Congaree Swamp National Park

On February 20th, Matt and I embarked on a journey to visit the largest old growth flood plain forest in eastern north america- the Congaree. It was a gorgeous day without a single cloud in the sky. It was windy and a little cool, but nice none-the-less. Here's an account of that trip:

boardwalk over the floodplain


Matt at a 250 year old, 15' circumference former champion Loblolly


As soon as we arrived, we headed straight for the largest tree of the Pinus genera east of the Rockies- the Riddle Pine (Loblolly Pine- Pinus taeda)


The climbers had already been in this tree for hours- measuring the total volume of the tree was quite a task



we all had sore necks from gawking up at the 169' Riddle Pine!


The pine beside it was no slouch either- other climbers scaled it to get pictures of the main group climbing the big pine. This tree had a wicked curly-Q limb unlike any other Loblolly I've seen too


Some nice late day light on the gut beside the monstrous pines





The spires of dead pines were impressive as well




This beard was a lifesaver that first night


Little did we know the mercury would drop to 19 degrees (or colder) that night!


Ice! Cold! Jake's face says it all


That morning we started the fire back up to try and thaw out from the frigid night. I made a nice stack of mini-pancakes for us as well.




Next it was off to the visitor's center to rendevous with the Eastern Native Tree Society and then off for a 6.5 mile hike to find some big trees of our own. This park has the highest concentration of state and national champion trees anywhere in the country!



Another monster pine


Even Jake started durkin' out with us



Red (Swamp) Maples were in full bloom


More big trees and scenic shots on our dayhike



Big oaks were everywhere as well


Jacob exploding in sunlight




One cold anole


It's neat to see the canopy of a tree after it recently fell like this monstrous oak. You can see the aerial resurrection fern garden up close and personal.



a nice quiet spot to hang out




Most impressive cedar we noticed (see Matt for scale). I used Matt's arm span to get a rough idea of the diameter of this tree and came up with 7.3 feet diameter and 23 feet circumference at 4.5 above the water level! This is the largest diameter (eastern) tree i believe i have a ever seen.



We did one last jaunt into the muddy forest of giants before heading out






Quiet spot near a giant bald cypress


This photo sums up our trip and shows how being in the Congaree makes you feel