Bikes, Boots, & Boats: Snakes

Date Kayaked: July 16, 2022
Total miles Tracked: 7.4 miles
Type of paddle: flat river
Conveniences: None
Best Features: Three Sisters Swamp
Worst Features: Public landings are few and far apart.
Wildlife spotted: S-s-snakes! (Only a couple, actually)
Vegetation: Cypress
Associated Website: None
Primary Author: James

The Black River and the Three Sisters Swamp has been something Cheryl and I have wanted to paddle for a few years now. The Three Sisters Swamp is one of the ecological wonders of North Carolina, a pristine wilderness of ancient bald cypress trees that have never been logged. Many trees are more than 1000 years old, some have been verified to be over 2000 years old, and it's likely that older trees exist. Old cypress trees often have hollow cores, making it difficult to pin down their true age. Since motorboats can't navigate through the shallow waters of the swamp, the only way to see this unspoiled landscape is via canoe or kayak.

The remote nature of the swamp that protects it is also the biggest challenge to paddling it. We've launched a few times from Hunt's Bluff Wildlife Boat Ramp, roughly 3 miles downstream from the swamp. If you're willing to paddle against the current, you can reach the edge of the Three Sister's swamp in a few hours and at least explore the lower portion.

If you don't mind paddling upstream several miles, you can reach this tree!

But, if you want to experience the full swamp, you'll need to launch from upstream and follow the current. On Google Maps, this looked like a daunting challenge to do without a guide. While much of the Black River can be kayaked year-round, low water might make portions of the swamp impassible. The swamp is also dense with cypress, and, while you could possibly stick to the main channel and make your way through without getting lost, exploring the thickest, most interesting parts of the swamp would be like exploring a labyrinth.

Watch out for aquatic minotaurs.

Fortunately, Cheryl is part of a paddling group on Facebook and a local named Mitch volunteered to lead a group of paddlers through the swamp. We gladly joined this expedition. We launched from Henry's landing, a private kayak ramp that charges a small fee to park and launch. We left cars downriver at another private ramp, Newby's landing.

Near the landing the river is broad and open.

The paddle itself was very easy. You're moving with the current, and except for navigating a few tight spots through the trees, the route Mitch led us through was free of snags or debris that might have blocked our path if we'd tried to find our way through on our own.

Perhaps because we were part of a large group, we didn't see much wildlife other than a few snakes. We also took surprisingly few photographs considering how beautiful the terrain was. If there's a downside to paddling with a group, it's that you can't wedge your kayak into a tree to stop for a few minutes to take photos without blocking the paddlers behind you or losing sight of the paddlers in front of you. The advantage of a large group on a paddle like this is that you can be a little less paranoid. If you were paddling this on your own and something went wrong, it's not a situation where a park ranger can come to your rescue.

Even a harmless water snake might give you a heart attack if it drops into your boat.

In all, we were on the water a little over four hours, covering just over seven miles. Our photos don't do it justice, but this is easily one of the best paddle trips we've ever tackled.