Paddle for Saturday 1/21/23 Gum swamp Creek Sect. 3

Lumber River Canoe Club explores Gum Swap, it was a great trip,
After a shuttle by Andy, ten paddlers set off at 10:00 AM on Gum Swamp Creek off Barnes Bridge Rd. in Laurinburg with a brisk 40 degrees and clear skies. Water level was somewhat low but there was good current to push us. 10 minutes into the paddle we came to our first go-under downfall. This broke us in and prepared us for more downfall ahead. Some of the go-unders were really low.... only challenging Omer to attempt them and succeed, thereby inspiring others to follow. Gene and Omer were handy cutting passages and eliminating overhead branches. Garrett was there to assist others with go unders and go overs. Actually, everyone helped each other. Kim succeeded in her first drag over (getting out of the boat and onto a branch and dragging your boat across). Paddlers enjoyed the challenges and loved the scenery of the creek. We stopped for lunch at an abandoned railway trestle site and enjoyed a nice fire to warm us for 30 minutes before getting back underway. The rest of the trip seemed longer than previous paddles on this section, but we eventually made it to the takeout at Pea Bridge Rd at 3:00 PM. Wildlife seen were deer, evidence of beavers, and pheasants near the put in. Scott shuttled Andy back to his car at the put-in. Pictures have been posted on the group FB page. We still have one more section of Gum Swamp Creek so keep that in mind. Thanks to all who joined us on this trip, and it was good to have some new faces (Brad and Laura) who had paddled with us before and decided to come on back for the fun. See you on the river. Andy