Spring on the St. Marys 2024

Paddling past new green leaves under a clear blue sky was the perfect way to welcome spring. 80 participants camped at Traders Hill Campground for a two-day, 21 mile paddle down the wild St. Marys River, the border of Georgia and Florida. Read on to learn more about our river adventure and the spirit of Paddle Georgia paddling and camping trips. – Grace Wilson

St. Marys Riverkeeper Emily Floore couldn’t help but add dramatic hand motions as she described the flow of the St. Marys River. The St. Marys flows south, then sideways, turns around, flows north, leans to the coast and finally reaches the city of St. Marys after a 126 miles journey from its origin in the Okefenokee Swamp to the mouth near Cumberland Island. It may be one of the smaller rivers in Georgia, but it’s a wild, blackwater river worthy of a Paddle Georgia paddle. 

Spring on the St. Marys needed to kick off with an overview of just how special the river is. Paddlers had just driven across the state, bumped down a rural dirt road to drop off their boats and wrestled poles and tarps to set up camp. It was a long day, with a long paddle in store for the next day, but Emily reminded paddlers to get on river time. Just like the St. Marys, paddlers should embrace the unexpected, slow down to notice nature and go with the flow.

The first day’s paddle route was wild, remote and rarely traveled by paddlers because of lack of public access. So how did we get access for our flotilla of 80 paddlers? Joe Cook makes friends wherever he goes! Joe scoured maps to identify his ideal launch site, and simply introduced himself to a generous Folkston resident with a private river launch. Soon he had arrangements for our group to set sail on the St. Marys River 13 miles upriver from Traders Hill. Paddlers learned that accessing remote sections of the river is a wild adventure in itself. In order to get to the first boat launch, paddlers left Folkston behind, turned onto rural dirt roads and trusted winding paths into the deep south. Paddle Georgia signs directed paddlers to continue on past cut timberlands, a new longleaf pine stand, and a few shacks to be rewarded with an exclusive access point. 

Paddlers prepare for the first day’s river run from a private river landing

All paddlers launched on the St. Marys River by 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Most paddlers agree the first few strokes from any launch are freeing, and maybe a bit tippy as you adjust your boat and gear. But after a few hundred yards, you sink into a rhythm and your mind starts to flow with the current of the river. Paddling can restore your mind, but that doesn’t mean your mind will always stay serene like the surface of the water. Rippling, sparkling water can invite your mind to play with new lightness. After a mile or two you might surprise yourself with creativity and have the perfect material for that night’s joke swap. “What do you call a brawl between a resurrection fern and a Bartram’s air plant? An epiphyte!” Paddling on, you look a little closer at tree limbs over the banks to spot a spiky air plant to inspire another punny joke. 

Bartram’s air plant

Just when paddlers needed to stretch their legs and rest their arms, there was Todd Blaudow, a St. Marys Riverkeeper board member who waved in paddlers to pit stop on his sloping yard. With 800 acres to share, Todd offered a place to break and a cool beverage. His mother stopped by to wave at the flotilla, a southern Iris Apfel as bright as her bold yellow glasses. It was just the pick-me-up paddlers needed before continuing the last two miles of paddling to the landing at Traders Hill.

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Paddle Georgia trips offer a full day on the river with plenty of time to relax at camp.  Since each leg of the journey aims for first launch around 8 a.m. and the average paddle trip lasts around 4 to 5 hours,  paddlers usually have a few hours in the afternoon to relax around camp before the dinner and evening program. Some paddlers bring hammocks and books, frisbees and soccer balls or prep for that night’s campfire. 

Traders Hill Campground offered a grove of ancient live oaks for tent camping.

Each Paddle Georgia trip is carefully coordinated with catered meals and shuttle service so that paddlers can focus on the river adventure. Our caterers for the St. Marys River trip were mother-daughter team Shelia and Charlene Carter, a family with a long legacy in Folkston and strong connection to the Okefenokee. Charlene’s grandmother was born on Billy’s Island inside the swamp, and Charlene continues the family ties to the swamp by running Okefenokee Pastimes, a cabin and campground that runs on swamp time. After seconds, and thirds of fried chicken, twice-baked potatoes, broccoli slaw, and vegetarian pasta, paddlers settled in for the evening program. Georgia River Network has designed Paddle Georgia trips to be an environmental education adventure during which participants can learn from nightly educational programs and entertainment. Some programs include guest speakers igniting the paddle community to protect the rivers they love. Some programs keep up the momentum from the joke swap with folklore from the river. River connections continue with more paddling tales over the campfire. Our group of 80 paddlers created two campfires, one with dancing flames and kids with sticky smores fingers, another with steady heat for spinning long tales on the river. Our only duty at night was to let the fire wind down, the only thing we needed to do in the morning was stoke the fire back up.

