Mar 23 Congaree National Park

One of the newer parks in the National Park System, Congaree attained that status in 2003. For the 20 previous years it was Congaree Swamp National Monument. Old growth forest makes it special. 11,000 of the 26,000 acres are old growth. It is the largest old growth forest of its kind anywhere; bottomland hardwood. Some of the tallest trees in the East reside here. The tallest known trees of 15 species are found here, led by a 169.5 foot Loblolly pine. Many of the trees have not been measured yet.

How this land remained old growth and not timbered is an interesting story.

From Wikipedia: 

 Resource extraction on the Congaree River centered on cypress logging from 1898, when the Santee River Cypress Logging Company began to operate in the area of what is now the park. Owned by Francis Beidler and Benjamin F. Ferguson of Chicago, the company operated until 1914; subsequently, Beidler and his heirs retained ownership of the area. In the 1950s Harry R.E. Hampton was a member of the Cedar Creek Hunt Club and co-editor of The State.^[3] Hampton joined with Peter Manigault at the Charleston The Post and Courier to advocate preservation of the Congaree floodplain. Hampton formed the Beidler Forest Preservation Association in 1961. As a result of this advocacy a 1963 study by the National Park Service reported favorably on the establishment of a national monument.^[4]

Monument establishment

No progress was made in the 1960s. Renewed logging by the Beidlers in 1969 prompted the 1972 formation of the Congaree Swamp National Preserve Association (CSNPA). The CSNPA joined forces with the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations to promote federal legislation to preserve the tract. South Carolina Senators Strom Thurmond and Ernest F. Hollings introduced legislation in 1975 for the establishment of a national preserve. On October 18, 1976 legislation was passed to create Congaree Swamp National Monument. An expansion plan was introduced by Hollings and Thurmond in 1988, expanding the monument to 22,200 acres (9,000 ha).^[4]

Converting to National Park

Over two-thirds of the national monument was designated a wilderness area on October 24, 1988, and it became an Important Bird Area on July 26, 2001. Congress redesignated the monument Congaree National Park on November 10, 2003, dropping the inappropriate "swamp" from the name, and simultaneously expanded its authorized boundary by approximately 4,576 acres (1,852 ha). As of December 31, 2011, approximately 26,021 acres (10,530 ha) of the park are in Federal ownership.

Beginning at the Visitors Center, there is a 2.4 mile elevated boardwalk loop. Much of the land is wet and several times a year it is underwater. Today, Butterweed was beginning to bloom. Zebra swallowtails were making their way from flower to flower

Initially, we were in a Cypress swamp but after leaving the boardwalk to a muddy Weston Lake Trail, we began to see more hardwoods. When we reached Cedar Creek and walked alongside it for a mile or more, Cypress were on our right and hardwoods to our left. 

Some, like this Red oak were worth getting my picture next to. The height of the trees amazed me and the overall size of many did as well. I was particularly fascinated with the size of the American holly trees.

Cypress knees are everywhere in a Cypress swamp. It is thought the knees and trees are intertwined in a massive root system, which gives stability to the trees which only grow in or within a foot of elevation of water.

Zebra Swallowtail on Butterweed

Cedar Creek, a popular paddling venue

Mar 19 Ararat section Of Pilot Mountain State Park

One of the recent additions to Pilot Mountain State Park, is this tract which borders both the Ararat and Yadkin Rivers including the confluence. After acquiring the property, this unmarked cemetery was discovered. There appear to be about 6 graves with unmarked stones as head and foot stones. The size of these graves appears to be adult except one. Speculation is that this is a slave cemetery.

Not far from the cemetery are the remains of a home. It is just beyond the park gate and occupies a level spot with a commanding view of the large field below. The bricks I saw appear to be extruded so this home would not have been less than 100 years old. 

An active railroad crosses the property. One train rambled through during my visit. I assume, the company dredging sand from the river on the adjacent property, would transport sand by rail. 

I was able to pass under the railroad at this bridge which crosses over the Ararat just upriver from the confluence. However, the sandy banks are steep and there is virtually no walkable shoreline along the Yadkin. I did look downriver to see the sand dredge. Two workers paddled their way out to the dredge in a flat bottom Jon boat. They revved up the dredge engine and then departed. 

Looking up the Yadkin at the confluence

After that little excursion, I walked through the upper field to a spot at which I could make my way down the much larger lower field. This field borders the Ararat and appears to have been planed in corn 2 or 3 years ago. I followed it along the river until the field ended and then I continued into the woods along the Ararat. After a few minutes, the bank got quite steep and full of Mountain Laurel, so I turned back. 

There is an old farm road which leads from the park gate down to the lower field. It would be possible to develop this for access to the Ararat. Doing that would give the park a put in which could be combined with an already existing access on the South side of the Yadkin, for a river outing within the park.

Lower field bordering the Ararat (on right)

Park gate at end of road. Homesite is next to the cedar.