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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…

There’s just something about babies that grabs your attention and makes you stop for a moment to appreciate their beauty. Regardless of whether they’re children, animals, tree leaves or baby fruits! As a naturalist and plant lover, I find myself getting excited when I see a flower with a pollinator inside of it or watching…

Wild, Wild Children, cont. ‍ The young arthropod, so recently plucked from the tree it was climbing, crawls around the wrist of its captor. “Uhm, no thank you. I don’t want to hold it.” “Oh no.” They back away from a chance to hold a millipede, eyes wide. But Captain K just chuckles with a…

  INOSCULATION. You have probably looked at some trees before that had a strange connected look to them, so you walked on looking for something else. Next time, stop and see how they connect. Sometimes they grow together where touching and become one intertwined organism. Their living tissue is combined. This is inosculation. The trees…

Wild, Wild Children ‍ They spill from big yellow school buses with giggles and nervous anticipation, these wild children. For today, they leave behind indoor classrooms. Out here, in the Jocassee Gorges, they will enter their natural habitat, the one that has nourished and sustained humanity for thousands of years. There are no walls. Out…

To express how much Sherrie Whitten meant to us all, the JLT guides had this to say:   “There was no kinder soul in this world.” “She was amazing, with a heart of gold, smart and kind…” “…there will always be a Sherrie-shaped hole on this side of the veil.” “It’s hard to measure the…

  Sherrie Whitten ‍ In loving memory of a true Jocassee champion.   A member of the Jocassee Lake Tours family, and beloved wife of JLT naturalist guide Dan Whitten.   A pillar of Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education.   The backbone of Friends of Jocassee since its inception in 2011.   And a dear friend,…

Finally, after a LONG wait the trout are finally starting to bite again. We went out Wednesday morning and had one of the best days of fishing we have had in over a year. Within four hours we landed 3 rainbow trout that were stocked this year, just over the legal size limit of 15…