6.4.22 I woke up late, as usual. Working night shift really screws up your sleep schedule and even when I don’t have to work, I end up being awake most of the night and sleeping until late morning. Even so, I had one free night and I wanted to spend it outside. I had conjured up a loose itinerary of a short paddle out to a place called Pirate’s Cove on Summersville Lake which is a little over an hour from Charleston, a night at a free campsite near the lake, and then a day looking for remote waterfalls following. I brought my inflatable kayak up from North Carolina, so I hauled it down the steps to my car, loaded Shooter up, and off we went.
During my initial research about this area I had apparently found information about a free campsite below Summersville Dam. I had even pinned it in Gaia but didn’t remember any information about it. I didn’t even have it labeled as the correct name! But regardless of that, I put the coordinates in and set my GPS to navigate. I found the campsite with no issues; there are 18 free first come, first serve sites right at the base of Summersville Dam, exactly as described. Being as it was a Saturday afternoon by the time we arrived, I consider myself lucky we found a site. There were no trees so I threw up my tent to “book” our spot and we headed off to find a boat put-in.
I hadn’t researched this particular lake very well. I knew there was a “paddle only” put-in somewhere but didn’t know the name or where it was. Since it was getting to be late in the day, I decided we’d just put in at a popular boat ramp, Salmon Run.
I arrived at around 3pm to a full parking lot and had to drop my boat off and then go park. I finally got back to the boat, got it inflated, and got in the water. Our destination was a spot I’d read about called Pirate’s Cove, a popular swimming area where a waterfall tumbles off the side of a cliff into a shallow cove. As we left the no-wake zone near the boat ramp and came out onto the open water, we inevitably encountered numerous power boats zipping around, creating wake, scaring me half to death. I love kayaking but a couple years ago a jet-skier purposely tipped Shooter and I, and Shooter ended up injured because of it. I’m super wary of watercraft with motors ever since, and they make me and Shooter both nervous. We hugged the shoreline, which was crowded with swimmers who hiked down on a trail that I didn’t know existed.
The sheer cliff walls of Summersville Lake create a dramatic boating experience unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. The lake, despite the powerboats and the crowds, was absolute gorgeous in the late afternoon light. We paddled into Pirates Cove after a relatively short time and watched as numerous high-school aged kids jumped off the cliffs into the water. While I was there, a large boat with two engines came roaring into the Cove, barreled through the swimmers, and stopped at the waterfall. I was absolutely dumbstruck– there were kids swimming in there! They idled for a few moments before throwing the boat into reverse and nearly running over a young kid who was swimming for his life trying to get back to shore to his parents. Everyone on shore was yelling at the driver to stop, and he finally heard them and shifted back into forward. At that point, he was facing ME! And he gunned the motors straight for me. Now the bystanders on shore are yelling, “Stop! There’s a kayaker!” This asshole didn’t care. I think he would have run over me if I hadn’t been able to get out of the way.
Slightly unnerved, I sat in the cove until that boat was well out of sight. Then Shooter and I paddled back into the sunset back toward the boat ramp where we’d put in. On our way out into the lake we had passed a couple hanging out near the shore. They spoke to me on the way in, commenting on Shooter as most people do. On my way out, they were still there and invited me to stop and chat with them. I took them up on the offer and absolutely hit it off; I ended up talking with them until the sun was almost gone and I had to get back to the boat ramp before dark. This is one of the most beautiful things about this lifestyle: I absolutely love the opportunities that I have to meet people, locals, and experience the place I’m visiting through their lens.
Adventure Like A Girl 