From paddling and swimming the lake, to running and cycling the hills–on and off road.  Add in hiking and rock climbing, all within a couple mile radius, and you have more at your fingertips than you know what to do with.

We rented a place at Pine Gables Cabins in Lake Lure for a long weekend recently and had a blast.  The hot tub at our cabin was perfect for recovering after some very active days of training.  The specific cabin we stayed in was Ceilidh Cabin – absolutely perfect for two people.

As it turns out, we were there the weekend before the annual Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad (August 26-29, 2010).  There are a large variety of competitions including swimming, kayaking, golf and more  . . .  but the main events are three races over three days – a 10k run, a sprint triathlon, and a 5k run or bike uphill (7% grade the whole way).  This is on my calendar for next year for sure.

It was a great time for our group of 7 people.  We had a flotilla of cheap inflatable rafts, tubes and boats.

The Edisto River moves pretty slowly, so it wasn’t too tough keeping our tubes in the center of the river.  We did need to keep our eye out for several trees and logs that were hanging out into the river though.

It had rained several times over the past couple days so the Edisto River was a bit higher than usual – according to some locals.  For the most part, the river depth was at least beyond our legs hanging down through the tubes.

Directions to tubing the Edisto River

We took Savannah Highway south, Hwy 17, to Parkers Ferry Rd. Took a right on Parkers Ferry Rd and went about 6 miles to Martins Landing Rd – it’s unmarked, but if you cross under the power lines, where the pavement turns to dirt, you’ve overshot it by about 1.5 miles.

We dropped one car at Martins Landing and then continued on Parkers Ferry Rd (the name changes to Sullivans Landing Rd) until we hit U.S. 17A, Walterboro Rd, and took a left for just a couple hundred yards. On the right-hand side of the U.S. 17A, just before going over a bridge crossing the Edisto River is Jelico Landing.  Parking is $2 per vehicle and the convenience store sells ice, beer and snacks.

Turn for Parkers Ferry Road

Martins Landing

Parkers Landing Rd/Sullivans Landing Rd intersection with U.S. 17A and Jelico Landing

The round-trip run was only 10 miles and the paddle ended up being about 6 miles.  …it was the heat and lack of wind that really put the hurt on today.

At 8:30am my skin was on fire and heart rate starting to climb.  By the time noon rolled around, I had finished my 100 oz. Camelbak and was stopping at every water fountain in sight.

All in all, it was a fantastic session and great reminder of why I live in Charleston.

Some ideas that I’m working on right now would take me to Canada, Central or South America.  The Amazon has been on my list of destinations for a while and seems to be pulling at me recently.  But then, I’ve really been enjoying riding, so a bike tour of Nova Scotia sounds incredible.

The possibilities aren’t limitless, but there are more than I can count.

As soon as I’ve narrowed my options, I’ll start a post to share the planning process.

Suggestions anyone?