Shelia Carter, Charlene Carter and the catering team kept our paddlers fueled

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The second day of Spring on the St. Marys offered a nine-mile run from the Traders Hill launch to Camp Pinckney Landing. While it’s virtually impossible to get lost if you follow the flow of the main river, each leg of the journey has its own map printed on legal paper and tucked into waterproof plastic bags. These custom maps show mile markers, points of interest, and pit stops along the route. The back includes summaries of historic points of interest, cultural commentary on the region, and education about the flora and fauna along the river. This river run passed Callie’s on the River, a riverfront home converted into an Airbnb, cafe and campground, under the Waycross Short Line railroad bridge and US Hwy 301, and alongside the dense foliage of Ralph E. Simmons Memorial State Forest. 

Waycross Short Railroad bridge over the St. Marys River

Paddlers regrouped and recapped the weekend trip as they awaited the bus to shuttle them back to camp. It’s not always pleasant to switch from the river to reality and start the unavoidable tasks of packing up the campsite, driving back to the final take out to fetch boats and heading home. 

But the river stays with us long after we dock our boats. Over 80 paddlers experienced more than 20 miles on the St. Marys River during Spring on the St. Marys. They explored flooded streams and oxbow lakes, met new river friends and made plans to paddle again. If we work to preserve the St. Marys River, she freely flow with fresh water and new adventures for our next paddle trip.

Rope swing on St. Marys River at Traders Hill Landing

Grace Wilson

What’s All The Fuss About “Navigable” Streams?

In 1854, Georgia legislators declared Ebenezer Creek in Effingham County near Savannah a “navigable” stream and prohibited citizens from obstructing it…except for mill dams, so long as enough space was provided for the passage of boats.

Ebenezer Creek in Effingham County, known for its ancient cypress trees and named one of Georgia’s “state scenic rivers,” attracts paddlers from far and wide and supports multiple outfitters.

This law is just one of many examples where the Georgia General Assembly has acted to protect uses of streams that were critical to the state’s citizens. In that era, mills powered by creeks were needed to produce corn meal and flour; but the creek itself was essential for the transport of lumber and other goods.

Other examples include an 1834 measure prohibiting obstruction of the Nottely River with dams. Fish, migrating upstream and captured, meant sustenance. And, in 1907, legislators required residents along every stream in Stephens County to remove trees and other obstructions from those streams. Years of poor soil management on area farms had filled the streams with sediment causing frequent flooding of farm fields. Removing obstructions aided in flood prevention and farm protection.   

River laws have always changed with the times. Yet, here we are in 2024, still using a law enacted in 1863 to determine where Georgians have a right to boat on the state’s rivers and streams. 

Enacted when steamboats were plying the state’s big rivers, the law says a “navigable” stream is one “capable of transporting boats loaded with freight in the regular course of trade either for the whole or a part of the year.”

Today, no inland rivers in Georgia are used to move freight. Not a single one. They are, however, plied by jon boats loaded with anglers on lazy South Georgia rivers and tiny kayaks carrying thrillseeking paddlers down whitewater runs in Georgia’s mountains. Spoiler alert: many of these streams may not qualify as “navigable” under the 1863 definition.

In 1800s, river use conflicts were often between millers and boaters. Today, conflicts arise between boaters and property owners. Some property owners don’t want folks floating past their property, and in recent years, courts (in questionable rulings) have sided with property owners, determining that if a stream doesn’t meet that 1863 definition of navigability, boaters don’t have the right to float that stream.

In the 1990s, the Georgia Supreme ruled Armuchee Creek in Floyd County and a portion of Ichauwaynochaway Creek in Baker County “non-navigable,” and since then riparian property owners have asserted their rights to close portions of streams elsewhere.

Owing to that 1863 law, we live in an era when a single property owner can cause a creek to be off limits to the boating public, including their creek-front neighbors, as well as outfitters that make their living running paddle trips on that creek.

The Folly of Naming Georgia’s “Navigable” Streams

What constitutes a “boat loaded with freight” in today’s world in which no inland rivers actually support commercial navigation…except in the form of small businesses doing commerce renting canoes, kayaks, tubes and paddleboards?

