Our day in Santee

Saturday November 9, 2013
Santee State Park, Santee, SC

 

 

 Some morning maintenance is on tap today.

 

On our second day here in Santee, David does some of those maintenance chores that come up.  We had ordered MCD shades for the bedroom to make it DARK and boy do they.  One came while we were in Virginia and up it went but the other one was the wrong size.   Totally their fault but they couldn’t get the replacement to us before we left.  It was here waiting for us when we arrived so David goes to work and put it up.  He does  a great job on both of them, making them fit in behind the upholstered valence.   Anybody want a couple of accordion day night shades?  :-)

 

 

I’ve also been having trouble with my bedside light so he checks it out and determines it’s not the wiring but the light switch.  So next time we’re near a hardware store we’ll  pick one up. Missions accomplished!

 

 

Time now to get out and go hiking.

There went the morning but we still have the afternoon to take on the 3 short trails here in Santee.  They each claim to be 3/4 of a mile long but we find those estimates to be somewhat inaccurate.

 

 

First up, Sinkhole Pond Nature Trail.

 

 

We’ve seen a number of sink holes in Florida so we  know what to expect here.  The first one is right by the parking lot. 

Sure enough,  a subterranean stream has eaten away the limestone until the ground above it caved in.  This one had not filled with water but was rather filling in with new growth of bushes and trees.

Good thing they had a fence around it.  I wouldn’t want Ruby to fall  in

 

 

The sink hole trail runs through a long leaf pine  forest which is becoming a really rare habitat in the southeast.  Only 2% of the South’s once vast  long leaf pine forests remain today and as a result species that depend on this  unique kind of forest are threatened with extinction.  Species like the southeastern fox squirrel whom we hoped to see today.  But it didn’t happen.   Here’s his picture.  We were really on the  look out for this cutie.

 

 

 

 

 

I  love walking through forests of lofty pines.  The understory is often very clear and open.  It’s so quiet with the pine needle floor and it smells divine.  I’m not sure which I  love more, the walk  among the towering trunks or looking up to their canopy in the sky.

 

 

The pines here are very tall and it is a wonderful trail just a bit  longer than 3/4 of a mile we thought which was just fine.  The trail  leads to this huge beautiful water filled sinkhole  looking particularly wonderful on this perfect fall day.

 

 

From here we  head over to the other side of the park near the smaller Cypress View  Campground.

 

 

 

The Oak Pinolly Trailhead is just behind the playground across from the entrance to the campground.  It too is  listed as 3/4 of a mile long.  It seems a lot shorter to us than  that.

We’re not sure what Pinolly means but after hiking the trail we are wondering if they were trying to say Oak Pine Holly and be cute.   There were definitely some BIG pine  trees here.

 

 

 

 

Along with a few persimmon trees.  I think persimmons are too astringent even when they are supposedly ripe but David doesn’t share my view obviously.  He’s foraging again – his motto is free food anywhere you can find it.

 

 

 

 

Before heading over to the final trail, we stop by to see the exhibits room at the Visitor Center. 

 

The room is packed with information about the history of the area and the creation of the park.  In sum, the original Native American inhabitants were pretty much wiped out by disease brought by the explorers.  All that is left are their names given to area rivers and the lake.  Congaree, Saluda, Santee, Catawba and Enoree. 

Here is what the Santee River used to look like before it and 110,000 acres around it were drowned to form Lake Marion during the 1930’s WPA era.  The CCC helped cut down the forest you see below.  The reason given for the creation of the lake was electricity.  Many of the area people did not have electricity or running water.  And many of them did not want to be moved in order to get either one.

Some homes, churches  and  graves  were moved but others including more than half  a dozen indigo and cotton plantations were just drowned.   There are pictures  of some  of the lost structures in the visitor’s center. 

 

Here’s what it looks like today just behind the Visitor’s Center

Was it worth making such a drastic change  in such a magnificent landscape?  What do you think?

 

 

Our last  3/4 mile trail turns out to be the shortest hike of all; sort of.

 

 

 

Despite serious attempts in all  directions we are never able to find the Limestone Nature Trail or any trail markers other than the sign at the beginning.  But the  “hike” is worth it just to go across this wonderful bridge at the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side we follow every path we see but none turns  out to be anything like the diagram on the park map and they all lead to a road.  But, that’s ok.  Look what we do see while we are searching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It feels really good to get back out on the trails today.  It warms us up for our much bigger hike tomorrow in South Carolina’s only  National  Park.