Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Catawba River Spider Lily Kayak Trip May 2011

In a post last year, I wrote about the Catawba river spider lilies at South Carolina's Landsford Canal State Park. I said that I would try to kayak to the site this year, and last Sunday, after church, we made the trip. Launching from the park entrance and taking out at the lower parking area you can either head upstream for a half mile and cut over to the main channel before turning south or you can head straight down stream which is a little more difficult because of the depth (or lack thereof) of the river (which is why they built the canal system in the first place). We, as expected, chose the more difficult path. Once again, I advise anyone planning this trip to take your most beat up kayaks because the water is very shallow and you will get hung up on rocks, but it is fun trying to avoid them when the water is flowing well as it was on this day. The whole trip took about an hour and a half. Because of the shallow waters, I was able to step out onto the rocks once we reached the lilies and took these pics.




"My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies." - Song of Solomon 6:2-3


Thank you Lord for the flowers of spring, the waters that feed them, and the hard plastic bottom of my kayak.
Posted by at

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:59 AM

    That's a nice looking stream. I assume you're near the fall line and get some some good currents.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Undergroundpewster9:22 AM

    Randall,

    Today, the flow is regulated by Duke Power who releases water from the Lake Wylie Dam. The day before this trip I know they were planning on "recreational flow," but I am not sure what they were doing on Sunday afternoon. The spider lilies require moving water to flourish so there is always some flow.

    I think the total fall is 32 feet spread out over a mile and a half, but don't quote me on that. I think I read that on a marker near the lower locks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ToilNotSpin12:46 PM

    What beautiful pictures. I think I've said before that there is nothing like the combination of flowers and just the right scriptural verses to make the perfect sermon! And it sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Undergroundpewster1:41 PM

    TNS,

    Thanks. The benefit of getting up close to these flowers is that you can really see how the spider lily got its name.

    The benefit of recalling a bit of scripture is ... priceless.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:26 PM

    Off Topic: Just wondering if you've seen this?

    Maybe the Rapture will be tomorrow.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Undergroundpewster2:43 PM

    Oh dear, that looks like something to post now before they get left behind!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)