Appalachian State University Students take on Congaree National Park
Early in the morning on Saturday, November 16th, 16 App State students departed for Congaree National Park for an outdoor recreation outing through the National Park Trust. After a 3 ½ hour drive and a quick lunch stop, we arrived at the park to meet with Gabby, a park ranger who has worked in Congaree for 4 years, for a quick introduction to the park. We then headed to South Cedar Creek Landing to meet with representatives from River Runner Outdoor Center and get kayaks and canoes to take out. The group spent the next 3 hours exploring Congaree NP from the waters of Cedar Creek. We heard this was the best way to view the park since much of the part is reserved as Wilderness Areas. We passed massive cypress trees that have stood in the park for hundreds of years, with fox squirrels and a multitude of bird species perched high up in their branches.
After our time on the water, the group helped to load the boats up before heading to the Harry Hampton Visitor Center for dinner. We enjoyed a dinner of pasta and garlic bread cooked over an open fire at a grill pit. With full stomachs, we then made our way to our campsites for the night at Bluff Campground. This is a hike-in-only spot, so we had to take on a little nighttime hike to get to our campsite. Once there, we had a big campfire and roasted marshmallows for smores before heading to bed and layering up for the cold night.
We woke up to a chilly, misty morning, thick with the sounds of birds and bugs that call the low-lying wetlands of Congaree home. The group then packed up the campsites and hiked back to the visitor center for hot breakfast and flushing bathrooms. Some people in the group had never been camping before, and were very excited to once again have access to typical amenities. Annaliese made a stop by the group during breakfast, giving everyone a chance to meet our National Park Trust partner and learn more about the organization. We also had the chance to meet students from Benedict College and South Carolina State because they were also visiting Congaree NP as a National Park Trust Outing!
Congaree National Park was an ideal location for an outing because it is incredibly different from any climate found near App State or anywhere else in the Appalachian Mountains. Only myself and one other person on the trip had ever been to Congaree NP before the outing, so for most people, it was a new and unique experience. Congaree is also home to an old-growth forest nicknamed “Redwoods of the East” because of the sheer size of the trees in the park. The park is home to the highest concentration of champion trees in North America – the tallest known specimen of their species. Everyone that went on the trip was amazed to see the incredible forests and raved about how much fun they had in the park. Overall, I believe our trip to Congaree National Park was a very successful outing, and we plan to make it just one of many!
