Views of Congaree National Park in Winter

The mosquito meter could have been on “War Zone,” but instead sat steadily on Low.  What better reason to visit the swamp in the middle of winter?

How about:

• empty campgrounds
• empty park for that matter!
• cool temperatures
• low humidity
• gorgeous views unobstructed by foliage

The cypress knees huddled in lonely groups emerging from imposing inky black water in crisp winter air. Delicate lace of Spanish moss draped itself in sheets among the naked branches.  The feeling was surreal.  I found myself wondering if I may have been wandering among alien life forms on a strange planet rather than an earthly swamp.  Where was the oppressive weight of the moisture laden air, the smell of decay, the unbearable heat?

A fantastic array of strangely shaped fungus clung to trees of monstrous proportions.  Congaree National Park hosts one of the last old growth forests left in the United States.

Here you will find pines, cypress, tupelo, and congaree in proportions matched only by the likes of the California Redwoods.

Sometimes when the wind kicks up, a few of them will try and kill you by falling across the trail directly in front of you.

A creek, snap, crash a tree assassin!

Aaron got to test a new toy on this trip.  A MSR Minworks Sweetwater filter.  Would you drink this water?

Blackwater is delicious.

We had many adventures in the swamp.  (one a bit more harrowing than I would like): Read at ReptilesAliveBlog.

Thankfully, they all ended with a view such as these:

~ by rattlerjen on January 19, 2009.