It was an almost ideal day except for the flood conditions
present when we arrived at the Black River. It was
obviously out of its banks, probably by two or three feet,
judging by the debris line.
Greg had done lots of swamp canoeing in NJ, but hadn't done
any for several years, and wanted a rural flat water river
on which to become reacquainted. Several times during the
trip and shuttles, he commented on how much rural Sampson
Co. looked like NJ Pine Barren Swamplands. I'm not sure if
he was insulting Sampson Co. or NJ.
The river's pinched bends sometimes formed 360-degree
curls. Most of the current wallowed through the cut-off
trees and formed meandering backwaters in the normal
channels. The flood conditions combined with the evidently
heavy logging created arch after arch of fallen trees in
the river from both sides.
Sometimes there was just enough room to squeeze through the
branches with just a couple of limbs in your face. But
often we were forced to pull through Tarzan-like, grabbing
branch-to-branch. At least there wasn't much noticeable
current to fight. The water was still dark, but wasn't near
as black as last October on sections 1 and 2.
Except for the lone water snake that tried to use our
Penobscot as a log to dry out on, there wasn't much
scenery, much wildlife, or excitement. Sections 3,4, and 5
even lacked the bald cypress that Sections 1 and 2 had. The
most pleasant surprise was the take-out at the 1550 Bridge.
We found what has to be the only N.C. Wildlife Access area
designed specifically for canoeists.
Coming up Highway 210, you can't miss the giant 4-foot
square Access sign. But when you get to the bridge, there's
a noticeable lack of parking spaces, driveways, anything
other than a dirt path that leads to a Myrtle Beach-like
quartz white sandy beach just under and besides the beach
on the downriver side. It's impossible to drive down to it,
let alone get a trailered boat to it, and it lacked even a
gum wrapper, which is an indication that more than one
environmentally-conscious canoeist had used it.
^^^^^^
Date: Saturday, May 13
River: Black, sections 6 and 7 (17.5 miles)
Put-in: Bladen Co. Rt. 1550 Bridge
Take-out: N.C. 210 Bridge (Still Bluff)
Participants: H. Kent Craig & Jesse Jones
One of the "Seven Sisters" on Section 6 of the Black River
^^^^^^
Jesse Jones, a graduate student in forestry at N.C. State
University, had been trying to find out exactly where those
1000-1700-year-old cypress trees were on the Black for a
while.
We had tried to find the cypress on Sections 1 and 2 in October of 1988, but with no luck. After I had canoed Sections 3, 4, and 5 the previous Sunday, Jesse found out from one of his professors that the cypress were supposedly north of Highway 53 Bridge on the Black (Section 6) with a few below it on Section 7.
These cypress are reputedly the oldest trees in eastern North America, with a few survivors dating back to the time of Christ. After seeing the upper sections so heavily logged just a few days before, I was skeptical, but eager.
We put in at the "canoes only" Wildlife Access Area at the Rt. 1550 Bridge. While the weather was perfect and the upper stretches showed signs of agriculture, the wildlife was peculiarly absent. We canoed about four or five miles before we started seeing signs of cypress, and then they started to pop out at us. They tended to be more on the right than on the left, though the absolute oldest ones were on the left, tucked back in the old backwater curves, three to four rows from the bank. In contrast to the upper Black, where cypress were right on the water, and where rootballs were huge but the trunks and trees themselves were skinny, these primeval Methuslians tended to be large from the roots up, with many scars of life showing from lightning strikes and the like, with tops extended like crew-cut flat-tops, shading their neighbors below them. When we popped around a curve and encountered one of these Leviathans, the sight would cause us to back-paddle to a full halt to admire them and take pictures. So, indeed we had found and encountered one of the great largely unknown treasures of the natural world tucked back in on the Black.
The giant cypress thinned out considerably past the Highway 53 Bridge. Section 7 was okay, but the absence of giant cypress and the presence of fishermen are something to keep in mind.
Even if you find flat water a bore and even if you don't find trees particularly fascinating, the sight of the oldest trees in eastern North America should make the drive worthwhile.
We took out and drove to nearby Wilmington and treated ourselves to a much deserved dinner at the Beaches Restaurant on Eastwood Drive.