During the past two years, the General Assembly has waded into these murky legal waters. In 2023, it adopted a law declaring that citizens had the right to boat, fish and hunt on all navigable streams. That’s a great thing.

But, follow up legislation this year aims to actually name the state’s navigable streams.—something that’s never been done. Of the state’s hundreds of creeks and rivers, the bill that was introduced named 62.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources experts created the list at the behest of legislators in a relatively short time. It closely follows where the state has invested in boat ramps and other public access points.

Since its release to the public, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. James Burchett from Waycross has been beset from all sides: some complaining their favorite destination was left off; others arguing streams included, should be removed.

The list seemed, in places, out of step with the 1863 definition and, in others, blind to how the public uses the state’s rivers and streams today.

Among the streams on the list: the Tallulah and Chattooga rivers, famed for their Class IV-V whitewater and among the most difficult rivers in the state to navigate. Of course, public boating on these streams should be protected. The Wild and Scenic Chattooga supports multi-million dollar rafting businesses, and water releases through Tallulah Gorge attract daredevil boaters and thousands of spectators to the river annually.

South Chickamauga Creek didn’t make the General Assembly’s “navigable” streams list despite the fact that it is traveled by thousands annually, supports a local outfitter and is the site of millions in local investments to create the South Chickamauga Creek Water Trail.

Among the streams left off the list: Big Cedar Creek, South Chickamauga Creek, Cartecay River and a portion of the Upper Chattahoochee River.  Each of these streams sees thousands of visitors annually and supports small-business outfitters. At these locations, public use remains subject to the whims of an individual property owner who could shut down these small businesses simply by asserting their “ownership” of the stream bed.

Indeed, the haggling that has resulted from the publication of this list has revealed the folly of relying on an archaic, 160-year-old law to determine where today’s boating public should have the right to float.

Georgia, The No. 1 State to Do Business…Unless Your Business is On a “Non-navigable” Stream

What’s navigable and what’s not navigable in Georgia has big implications. Watersports is a critical part of tourism-based economies in places like Ellijay, Ringgold, Rincon and Helen. In 2022, boating and fishing generated $1.1 billion in economic activity in Georgia.

We need laws that reflect the way we use our rivers today and prioritize those uses that impact the most citizens. Rivers and streams that are accessible to the public improve our quality of life and support small businesses, especially in rural areas.

When the legislature deemed Ebenezer Creek navigable in 1854 they did so to improve the prospects and the quality of life of citizens residing near it. In the 2024 edition of “navigable streams,” the General Assembly inexplicably didn’t include Ebenezer Creek.

Ebenezer Creek, left off the General Assembly’s navigable streams list in 2024, was declared a navigable stream by the Georgia legislature in 1854.

Today, you’ll find no mills or boats loaded with produce on Ebenezer. Yet, it is important in another way. In 1969, it was named one of four “State Scenic Rivers” and people travel from all over to float its haunting and historic blackwater passage. It supports multiple small businesses offering services on the creek.

In a state that boasts of being the “No. 1 State for Business,” it would be a shame if today’s leaders held fast to an out-of-date law and failed to protect these small, river-based businesses along with the public’s desire to explore such streams.

Omaha! Calling Audibles on Paddle Georgia 2023: Georgia’s 70,000 Miles of Rivers and Streams Provide Alternate Courses as Savannah River Floods

We tell everyone who registers for Paddle Georgia to bring a “flexible mindset” to the event. That recommendation was put to test June 25-July 1 during Paddle Georgia 2023 on the Savannah River. For the first time in 18 years of staging these week-long paddle adventures, river conditions forced us to cancel portions of our original route.

Like quarterback Peyton Manning directing a late game scoring drive, we yelled “Omaha,” and thanks to Georgia’s seemingly limitless network of rivers and streams (and great state parks), we scored some paddling touchdowns.

Below are random thoughts and images from a week of exploring the Savannah River basin and surrounding areas…

James Moy documents an excursion into the Ebenezer Creek floodplain.

George L. Smith State Park is a Winner!

When it became clear that the Savannah River would be at flood stage for the week, George L. Smith State Park immediately came to mind as an alternate paddling destination. The park is renowned for its beautiful cypress/tupelo filled 400-acre lake and winding paddle trails through dense stands of these water-loving trees. The lake was created in 1880 when local entrepreneurs built Parrish Mill and Dam to power a grist and saw mill on Fifteen Mile Creek, a tributary of the Canoochee River, just north of Metter.

