Ocean, sweet ocean

The itinerary for yesterday: reach the destination that we set out a month ago from Grandfather Mountain with. The past few days saw a lot of the same foliage and geography along the river bank as we paddled through the Francis Marion Natl Forest. However, yesterday's 20 mile paddle saw such a severe change in terrain from freshwater swamp to salt marsh. We thought we were seeing as many alligators as we'd see for the entire trip, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Our final tally during yesterday's paddle was 22, mostly around the 7 to 8 foot range. There was no coincidence that the island to the south of our beach had the unmistakeable profile of a 'gator.

The feeling that yesterday was the culmination of all our hard work for the past month was apparent in our eagerness to see the crashing waves of the ocean as we made our last turn at Santee Point. The realization of where we had just arrived didn't really sink in until we had landed our boats on the beach, stripped off all our kayaking gear and sprinted into the cool salt water. We had finally done it! We were pitching our tents for the final time where the waterway that provided a highway for us this past month flows out into the ocean. The horseflies, as persistent and annoying they had been previously, actually provided some entertainment in how many could you swat in a single hand slap. There were also fresh turtle crawls at our beach and nests marked and covered by the local marine biology establishment.

Continued...