carol and I walked eastward alongside a canal for the first few miles. The canal was lined with pine trees. Knowing that shade would be scarce once the sun was overhead, we stopped a time or two in the patchy shade.
So much for sleeping alligators! The day was warm, and early on we saw the creepy critters sunning on the canal banks, some big guys and some little young’uns. The trail was elevated enough that we felt safe, but our eyes were on a swivel. Occasionally we’d hear a “plop” and see ripples…
I began having phone issues before today, full storage capacity on my old Samsung, kicking myself for not getting a new phone yet. Silly, right? I was frustrated all week long. Poor quality photos most of our days on this trip.
We saw numerous great egrets and great blue herons (no photos…)
Passing through the town of Bonneau Beach, we stopped at Richardson’s Landing to rest tired feet and eat a snack. Along the road we met the lady who drives the local bookmobile as she stopped at someone’s house “just to check on them.” Small town life.
Our biggest challenge was a 3-mile section of the dike walking in full sun beside the shoreline, a sandy gritty surface. Hurrying to get through this stretch, I felt a hot spot forming on the ball of my right foot, worried that it would affect the rest of the week. No blisters, fortunately.
For the last mile of the day, the trail descended from the dike and entered piney woods, making a beeline for Highway 52 – a pleasant shady ending, except for sprinting across the four lanes of Highway 52 to our car. And no rain today!
After we collected both cars, Carol and I arrived at Angel’s Landing. There were mostly seasonal RVs, many unoccupied, not much going on midweek in early March. We had our choice of a handful of campsites along the small canal. How to tell which one was best? Look for the least squishy ground.
Food, showers, recharging devices, sleep.
Home Sweet Tent (Carol's photo)Did you know?
A group of alligators is called a “congregation.” An adult male is a “bull” and an adult female is a “cow.” Alligator young are called “hatchlings.”