As participants emerged from their excursions on the century-old mill pond, we heard the following words repeatedly: “magical,” “fabulous,” “spectacular.” Indeed, the man-made, blackwater wetland was all those things. Nobody complained about not being on the muddy, swift-moving Savannah after a few hours enjoying “Watson Pond.”

The trip also prompted one of the better short-nose sturgeon jokes of the week courtesy of Philip Barkes. An anxious and depressed sturgeon struggled with his mental health until he swam up the Ogeechee and Canoochee rivers and finally up Fifteen Mile Creek where it skirts the city limits of Metter. Metterites have long claimed that “everything is better in Metter.” The sturgeon concurred. After a time in Fifteen Mile Creek, he did, in fact, feel better. Note: the bar was very low for “humor” when it came to sturgeon jokes this year!

Excursions to Magnolia Springs State Park and to Skidaway River where we skirted Skidaway Island State Park further highlighted the great diversity of Georgia’s landscape and state parks system.

Stewart Fahrney ventures into the pond cypress-filled wilds of George L. Smith State Park’s Watson Pond.

Flooded Savannah Turns Ebenezer Creek Floodplain into Paddling Play Land

Our original paddling route included an excursion on Ebenezer Creek, one of three streams in the state officially designated as a state “scenic river” (the other two are the Conasauga and Chattooga rivers in far North Georgia).

Under normal conditions Ebenezer is one of those magical places where massive and ancient bald cypress (some 1,000 years old) shade boaters as they wind up (or down) the slow-moving, swamp-like creek. But at flood stage, Ebenezer Creek spills into its floodplain, creating acres and acres of inundated forests. Slipping off the creek’s main channel and into these watery woods is like stepping through a portal to a different world. We were fortunate to catch this unmatched creek at such a time. Sightings of pileated woodpeckers, barred owls, prothonotary warblers, alligators, snakes and not just a few very large spiders were reported with frequency.

So expansive was the Ebenezer Creek floodplain that we did, in fact, lose a paddler for a time (we won’t name names!). We tracked down the wayward explorer without issue, but the incident proved a cautionary tale supporting our admonishments to stick with a buddy boat or group and track your progress on smartphone-based mapping systems…like the Georgia River Guide App!

Dennis Shen and Amanda McCarthy stroke between tupelo trunks within the Ebenezer Creek floodplain.

A Day Off on Future Paddle Georgia Events?

Thanks to the Savannah’s high water, we did have one day of “no paddling.” It proved popular, especially since Black Creek Scout Reservation offered a beach for swimming, a zipline into a lake and climbing walls and ropes courses.

But as much as the Scout Reservation had to offer, I saw just as many playing cards and board games and simply enjoying the company of fellow paddlers. I caught the children of the Swift clan (12 in total) gathered around a table playing Uno. Hardly a smartphone to be seen. It warmed my heart.

Some liked the down time so much they suggested we incorporate such a day into future Paddle Georgia events. Noted. Perhaps a short day of paddling with other activities planned for the afternoon is a good anti-venom for sunburn and blistered hands.

One major benefit from this down time was a record turn out for Georgia Adopt-A-Stream’s citizen water monitoring workshop. Cecilia Nachtmann and the AAS team certified a record 22 participants! Now, go out and adopt a stream near your home! We need eyes and ears on the ground protecting our water!

Cirque du Swiftee

Speaking of the Swift clan…I thought that perhaps on this trip the grandchildren of 80-year-old ichthyologist Camm Swift would stick to their boats and not attempt any high flying leaps from cliffs or other high objects. On my scouting excursions, I just didn’t see any likely locations for such stunts…but I don’t see the world through the eyes of an 18-year-old.

They found their spot–a large bald cypress leaning over a deep hole on Ebenezer Creek. Others (including myself) were satisfied with a tame rope swing into the cool blackwater from the cypress’s lower platforms, but the Swift boys weren’t satisfied until they climbed to the upper branches of the cypress. It was quite a show, worthy of a circus act.

If we want to keep them off high platforms we may have to look to the flatland of the “Marshes of Glynn.”

The Swift boys found a perch from which to flip on Ebenezer Creek.

The Marshes of Glynn (and Chatham!)

