Lost in Congaree Swamp

A father and two young children, age 6 and 10, were lost in the Congaree Swamp Nat'l park, near Columbia, SC, along the Congaree river. They spent a couple of nights lost before being found by a park ranger who went out in the early morning when birds were sleeping and things were quiet so he and the lost ones could hear each other.

The Congaree Swamp has the largest growth of virgin river bottom swamp land left in the US. Cypress, some pine, oaks, and tupelo gum trees are huge. Lots of wildlife. From the park headquaters it is about 5 miles by trail to the Congaree River. Wife and I walked it a few years ago, in the early spring before the mosquitoes came out, and after a long dry spell. There is a boadwalk to the head of the trail which floods during rainy weather. It has been wet lately so I'm sure the trail we walked has at least wet spots. At the end of the trail at the river the bottom land ends and the opposite bank is a fairly high bluff. We didn't get off the trail and were aware of directions and the position of the sun. Both of us have a good sense of direction and at no time were we unaware of the direction of the park headquarters. Walk was not bad, just a stroll along flat land.

Saw numerous large deer tracks, lots of wild pig tracks, and a huge bobcat track. Park ranger insisted there were on cougars in the area, including all of SC. At that time I had seen one locally.

We went back sometime later after heavy rainfall in the drainage area and all the trail we had followed was under water.

It is not reported yet why the group got lost. They do report that the area has downed trees from ice storms and the weather all winter has been wetter than when we made the trip.

KEH

KEH,

Thanks for the post. I'm glad it has a happy ending.

I,too, have a good sense of direction. However, years ago I was deer hunting in Maine. The woods was thick and the sky was overcast. I got completely lost. It was nearly dark, so I decided to bed down for the night in the woods.

Just as I had given up on getting out of the woods, I came upon an old shack. The path to the shack was not very clear, but I was able to follow it. Eventually it led out to a road. I had no idea what road or where it would lead, but I started walking on the road. A truck came by and the driver stopped and picked me up. He took me to where I had parked my car earlier that day.

Tom in TN

danial boone woulda a called this area paradise abundant with food,,i watched happy endin on news this am ,, that yuppis ancesters ......oh well

BTDT. When the woods are thick and lots of underbrush, its easy to lose your way.

Three years ago I responded to a craigslist ad asking for deer carcases for raw dog food. No problem, my guys left 3 after butchering where I could find them. Loaned the sweet young thing my knife as she'd forgotten to bring one. Then I grabbed the largest to drag 100 yds up to her truck.

Waited awhile, then went back to see what the problem was. She hadn't paid any attention to which direction I'd left. Leaned on her truck horn, but she didn't show. Getting dark, no moon, no telling where she might be.

Almost an hour later I got a call from a distant neighbor whose house lights she'd spotted. More than a little frightened by the time she got to their door. Covered in blood, she alarmed them.

Went down to bring her back to her truck, pleasantly surprised that she had presence of mind to hang onto my knife. She decided one deer was all she wanted to feed her dogs. My hunters found the bag of organs she'd gathered and abandoned in her fright.

I offered to go back by flashlight to where the other two deer were but she'd had enough adventure. Far as I could tell, almost no sense of direction. But from up here, walk downhill up to a mile in any direction and you get to a road.

That could happen to me, I could get lost in an acre of woods. My Dad cussed all the time about how long it took me to run a trapline. My mind just wanders I guess.

A few years ago a mother/daughter team got lost...

In a city park in Arlington TX...

Had to call 911 for rescue. They walked and walked, then came to a fence, didn't know what to do next.

True story!

Ha - same here!

I ALWAYS get lost.

I always end up finding my way, but it adds a lot of time.

It's the worst on foot where being lost means 10x's the amount of walking.

I could take you into a swamp to where you could stand up in a boat and see the skyline of the city (so you know what direction to go) but you would never be able to find your way threw the maze of waterways to find your way back home.

It has happened many times.