An open window – Raynor On The Coast

We returned to the Cape Trail at Santee Coastal Reserve, again. Groundhog Day? No. Was there anything new to see? Yes, always.

At the parking area, my neighbor Brantley and I were the first arrivals, on this second day after the Cape Trail and its expanse of impoundments were open again to the public after the winter closing (November 1 through February 8) due to migratory waterfowl. It was one year ago to the day since I walked these dikes (see A place of birds). The timing of the visit was opportune for entering the window before the proliferation of biting insects.

One significant enhancement at the trail head was the presence of a porta potty, and a wash station. Well appointed, indeed. As Brantley tried out this facility, I scrutinized one of the numerous live oaks on the road adorned with resurrection fern and Spanish moss, as a mosquito buzzed my ear.

We passed the maintenance area, the first impoundment and canals, and left the upland behind to walk the dike between the great ponds and their bountiful wildlife. An alligator basked along the edge of the dike, the sun bringing this reptile and many others to soak up the warmth on what would be a seventy-degree day.

Brantley backtracked a short distance to retrieve a dropped item, and I tuned into the bird sound: kingfisher, red winged blackbird, tricolor heron, ducks. More migratory waterfowl had filled these wetlands over the winter, but we were not disappointed by the birds on this day. The wetlands landscape had expansive vistas.

Our path headed in a straight line to the southeast into the morning sun, the warm southwest wind blowing across our direction. Black bodies appeared on the dike ahead, resolving into adult alligators as we drew closer. They moved off the dike on our approach, and we were to see about a dozen on the two mile stretch to the dike’s end at the Intracoastal Waterway. Numerous gnats also populated the dike, annoying but fortunately non-biting.

The “road” made a “T” with the dike parallel to the ICW, and we turned to the northeast, a canal separating us from a section of upland to our left. At a water control structure we stopped for a snack break, noting an alligator on the other side of the canal. It ws completely unfazed by our presence; we sized each other up. This dike ran in the same direction as the wind flow through the narrow upland, and provided a haven for the early arrival of mosquitoes, which we had hoped to avoid on our winter visit. So the window closed a little, and was a reminder to never wear shorts to Santee Coastal.

Spurred on by the mosquito haven and an afternoon appointment for Brantley, we picked up the pace and made the turn to the west on the dike running parallel to the South Santee River. A large cypress stump stood out alongside the dike. Surely I had passed it a number of times in the past, noticed on this day due to my awareness of the virgin cypress and gum swamp forest dominating the Santee Delta prior its transformation for the rice industry.

We made the turn on the dike to the southwest before re-entering the maritime forest. A bicycle rider, the first person encountered, stopped to chat and compare bird sightings. She related seeing us far ahead on the first dike, but she could not catch up to us due to alligators on the dike not budging, despite her use of a whistle to shoo them off. She had turned around, and had headed in the opposite direction on the five-mile loop trail. In talking about her detour, she recounted a past trip where she had gone out a dead-end trail, and had found herself temporarily stuck on the return by a gator occupying the dike. She had also in the past used her whistle to scare off feral hogs roaming these lands.

On the path to complete our loop, we noticed the major churning of the dirt along the road by wild hogs. We were passed by one other bicyclist, here for the first time and lost at one point when out on the ponds. He would be the last person we would see before making our exit out through the live oak lined Santee Gun Club Road.

GInny Prevost

February 19, 2023 at 12:59 pm

A nice trip to Santee Coastal …. post duck season but apparently not pre mosquito season :). A reminder that if we are going to do that walk we had better do it sooner rather than later ! G.