My only previous visit to Merchants Millpond was a canoe camping trip in the late 1970s. At night we hung a lantern at our campsite and took another lantern in the canoe and paddled about at night, using the campsite lantern to get us back to the right spot.
On this visit, I arrive mid morning and meet 5 friends who have camped overnight. Our group swelled to 8 as a couple other day paddlers arrived. Once we got everyone in boats, we headed out in the pond. It is not your typical pond. It looks more like a swamp with Bald Cypress, Tupelo Gum widely spaced. Duckweed and Yellow Cow Lily fill in the open spaces. Below the surface Coontail was ready to snag a paddle. The 760 acre pond has been around for over 200 years and the mill once served to grind locally grown produce.
The park has buoys to guide paddlers through the maze. Our goal for the day was to paddle across the pond and then up Lassiter Creek into the Lassiter Swamp where old growth Bald Cypress are located. Specifically, one large Cypress was our destination. I was told this tree was core dated at about 1000 years old and is the second largest tree in North Carolina.
The pond slowly gives way to the creek. Eventually we are on a narrow creek and paying close attention to water flow. We need to be certain to follow the creek and not dead end channels. Water flow was the key to navigating this area. It was here the Tupelo Gum sported the most unusual branch growth, growing in any and every direction like contortionists.
We had to bounce over a number of fallen trees. Paddle a good head of steam and hit the submerged tree square worked every time. Not once did we need to get out of the boats to get by an obstacle. After leaving the pond, we paddled the serpentine creek for 2 miles.
Then an obstacle appeared that looked like it would present a good challenge. Will and I negotiated a way around it. Then Will noticed the tree. We were too concerned about getting through this sticky spot that we failed to notice the huge tree creekside. We've arrived!
Will wanted the obligatory tree pose photo. I nestled my boat between the giant knees to snap this one. We rested up a bit while admiring the tree and adjacent forest. The tree was definitely not as big in terms of circumference as the Bald Cypress on the Black River but it was taller and had a full crown. A formula of those three measurements is used to score a tree. I assume the tree's height and the width of the canopy gave this guy a big score.
For most of the paddle we could see the hardwood forest on either side of the swamp. When leaves fill in, it may not be visible. After turning boats around and heading back to the pond, our paddle was easier floating with the slight water flow. We found a spot where we could land the boats and get out for a relaxing lunch more scenic than any restaurant.
Back in the pond, our attention turned to spotting Alligators. We saw dozens of sliders but no gators.
I was pretty tired as we paddled across the pond toward the boat ramp. The Cow Lily slowed the boats as it was impossible to avoid them at times.
One last photo of the pond near the boat ramp.
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