Paddling Sparkleberry Swamp

Paddling Sparkleberry Swamp
October 26 & 27, 2012
By Chip Walsh 11/28/2012

How many people remember the My Little Pony franchise of kids toys, popular sometime around 1990? There were a whole series of toy ponies, each with unique pastel colors and long flowing manes that little girls loved to comb. Each pony also had it's unique marking on the hind quarters, more tattoo than a brand, since the markings were colorful and flowery and of course no pony could be hurt during marking (they were plastic toys, but no little girl wanted to think of the marking in terms of burning flesh). I don't think many people remember, but if you do, you might know there was one named Sparkleberry Swirl. So, of course, when I heard about paddling in Sparkleberry Swamp, I was expecting to see My Little Ponies all over the place. I was wrong about that, but it was still a nice place to paddle.

I met Bill Walsek and 6 other paddlers from the Lumber River Canoe Club at Pointsett State Park on the morning of Friday, October 26. We drove about ten miles from the Park to a public launch at the end of Sparkleberry Landing Road. We proceeded to launch our boats into a muddy spot at one end of the parking lot.

Pic: Paddlers among trees in Sparkleberry Swamp

Pic: Paddlers among trees in Sparkleberry Swamp

The swamp is a wet lands area near where the Santee River flows into Lake Marion. It is a blackwater swamp flowing among cypress, tupolo and ash trees. We had to search to find both through passages and areas of ground dry enough to get out on. Mostly we followed a green-blazed trail from the landing to a long-ago cut off oxbow lake (Riser Lake), which we crossed to find some high ground (6' above water level). I suspect the high ground was once the natural levee that forms along meandering rivers. Judging by aerial photos of the area, the swamp varies from 1 to 4 miles wide on the east side of the Santee River at the north end of Lake Marion, and is perhaps ten miles long on the north-south axis. I got the feeling that it would not be hard to become really, really lost in this swamp. It made an enchanting place to paddle.

At various times during our 3-hour, 8-mile paddle we passed or were passed by perhaps a dozen bass boats. We encountered the same pair of boats at several spots and had a running dialog with them. All the bass boats we passed slowed down when they approached our little fleet. Interesting sights included a sign, placed 20' up in a tree, that read "Feds Out of Dixie." I have no idea what that was about, but whoever put it there went to some effort to get up the tree, which was surrounded by water. And there was a speed limit sign near the take out that had 50 or so bullet holes in it. I guess that was a convenient place to make sure whatever you were packin' was in good shootin' shape.

More paddlers arrived Friday night. Hurricane Sandy was passing out in the Atlantic, but, inland, there was no sign of it at Pointsett Park. After an evening of socializing and fire gazing, we headed out Saturday morning back to Sparkleberry Landing and made a second trip into the swamp. We explored the swamp north from the landing and followed a slough to a dead end. We turned around and found our way back to the green-blaze channel. But we weren't satisfied with the same old and veered off to the west through the swamp into unmarked territory. I must say that I love paddling through the trees, and if there is one thing you can do in this swamp it is paddle through trees. Eventually we found a bit of earth protruding from the swamp and stopped for lunch. From there it was back to the landing.

I learned it is a tradition of the LRCC to have a pot luck dinner on Saturday night. I enjoyed paddling and socializing with the members of the LRCC on this trip. Thanks to LRCC's Don and Sandy for leading the trip. I hope I have a chance to do it again.

The water level was 74.5 on the Lake Marion Gauge. On-line scuttlebutt is that portaging is required below 72.1.

I had Bill preview this TR and his comment was I had failed to report he whipped me at horseshoes for the grand Championship of Pointsett Park. We found some pits at the Park, including shoes, and we started tossing. It is true he won, but we were both so pitiful I was just going to leave that out.

SPARKLEBERRY SWAMP IMAGES

Launch site for hand launched boats is at the right side (as you enter) of the parking area.
Somebody was trying to be outspoken, but it is unknown to me what the point of this sign is. What Feds? Where? It's the middle of a swamp! Perhaps their beef is with Lake Marion, of which this swamp is a backwater (I think). Lake Marion was created by the Corps of Engineers.
Bill Walsek paddling an open stretch in the swamp. Note the blazes on the tree at image center. This must have been in the channel where the bass boats pass.
A close up of the tree with blazes, with the rest of our Friday group coming around the bend.
It's always hunting season for speed limit signes. Exactly how many shots does it take to kill a sign, anyways?
On Saturday, realizing it was hunting season, Bill went with the blaze orange hat. BTW, it is deer hunting season 6-months out of the year in South Carolina.

Bill had his camera along, too.
Gallery of Sparkleberry Swamp Pics by Bill Walsek

Maybe it's just me, but I think it is a lovely swamp.
Another photo from the blazed water trail.

Hey, that's me! Gliding between trees in Sparkleberry Swamp.