[bird sounds]
[wind]
[splash into water, gurgling water]
ERIC: I know what it is like to be in those dark places.
Itâs scary, itâs unnerving, itâs bitter, itâs angry.
You want it to go away.
It can become violent. It can become suicidal.
[splash out of water]
But, wilderness, nature, theyâve given me a -- a reprieve.
[gently rushing water, birds chirping]
Theyâve written me a new lease on life.
[water dripping, birds chirping]
[owl hooting, water trickling]
ERIC: When I was in the marine corps, I was a machine gunner by trade.
Then when I was in the army, I was a combat engineer.
Going from military life into civilian life was for me pretty hard, because thatâs all I knew.
We are all part of a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy group.
Paddling allows me to exorcise any demons I might have going on in my head
from recounting bad memories, bad situations.
Itâs really helped heal me, from the inside out.
[dripping water]
EDYE: Being, you know, out in nature, itâs just good for the soul.
Itâs cleansing, you know, it gets you outside of yourself.
Itâs my â [sigh] - way to decompress.
[owl hooting, birds chirping, water splashing]
ERIC: The Congaree swamp, and just the way it affects you,
it makes you feel small, but part of it.
[water splashing, birds crying]
It pulls you in.
[flapping wings, birds chattering]
EDYE: When youâre in a little tiny boat, you know,
and youâre surrounded, immersed, enveloped by such â I mean, just beauty.
It - it gives you time to reflect on yourself, what youâre doing, what you want to do.
And itâs very humbling.
[splashing, birds calling]
ERIC: You feel like a child again because youâre on a journey of discovery.
Everythingâs new, so everythingâs fun. You want to experience everything.
Everything smells so much better. Everything sounds clearer.
Itâs just, literally like being born again being out there.
Itâs just amazing.
[splashing]
EDYE: My name is Edye Joyner, Iâm a former marine and a Desert Storm veteran
I think all veterans carry with them a sense of pride, for their country, and for the places that we have.
ERIC: My name is Eric Guzman, Iâm from Columbia, South Carolina.
I did 20 years of military service.
Without having the wilderness, there would be a lot of vets, I know for a fact,
that wouldnât be here that still are.
[splashing]
Just getting on the water, just being out in mother nature, it gives you hope.
[dripping water]