Day 148 (I finally have days 145 and 146 up as well)

Daily stats
Start: 7:30 AM - Heritage Plantation Marina (near Pawleys Island, SC)
Finish: 3:00 PM - ICW on the back side of Myrtle Beach, SC
Time: 7:30
Daily dist: 28 miles
Total dist: 2700+ miles
Companions: None
Weather: Sunny, breezy, HOT and humid
Notes: A long hot day on the ICW, never sure where I would be able to camp.

Today's camp tucked away in the trees.

It seems as though in this phase of the game most of my days on the water are just that, (days on the water) whatever conditions Mother Nature throws at me I simply have to deal with. Be it wind, rain, tides, swell, there is no point in stressing over it, I just have to do what needs to be done to be safe and hopefully put a few more miles behind me. Of course I wouldn’t be out here if I couldn’t appreciate the experiences I’ve had and the natural beauty and wildlife I am exposed to on a daily basis. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve come to realize that what seems to make a break the day for me is where I manage to find a place to camp at the end of the day.

My days would be simpler, more enjoyable, and much less stressful if I knew exactly where I’d be spending the night and that the spot in question was at least good enough to be comfortable. Even though things have worked out for the best, what I dealt with over the last three days include; Friday) Cape Romain a spot I feared getting harassed (and possibly thrown off of by the authorities. Saturday) having no clue where I might find dry land before dark and luckily connecting with Ronnie at the Heritage Plantation marina. Sunday) Today, running on only what I could ascertain from Google Earth images on a long ditch of the ICW in a heavily developed and populated area, I thankfully found an awesome spot near a municipal water treatment facility that, with luck, I won‘t be found and booted out of before morning.

As if paddling 30 miles every day isn’t enough the stress of not knowing what camp is going to be is quite a drag. The “where on earth am I gong to spend the night?” question is like a grey cloud looming over the entire day. I long for the days on the Mississippi River where decided how long I wanted to paddle and when I reached that hour I simply grabbed the first beautiful sand bar that I passed, no questions asked. With what I believe to be dredge spoil islands along the ICW (similar to what worked so well in Florida) things are looking better for the next few days.

View of the ICW from camp.

All that being said I scored a great spot today. The Intracoastal around here is really not much more than a thirty mile long ditch a hundred yards wide lined on both sides by steep tree covered banks from when the ditch was cut. On a hot Sunday like this one it is jamb packed with boats of all types and sizes all trying to outdo one another for who can go the fastest in such a crowded and confined waterway. As I paddled early in the day I watched the shore line for clues to what might indicate a good spot to camp. It broke down into a few requirements. It had to have a place to get the kayak out of the water, a way to get to the top of the 20 high bank above, and a relatively clear flat spot to put the tent. As I passed some sort of concrete structure housing an intake pipe for a water treatment facility of some kind, I noticed there was a seemingly seldom used boat ramp leading out of the water and running up to what looked like a flat grassy spot tucked into the woods on top of the bank above. It was about an hour before I was planning on stopping but I was in no position to pass up what looked like a great spot. So I landed and, sure enough, I had found the perfect spot. Easy access off the water and a secluded little grassy area above that even has a great view of the water below.
 
What a find!