south carolina

This week, drought and high August temperatures pushed my chance to paddle to the sea from the upcountry back into the planning stages. I’d planned to leave this week my borrowed boat from a put-in at Cliffside, N.C., and arrive 14 days later in the Santee delta.

Last Monday I drove with my friend Steve Patton 30 minutes up into North Carolina to the mill town of Cliffside. One of my eight great-grandparents, John Simeon Bradley, was born a couple of miles upstream near Henrietta, but what's more, it's where I've decided that I'll put in August 7th for my 200-mile mostly solo paddle to the sea.