Phelps Lake

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Phelps Lake Trip

Put Ins - I paddled two places, Phelps Lake and the Scuppemong River. When I arrived at Phelps Lake(Pettigrew State Park) around noon, the wind was about 10-15 MPH and I soon found out from the ranger that the lake is a bear to paddle in such wind as the lake is so shallow that large waves form. His advice was to drive around to the other side of the lake and paddle on the leeward side as the waves would be minimal. His other advice was to go to a Wildlife Access on the Scuppemong River near Creswell. Thus, my afternoon trip was on the Scuppemong River(Spruills Bridge), and then by night fall the lake would be calm. The lake is also down about 2-3 feet due to lake water being used to put out the Evans Road peat fire.
Distance/Time - 3 trips; Scuppemong River 8.3 miles; night trip on Lake Phelps 3.5 miles; morning trip on Lake Phelps 5.5 miles.
Difficulty - Average.
Trip Directions - The Scuppemong river is basically very similar to Gardner Creek paddled a year ago. These are all brackish water ways with cypress trees lining the route. I paddled up the Scuppemong to Cross Landings. All along the river are canals that were dug that originate from Phelps Lake. For instance Thirty foot canal originates at the Pettigrew State Park ranger station and runs to the Scuppemong River. All the canals were used for irrigation during the 1800s. Pettigrew State Park is situated next to Somerset Place, a 19th-century plantation. I was able to walk from my campsite(site 3) to Somerset Place. Admission is free and very well done, similar to Williamsburg. Lake Phelps is also known for its Indian canoes that were uncovered during low water around 1984. This website documents the work done to study the canoes and Lake Phelps itself: Dugout Log Canoes. Since the lake is low, paddling near the shore is in about 6-15 inches of water. And since the lake is basically a large circle there are no coves or out reaches. I had told the ranger that I paddled at night and he commented that a light existed on the boat ramp. I did my normal sunset paddle and started heading back around 8:45pm, I was using the light as a guide and I did notice that car headlights flashed from the boat ramp regularly. When I finally arrived back around 9:15pm I was met by the ranger worried that I was lost as this night an amateur astronomer was going to use the boat ramp for star gazing and they wanted to turn out the boat ramp light. Well, I kinda mucked up their plans and made the ranger stay much longer than the 8 o'clock closing. Anyway, the light was finally extinguished and the astronomer had a beautiful clear night. The morning paddle was in the opposite direction than the night paddle, and I ended up taking out at the Moccasin overlook. As I walked up the muck to the walkway I ran into a set of bear tracks. So, yes Virginia there are bears in eastern North Carolina.
Scenery - Lots of turtles, even though I was unable to really get any pictures as they scooted as soon as they saw me from a far distance. Saw some eagles and various birds, ducks, and geese. No snakes on this trip. The campsites are 1950 style and back from the lake. Since it was a Thursday there were only about 4 of us camping out of 18 total sites. Fifteen dollars a night for camping.
Hazards - low water.