What: Eating a delectable feast and dancing to live music at Ledet Ethiopian restaurant, camping at Lake Hartwell, paddling on Lake Jocassee (out of Devils Fork State Park), fleeing from sudden squall, camping on Foothills Trail, hiking to Whitewater Falls, eating pho at Pho Dai Loi.
Epic Story: We paddled out with two kayaks and three canoes across the calm, clear waters of Lake Jocassee, the sun shining bright overhead. A few dark clouds hung over the mountains that ringed the lake, but the weather seemed too perfect to pay these any heed. When we were about two-thirds of the way through the 1.5 mile open expanse that separated the boat ramp from the mouth of the Whitewater River, I noticed that a strange haze had abruptly taken hold of the canyon in front of us. A few minutes later, a light cold drizzle began to fall. A minute or two after this, the drizzle had escalated into a torrential downpour. Then the wind started; light at first, it steadily intensified until it was blowing what felt like well over 30 knots. This, naturally, transformed the calm seas into a washing machine of towering waves that threatened to swamp our tiny, ill-prepared boats.
My dad gave the order to turn around; his voice was lost within a few feet, but I took up his new course and at least two of the three canoes were soon to follow. A controlled escape was out of the question; pointing the boat toward the opposite shore was impossible, and I was left to assume the course dictated by the whim of the wind, or else capsize and swim the remaining mile. Visibility dropped to zero; boats and landforms vanished. It was me and an infinite oblivion on all sides, and only dead reckoning was left to guide me back to shore. After a small eternity, the rain started to abate, and one by one, my dad’s kayak and two of the canoes and the shoreline reappeared. We all hastily made landfall and pulled our boats to higher ground, and exchanged nervous chuckles and assorted expressions of relief. But scanning the horizon, none of us could deny a singular disquieting reality: the third canoe was nowhere to be found...
Costs (per person):
Gas: $27
Camping at Lake Hartwell: $3
Ethiopian dinner and dancing: $7
Vietnamese bible tripe soup: $7
Trip Members: Jeff, Tyler, Lily, Alex, Kelsey G., Kelsey D., Priyanka, Kara, Bryce, Justin, Kimmie, Ashley, Stephanie, and Jim.
Small waterfall
Whitewater Falls
Foothill Trails
Bible tripe soup