Hats off to Georgia River Network’s new communication coordinator, Savannah resident and coastal open water swimmer Grace Wilson for suggesting and coordinating our Day 7 paddle on Skidaway River. Savannah resident, Paddle Georgia participant and frequent Skidaway River paddler, Joy Tabatabai, also offered her knowledge of the area to help us enjoy a final day exploring a portion of Georgia’s famed coastal marshes, a habitat us Georgians are quite proud of…and with good reason.

Our state’s coast is home to nearly 400,000 acres of salt marshes sandwiched between barrier islands and the mainland. These marshes produce more food energy than any estuarine zone on the eastern Seaboard, supporting the state’s shrimp and crab harvest and a host of commercially important fish species. Lucky for us, the Southeast Coastal Saltwater Paddling Trail (a water trail running 800 miles from Chesapeake Bay to the Florida state line) provides access to all of this beauty, including Skidaway River. In addition to being a great paddling route, the river is apparently an exceptional place to stage epic water battles.

Lotem Kol goes on the attack against Terry Pate during an epic Skidaway River water battle.

Yutes and Teachers

A yute is a youth. A teacher is, well, one of the understated heros of our society. We had both with us on Paddle Georgia 2023 thanks to the support of our many sponsors, especially the John and L.A. Spears Foundation and Denali Water Solutions.

Twelve middle and high school students from the Gwinnett County area led by Tixie Fowler with Gardens for Growing Community participated and seven teachers from across the state all received “scholarships” to participate.

Both left with memories that will last a lifetime. The teachers are also left with environmental education and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream curriculum to take back to their classrooms.

Tixie reports that many of the yutes are already scheming how they can participate again next year.

Students from Gwinnett County schools participating in the Paddle Georgia youth program gather at George L. Smith State Park.

Diversity and Inclusion

Was it me or did this year’s Paddle Georgia navy better reflect the increasing diversity of Georgia’s population? Diversity and inclusion, as of late, have become sensitive words in some circles. Lets be clear what it means to Georgia River Network: it means that access and safe travel on Georgia’s rivers and streams should be available to all–that’s, like, EVERYONE, no exclusions. When people from diverse backgrounds are able to participate in our journeys, it enriches the experience for all. When people from diverse backgrounds discover the charms of our rivers, it expands and strengthens the paddlesports and river advocacy communities. We need more than a village to protect Georgia’s water.

Georgia’s population is 59 percent white, 33 percent black, 11 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian. Think about a Paddle Georgia journey that reflected those demographics. We are not there yet, but my colleague, Andrea White’s efforts to train “non-traditional” paddlers to become kayaking instructors is steadily blurring the line between “traditional” and “non-traditional” paddlers.

As it was, this year’s trip saw people of all colors and backgrounds participate, including paddlers from 11 different states. I believe I heard at least four different languages spoken during my time on the water last week. I think that’s a first.

Our legislative panel discussion also reflected the state’s diverse population. In January when new lawmakers were sworn in, 39 percent of legislators were of Hispanic, Black, Asian or Arab descent. Among the legislators that talked and paddled with us during the week were Sen. Sheikh Rahman, the first immigrant and Asian American elected to the Georgia Senate and Sen. Jason Esteves, one of several Latino legislators now serving in the General Assembly.

As one who loves experiencing Georgia’s water with people coming from different perspectives, this was especially exciting.

Sen. Sheikh Rahman joined us for a day exploring Ebenezer Creek with his wife Shame and children Rawda and Anzar.

Paddle Georgia 2024

Paddle Georgia 2024 will be…on the Altamaha River. We last paddled “Georgia’s Little Amazon” in 2012. Next spring the Altamaha River Users Guide will be published by the University of Georgia Press so we thought it appropriate to return to this South Georgia beauty. Get ready for beautiful sandbar play places, wild backwater sloughs, trips up mysterious blackwater tributaries, and a finish in Darien where we will all be jonesing for some of iconic coastal seafood. The Altamaha ranks among the favorite destinations of long-time participants. Exact dates to be confirmed soon, but likely June 16-22, 2024.

Joe Cook/Paddle Georgia Coordinator

July 5, 2023

And, here’s a few fun select photos…

It was a fierce and hard-fought competition but the father-son team of Roman and Lotem Kol took home the glory in the Canoe Tug-O-War competition at Black Creek Scout Reservation.

The cute factor is always high when the seven children of the Barkes family gather.

Beverly Brown takes to the shade on the Skidaway River.

