Last weekend Christy and I traveled to Raleigh for a friend's 30th birthday party. Since we were heading that direction, we decided to bring the canoe along and explore a different part of the state.

We got off to a late start on Sunday, but sometimes a keg party will do that to you. Fortunately the drive went quicker than expected, even with the canoe on top of Christy's Jetta. From Raleigh we drove towards Fayetteville and headed towards White Lake. This part of state is known for its natural lakes. Several are contained in two state parks. That was our original plan, but members of the Lumber River Canoe Club suggested we try Horseshoe Lake (also known as Suggs Mill Pond) instead.

Horseshoe Lake was recently purchased by the state, with help from the nature conservancy ((www.nature.org). We turned off the main road in the "town" of Jerome and soon were following a dirt road through pine forest. We found the road to the lake, which was marked by a sign that said entrance was allowed by special permit only. After some investigation, I determined that the sign referred to hunters only, so we continued on. The road became rough and sandy, and I was getting nervous when we finally spotted the lake. We parked at the levee and unloaded, shortly after noon.

We didn't see anybody else around, despite a warm, but not hot, summer day. Bugs were few, which was also a pleasant surprise. We put in and headed for the main part of the lake. Once in the main channel, we explored one of the many stands of cypress growing in the water. We tied up to a clump of trees and enjoyed a late lunch.

After eating we had a decision to make. The lake curved to the northeast and to the west. Due to our late start, I figured we'd only have time to go one way or the other. The western portion looked more swampy, with lots of cypress trees. That seemed more interesting so we decided to head that way.

We paddled down a long narrow channel surrounded by cypress. There were lots of lily pads, and some had large white blossoms with yellow centers. Eventually the channel ended, although the map showed that the lake continued quite a distance beyond. We backtracked, and were about to head for the eastern arm, when Christy noticed orange markers high up on a couple of trees. I thought they were probably just a boundary, but we decided to follow them. Sure enough, they led through the cypress maze. This part of the trip was beautiful and a little spooky. Eventually we came out on the far side. Here was another section of lake. This part lacked the cypress trees we had enjoyed, but the marshy surroundings were a nice change of pace.

We paddled towards the far end of the lake. It was very shallow, but there was no real dry ground. At one point I got out to answer the call of nature, only to find myself sinking much deeper than expected. That 2 minute break was very unpleasant, as I imagined what was lurking under the surface of black water. Images of snakes, leeches, and alligators made me hurry, and I nearly lost my sandals trying to get back in the canoe.

As we paddled we spotted numerous birds. Ducks, Great Blue Herons, and Egrets were all spotted. We also saw what I think were Pitcher Plants, a carnivorous plant native to the area. Eventually the water got too shallow to continue, but we seemed to be near the end. We backtracked, and relied heavily on the orange route markers to lead us back through the maze.

We had just emerged from the Cypress maze when Christy spotted something moving in the water ahead of us. My first thought was "alligator!" However, we saw 2 heads pop up out of the water and look curiously in our direction. River Otters! I had never seen otters in the wild before, so this was the highlight to an already great day. They checked us out briefly, and then disappeared under water. A few minutes later they surfaced some distance away, only to disappear again, this time for good.

It was getting late, but we decided to paddle around the east side to see if it would be worth coming back to explore. It didn't seem as interesting as the cypress to the west, but was still scenic and peaceful. I think we'll be back.




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