Lower Saluda River - May 8th 2010

Once a year in early May, SCE&G has a planned release on the Saluda River below Lake Murray so that Canoeing for Kids can host their Raftarama. Me and a good friend of mine took advantage of this planned release and planned to run this section at a level of 10,000 CFS. After putting in at Hope Ferry Landing near the dam we paddled down to Twelve Mile Creek. With the elevated water levels, the creek was flooded with Saluda River water. We were able to paddle up until where Corley Mill Road crosses the creek about 1 mile up the creek. We saw some type of Owl near corley mill road. There is a old dam at the bridge that appears to have been some type of Mill pond. After this, we paddled back downstream and back to the river. We then paddled downstream about 4 miles of fast flatwater until we got to Oh Brother Rapids. At this level, Oh brother is a solid 2 and is the first major rapid on the Lower Saluda River. I don't know how this rapid got its name, but I imagine that someone long ago was coming down the river and after paddling many many miles on flatwater. They came across the rapids, and since they could not name the rapid "Oh S@*%", they settled on Oh Brother as a substitute. There are many different lines. Most of them are of the low Class II level. After about a half mile, next up is Stacys Ledge rapid. This is a river-wide ledge with 3 main lines through the rapid. At low water these three lines are the only ways through the rapid. During release levels very strong hydralics form in between the lines. With the strong hydralics this is rated a Class III. However if you know where the main lines are, then it is very easy to avoid the hydralics and then it is more like a Class II-. 800 yards downstream from Stacys ledge is Mill Race Rapids. Mill Race is by far the biggest rapid on the river. We got out to scout at river left and find our lines. No matter how many times I run this river, I get goosebumps everytime I look out in the Middle of this rapid at some of the waves and hydralics that form out there. At the top of Mill race I got in to a little bit of trouble but was able to brace and stay right-side up. Other than that we both had great runs down this Class III+/IV rapid. We also considered making a run of the creek line across the Island, but after looking at it and with only 1 person to set safety, we decided against it at this level. We continued on past the Zoo to Shandon rapids. I would rate Shandon a Class II+. It has always been one of my favorite rapids due to it being one of the first major rapids I ran when I first started kayaking. It is about a 40 yard long wave train with 3 to 5 foot waves being the norm at 10K. We then paddled through the confluence with the broad river and merged on to the Congaree River. The river is very wide at the confluence and I would estimate close to 30 individual islands form in this area. There are many different routes you can take through the islands. We came up under a nesting bald eagle but were unfortunately unable to get a picture. We picked different channels to go through. I ran across a whitetail deer on one of the islands. Its really neat to see all this kind of wild life literally right between the cities of Columbia and West Columbia. We made our way to Gervais street and took out. This was a very unique trip, I have never had such a great mix of whitewater and flatwater in one trip. From the flooded creek/swamps of twelvemile and the islands of the congaree to the fast Class IV whitewater of Mill Race all in one trip. I would defiantly recommend this section to any paddler.

Steve.