Nine-year-old Ethan Zhou prepares for water battle with Hao Zhou and Xinyi Liu on the Skidaway River. Remember the sage advice of Paddle Georgia veterans: never bring a squirt gun to a water canon battle.

Georgia River Network Executive Director Rena Peck snaps a photo of Drew and Andrew Kremer and Rette Ledbetter. We may not have gotten in 84 miles, but we logged the seven days and we did have one great time.

How Many Miles Will You Paddle In 2023?

How many miles do you paddle each year? People who bother to inspect my battered red canoe, often ask this question. I’ve never bothered to tally my mileage. My dented and scraped canoe may have more to do with my skills as a paddler than the number of miles I’ve travelled with it.

Michael and Veronica Humphrey glide down the Flint River during Georgia River Network’s Fall Float on the Flint in October.

But, for kicks, at the close of 2022, I decided to add up my mileage. The total? I covered approximately 535 miles on Georgia’s rivers, swamps, sounds and lakes this year.

What prompted this tally was Georgia River Network’s (GRN) upcoming Paddle-A-Thon 2023. In celebration of GRN’s 25^th anniversary, we’ve taken our traditional Canoe-A-Thon and pumped it with steroids. Paddle-A-Thon 2023 will feature some $8,000 in prizes to be awarded in multiple categories from most money raised (Paddle-A-Thon is, of course, a peer-to-peer fundraising event) to most miles paddled.

In fact, there are eight categories for which the winner doesn’t have to ask anyone for donations to GRN. All you have to do is paddle: most miles paddled with your pet, most trash collected, most kayak fishing trips and more! You can check out all the categories and register at https://www.mightycause.com/event/Paddleathon. Top prizes include $250-$1000 gift certificates from the likes of Cedar Creek Outdoor Center, Public Lands, Wildwater Rafting, Oconee Outfitters and more!

So, how many miles did you paddle in 2022? Leave your answer in the comment section of this blog and that’ll give us an idea of possible front runners for Paddle-A-Thon 2023

To get your juices flowing for paddle trip ideas in 2023, here are my top ten paddling destinations that I had the pleasure of exploring in 2022. All of these trips, with the exception of the Altamaha and Ossabaw sounds trips, are suitable for novice paddlers:

Bill Hill navigates below Crow Hop/Riverview Dam during a Georgia River Network adventure on the Chattahoochee in August. The historic mill dam that once helped power textile mills in Riverview is slated to be removed in the coming years.

10. Savannah River: I got in some scouting on the lower Savannah River in November (it’s our destination for Paddle Georgia 2023 set for June 24-July 1). An enchanting river in and of itself, the real rewards come from exploring off the main channel where you can find lots of variety: blackwater creeks, crystal-clear spring-fed creeks and mysterious oxbow lakes. Paddle Georgia 2023 is going to be a treat!

9. Chattahoochee River from West Point to Riverview: We explored this 12-mile run in late summer to see the river as it is today—with two 100-year-old and obsolete dams blocking its path (Langdale and Riverview). In the next couple of years, Georgia Power Company plans to remove these dams to restore a free-flowing river. Better check it out before they are gone; just use care when portaging around these dangerous lowhead dams and check the release schedule at West Point Dam before you begin.

8. Chattahoochee in Carroll and Coweta County: When I first paddled this stretch of river in 1995, it still stunk of metro Atlanta’s failing sewer systems. After 28 years of progress, this section of river has been transformed. Sewer upgrades upstream now limit the amount of untreated waste that enters the river and this once “dead river” is very much alive and worth visiting. In fact, GRN will lead a trip from Carroll County’s Moore’s Bridge Park to Chattahoochee Bend State Park in July

Limestone bluffs tower over paddlers on South Chickamauga Creek near Ringgold.

7. Oconee River by Moonlight: During September’s Harvest Moon, we ventured down six miles of the Oconee near Athens. The black of the river, sky and trees seemed to meld together, creating an otherworldly paddling path. As the bats darted above our heads and the light faded from the sky, we were transported into a world where the line between the heavens and the earth seemed very thin, indeed. Then the moon stretched above the horizon, casting light and shadow where there previously was none. Also…we picked a heap of muscadines, the jelly from which I’m enjoying on these cold winter mornings. Oconee Outfitters in Milledgeville, one of our Paddle-A-Thon supporters, hosts regular full-moon paddles on the Oconee.

