Congaree National Park

May 2, 2024

Welcome to the swamp. It was hot, humid and no wind. The nice thing was the trails were completely flat and super easy to hike among the cypress, water tupelo, pines and holly trees. I started at the visitor center and did the Weston Lake Loop Trail which also includes the majority of the Boardwalk trail and parts of Sims and Firefly trails. Most of the tourists stay on the boardwalk. I saw all sorts of small animals including millipedes, caterpillars, 5 lined skinks, toads, squirrels and lots of chirping birds. The bird highlights were a bright red summer tanager, a barred owl and a pileated woodpecker. It is not wise to swim in Wise Lake as it was really murky with a few turtles in evidence; no, I did not take a dip. Weston Lake was much bigger with lots of turtles, bluegill and longnose gars visible from a viewing platform. I drove to the east end of the park to Bates Ferry Trail, however the trail was a bit overgrown and I had an encounter with a huge gray rat snake about halfway to the river. I screamed and then turned around rather than face another snake in the tall grass.