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It is our privilege as JLT guides to relive the wonder and awe of our own first nature experiences when a young client holds a salamander, swims under a waterfall, or tastes the “root beery” flavor of a sassafras leaf for the first time. Children are the heart of our Wild Child program and sharing…

False Alarm Maybe it takes all kinds, but it takes a special kind of evil to make a prank call about a boating accident on a busy 4th of July weekend. The words that came through the grapevine were “bad boating accident at the Jocassee Dam, twelve people onboard.” Hearts raced. Rumors swirled like toilet…

Meet the Sharkeys—our favorite lounge of sloths for the day! Somewhere in Jocassee’s lush, temperate rainforest, they found the ultimate hanging log and slipped right into full sloth mode—dangling, laughing, and loving every minute of it. And what about that dad? The honorary king of the lounge. Once a Wild Child, always a Wild Child….

“Possible” Thunderstorms   It begins with a rumble, distant, barely discernable. Just a touch of indigo darkens western sky. Five minutes later distant mountains in Whitewater River Gorge are silvered by rain. We head east, where sunshine illuminates billows of cotton clouds. Breeze puffs up, little whitecaps dance across open lake. Silver rain rolls around…

It was a typically sunny, hot day on Lake Jocassee. As the crew (two families, one white, one black) boarded, they made it clear that swimming was everyone’s objective. It was Father’s Day, but no baseball or napping for the dads responsible for their kids’ safety. While swimming was the primary goal, it seemed prudent…

Contrast It’s hot at the dock on Lake Jocassee, but the vibe is slow and relaxed. People are smiling. A steady stream of boats are being launched and retrieved, but no one is in a hurry, no one is disgruntled by waiting an extra minute or two. Everyone is chatty and pleasant. Peals of laughter…

Although I swam a few times in May, June is typically when I begin to really enjoy swimming in the lake each year. This week, surface temperatures are in the low 70’s. On these warm, sunny days, it’s easy to acclimate. The recent rain showers have the creeks and streams flowing at above average volume….

Coon Branch A short spot of old growth forest on the west side of the Whitewater River was preserved from the sharp teeth of chainsaws. The story of its saving is worthy of more than a paragraph. It is our destination on this beautiful Saturday in mid-June, serenaded by two Swainson’s Warblers and a Red-eyed…

  ‍Log rolling. Discovering imaginary continents. Fishing with a ziploc bag, a piece of bread, and a heart full of hope. Fearless cave exploring. Salamander hunting. Leaping from rocks big, small, and even underwater rocks. Climbing rocks that become ships or islands. Painting arms with glittery sand. Tasting wild blueberries. When you bring a child…

Bear? ‍ The sun is down; the day’s light is ebbing. Dear husband and I have taken advantage of an evening at home to rest up for the weekend, so we are in bed, reading. Mica the Magnificent Watchdog is curled in her customary early evening position between bed and window. Suddenly she pops into…

FEELING NATURE – Going into the wilderness we can experience many feelings. Awe at the natural beauty, joy from young creatures emerging into the world under parental supervision. Recently, a morning cruise on Lake Jocassee was reminiscent of the lake in Maine where I grew up. The sights and smells prompted feelings of sadness as…

Great Blues ‍ At the base of the Great Blue Wall, where the Thompson River makes one final slip over a blocky ledge before disappearing under the surface of Lake Jocassee, a Great Blue Heron fishes. He doesn’t leave at our slow approach, but stands, princely, his frayed plume of chest feathers ruffling slightly…