6. South Chickamauga Creek: Not many know about this little creek, but the secret’s getting out quickly. Put your boat in at Ringgold—a hop, skip and jump from the Tennessee line—and soon you’ll be paddling past soaring limestone bluffs, atop water teaming with aquatic diversity and over fun, playful shoals. At one point, a sinkhole diverts a portion of the creek underground; two miles downstream the flow reappears, gushing from riverside rock formations.

5. Altamaha Sound: Venturing from any of the access points along U.S. 17 between Darien and Two Way Fish Camp, you can ride the tide out to the Altamaha’s Egg Islands and then ride the tide back in for a long adventurous day of paddling. The marshes, stretching as far as the eye can see and the critters that call them home are the highlight. Oystercatchers and Least Terns patrol the shores, pelicans and bald eagles patrol the skies. Alligators are equally abundant. You might even see a cow…yes, Cow Island still has a few living residents. Check the tide charts and wind speeds and plan accordingly. Pick a windless day. The Sound is no place to be caught in a boat in choppy seas. You can legally camp on Rhetts Island (with public dock) but be prepared for mosquitoes. They can be ferocious.

Kit Carson explores the marsh-lined shores of Ossabaw Sound on a still, cloudless morning in the Golden Isles.

4. Ossabaw Sound: Start at Fort McAllister State Park and venture out to the tip of Ossabaw Island using the outgoing and incoming tides to your favor. Access to the island’s beaches is restricted to the hide tide mark, but it’s possible to beach your boat on the protected “bayside” of Bradley Point and walk around the beach for a view of the Atlantic as it crashes ashore. A route hugging the marshlands and avoiding the open water of Ossabaw Sound is breathtakingly beautiful, especially at first light. When the morning sun hits the waving marsh grass, you’ll understand why they call these the Golden Isles of Georgia. As with Altamaha Sound, check tide charts, wind speeds and plan accordingly. Pick a windless day!

3. Alapaha: Tucked into the lightly populated southeast corner of the state, the Alapaha is known by few, but loved by those who have had the pleasure of venturing on it. This blackwater gem descends into the karst geology of South Georgia and North Florida where rivers can actually disappear—as does the Alapaha during periods of low flows. But, catch it in the winter, spring or early summer, and you are in for a treat. Numerous blackwater tributaries contribute to the river, often forming small, but beautiful waterfalls flowing over craggy limestone. Its journey through the unique geology make it unlike other sandy, sinuous, flatwater Coastal Plain rivers. You’ll be surprised to find frothy shoals in places.

2. Ebenezer Creek: You’ve probably seen photos of Ebenezer Creek in your social media feed…that’s because this little blackwater creek in Effingham County just north of Savannah is among the most picturesque stretches of water you will find in the state thanks, in part, to the massive and ancient cypress and swamp tupelo trees that line its banks. At one, you can fit your entire kayak inside the hollow arch made by the spreading trunk. Rich in early Georgia and Civil War history and mostly wild, you can drift with the current imagining the wonder and hardships that earlier visitors to the creek must have encountered. Ebenezer will be a side trip during Paddle Georgia 2023 June 24-July 1.

Joy Tabatabai drifts through a cpyress-lined passage in the Okefenokee Swamp.

1. Okefenokee Swamp: There is no paddling destination quite like the Okefenokee. An international treasure, we are just lucky to have it in our backyard. My favorite route (and I have explored just a fraction of the swamp’s 100-plus-mile Wilderness Canoe Trail System), is from Stephen Foster State Park to Griffis Fish Camp on the Suwannee River. The varied landscapes that you pass through on this route are outstanding as is the wildlife. The birds and alligators, are, of course, everywhere. One of my all time best canoe-wildlife encounters occurred in The Narrows when a large black bear scampered down a tree as I passed—apparently not so silently—along the paddle path. Day trips are great; overnighters on the swamp’s floating campsites are even better (but require reservations long in advance of your trip). GRN’s Okefenokee adventure is set for Nov. 10-12, 2023.

I don’t know who will paddle the most miles in GRN’s Paddle-A-Thon, but I’m guessing the winner is going to log a lot more than 500 miles. Let the paddling begin!

Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia Coordinator, December 2022

Paddle Georgia 2022: Chattahoochee Journey Starts Generational Love Affair With Rivers

For the second year in a row, Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia—normally a epic adventure undertaken by hundreds—was a pandemic-induced small group affair with about 35 fun-loving paddlers traveling 112 miles down the Chattahoochee River, and another 60 joining us for shorter portions of the journey.

