Charleston Info and Real Estate: One with the Edisto

Did I become one with the river during our 2 day adventure down the small slice of heaven known as the Edisto River? I like to think so! The Edisto can brag about being one of the longest, free-flowing blackwater rivers in the country but don't be fooled - it's not really dirty water. At a length of 250 miles the Edisto is important for our ecosystem but also is one of, if not, my favorite places to paddle. It's known as blackwater because the water leaches tannin's from the decaying vegetation so it appears black but honestly it's a very clean river. We even drank it!

My friends and I decided to venture up to the small town of St. George where Carolina Heritage Outfitters (http://www.canoesc.com/) is headquartered (it's actually in Canadys, SC). Now, you may not have heard of them but I'm sure you have heard about their trips. CHO has been reviewed many times online (sources all over the country) and the owners, Scott and Anne, even said Oprah's photographers showed up one day to photograph the 23 miles kayak and tree-house trip. The owners were very accommodating, were well organized and seemed to know and understand the Edisto better than the river itself. They offer canoes with all the gear but my friends and I decided to take our own kayaks which they were more than happy to drive up to our drop-in spot. For our trip all we took was our kayaks, food, and beverages (I'd recommend taking more water than you think to wash dishes and for coffee). We actually boiled water out of the river for our morning coffee and we are still alive today to write this (we coined the term "Edisto Coffee").

Day 1: Scott drove us all up in a van to our arrival spot where we would embark upon our journey. Upon arriving at our destination, 23 miles up the river, we unloaded our gear and set off down-river, with the current, which made this trip easy and relaxing. The only challenge (which really would only apply to new paddlers) would be all the fallen trees you must paddle around but it was easy. Our group had two 12' kayaks and one 14' kayak and we had no issues at all. It took us about 5 hours to go the first 13 miles but we took our time, stopped to eat lunch and stopped a few other times just to stretch and enjoy the sandy edges of the river. There are a ton of spots on the Edisto that resemble small beaches which was fun to get out and play around on. On our trip we spotted turtles (even a baby one), fish and a lot of birds (no gators). Upon our arrival to the large tree-house (there is also a small and medium size) we unloaded and relaxed. The tree-house comes fully furnished, including a grill, inside propane cook-top, plates/cups/silverware, pillows and futons. There is no water or electricity but just a short walk away is an outhouse. For dinner we brought corn on the cob and shish-ka-bobs that we grilled and for dessert we made peach cobbler using a dutch oven we brought. It tasted great! After dinner we hung around the fire and enjoyed the starry night. The weather was perfect and cool enough for us to sleep comfortably but I think this trip in July/August would be very warm and make it more challenging. After a long day on the water and cooking/eating dinner we crashed about 11:00 and rose with the sun around 7:30.

Day 2: Upon arising we cooked a gourmet breakfast using the propane cook-top inside. Breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, potatoes and peppers which we mixed all together for a delicious breakfast casserole. We hung around for a bit drinking our "edisto coffee" as we now call it and started to clean up. We had to be out of the tree-house by 11:00. We loaded up our gear and headed back out on the water around 10:30. Paddling was easier this day due to our understanding of the river, how it bends around the outside curve and how to play the current so it takes us right into our next turn. Day 2 was only a 10 mile paddle back to the car. Carolina Heritage provided us with a map which had mileage markers on it that told us how far we had gone each day and was quite helpful. We arrived to the car around 2:00, backed the cars right up to the river and unloaded very easily. After we got our kayaks tied down we headed home and made a stop at Boxcar Betty's in Summerville for a chicken sandwich.

Yes, I would absolutely do this again. The cost was a bit steep for a night "roughing" it in a tree-house but it makes sense. We were right around $200/night for the large house. The owners own about 160 acres, built 3 great tree-stands in a forest, constructed an outhouse and provided us the essentials for a night in the woods. I give this trip a 5-star experience and hope to make it an annual tradition. Check out of some of our pics below

As always - I'm here to help you buy, sell or invest in Real Estate. If you, or someone you know, is looking to move please have them reach out to me. All my clients are like family!

-Jason