2/25/2008
Laurens County and the Buzzards Roost Dam
Today we paddled past the historic town of Pelzer and reached Greenwood State Park. 

This morning I woke up in Anderson, SC on the Heritage Corridor.  I got on the water at 8am. We went over our maps the previous night and saw that there are several dams. We put in just below the Pelzer Mill Dam, then after 3-4 miles, saw some ‘danger’ and ‘caution’ signs, indicating possibly another dam ahead, so we pulled out at the Cooley Bridge. Cooley was an early cotton planter in the 1700’s and he owned the land in that area. The Cooley Bridge was once the location of a ferry that he operated. Without the dams, the Piedmont would have been flooded on a regular basis.
 We put back in at Holiday Bridge, down below another hydroelectric dam. Apparently the water into the river had been shut off that day, because the river was extremely low and I had to navigate through the rocks and some rapids. Kayaks are not made for white water and I was afraid the rocks might do some serious damage. Some of the rougher rapids and steep drops were exciting to navigate. Today was the longest day so far, with 20+ miles of paddling before reaching the last 2 hydroelectric dams at Highway 25, where there was a small park on the Heritage Corridor.
We kayaked over several dams but eventually ended up at Lake Greenwood where we got to talk to some local fishermen. Though they all said they were looking for striped bass, they just kept hooking white crappie. They also had to count their fish as there was a daily limit. My favorite quote of the day: “when I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, sometimes I just sit and watch the river and it just takes all my problems away.” Another interesting fact: the Reedy River meets the Upper Saluda at Lake Greenwood.

A very challenging day followed, with over 24 miles to go before reaching Greenwood State Park, and there was a strong wind advisory. We launched from the William Pete Jones Bridge, whose namesake was the solicitor for SC for many years, as well as an attorney. He was well loved and respected and never charged for his services as an attorney during his 50 year career.
There were some rapids right away after we put in, then the river widened and took us into Lake Greenwood. The good thing about the strong winds was that they were to my back, which sped me up, but I had to navigate some swells, and with the temperature already at about 30 degrees, the wind chill was icy cold. Luckily, it was a clear, sunny day, but after the sun went down and I was still on the lake, the wind was relentless and my fingers were frozen, making it difficult to navigate.

 We camp at Greenwood State Park tonight.
-Ian

Ware Shoals History Information
THE BEGINNING
Mr. Nat Dial of Laurens County saw the Saluda River in a different light. He saw the possibility of building a dam across the river and harnessing the power of the river through a hydroelectric plant to produce electrical power to run a cotton mill. He started this project in 1902, but he ran out of money. Click here to read more about Ware Shoals.