Janina Edwards (in kayak) and Ramsey Cook (in canoe) ripple the surface of Bull Sluice Lake as they stroke toward Morgan Falls Dam near Roswell.

People often ask why Georgia River Network undertakes such journeys. The official answer is we’re connecting people with Georgia’s rivers, establishing those intimate relationships with flowing water that lead individuals to donate to river protection causes, call and e-mail their local legislators about water policy and volunteer for citizen water monitoring and river cleanup programs.

But an equally true answer is: It’s just a heck of a lot of fun. After all, a bad day on the river is better than a good day at work. Our work just happens to be on the river, and blessed we are for that!

The Chattahoochee was our destination for the first ever Paddle Georgia in 2005. We repeated that journey in 2014 for our tenth anniversary and returned to it this year to highlight the progress made in cleaning up the river and bringing people to its banks for recreation.

For me, the Chattahoochee is an exceptionally special place. It is where I first discovered the pleasures of playing about in boats, rafting through Devils Racecourse Shoals and leaping from the Diving Rock—a thrill that to this day makes the 50-something year-old me feel like a 15-year-old again. This year, the journey was made even more special because my 23-year-old daughter, Ramsey, a veteran of 15 previous Paddle Georgia adventures, accompanied me—a last river hoorah before she embarks later this summer on a career in environmental engineering (apples don’t fall far from the tree, they say).

We jumped together from the Diving Rock, bruised ourselves smashing through the Waterworks Rapid (some how the canoe survived and we remained upright and dry) and frolicked in the falls at Hilly Mill Creek…memories I’m certain will last beyond my lifetime.

Chase Delbridge splashes down at the Chattahoochee’s Diving Rock

As I looked about, I saw others making similar memories. There was Larry and Chase Delbridge, the father and son team from Marietta, also leaping from the Diving Rock and body surfing together through the river’s gentle shoals in Carroll County.

There were three generations of the Pate family on the journey—dad Terry, daughter Meghan Zimmerman and granddaughter Ellie Zimmerman. Amongst our decidedly older entourage, six-year-old Ellie did much to enhance our party’s “cute factor.” When Meghan coaxed her daughter beneath the roaring falls at Hilly Mill Creek on the final day of our journey, it seemed the cautious youngster’s conversion to full-blown river rat was complete.

Day 2 of our journey brought a host of father and son teams to us in the form of Boy Scout Troop 1906 from East Point. Led by Nick Brooks (check out his Instagram feed at www.instagram.com/outdoorgearandbeer/), among the scouts were Nick’s sons Asher and Preston.

Made possible through funding from the John and L.A. Spears Foundation, Georgia River Network teamed up with Chattahoochee Nature Center to provide a paddle trip and camp out for the troop. For some, it was their first journey on the Chattahoochee, and one they won’t soon forget. Among the memories: a swamped canoe getting pinned to DeKalb County’s water intake structure, taking part in collecting some 400 golf balls from the river bottom (yes, 400!) and a close encounter with a barred owl at the Nature Center.

Julieta and Javier Barkes let out screams as they descend Daniel Shoals with father, Philip, and mother, Liliana.

Our final day of the journey brought to us the intrepid Barkes family. In tow with parents Philip and Liliana were six of their seven children (one of the teenagers was on a trip of her own). When Philip and Liliana stroked through Daniel Shoals, with their youngest, Javier and Julieta, on board, the squeals that emanated from the children were streaked with both terror and joy. The family water battle that broke out below the shoals was epic—those were squeals of pure joy.

Watching the revelry of these families brought to mind my childhood spent on the Chattahoochee and my mother and father who in the late 1970s saw fit to invest in a cheap inflatable raft, if only to avoid the exorbitant raft rental costs of the era. That K-mart raft put me on the river seemingly every warm weekend of my youth and has kept me there ever since.

Ellie Zimmerman, 6, who accompanied her mother Meghan and grandfather, Terry Pate, on the journey, plays behind the curtain of Hilly Mill Falls in Heard County.

Unwittingly, they planted a seed that has now born two generations of river lovers. Ramsey starts her first job next month—engineering water projects to protect our planet’s most precious resource…if she ends up building senseless dams I’ve threatened to disown her!

I know not what will become of Ellie Zimmerman or Javier and Julieta Barkes or Asher and Preston Nicks, but I know for certain their lives will be richer and more adventurous because their parents took them playing about in boats. And, maybe, just maybe, each one of them will grow up to love rivers. Then the world will be just a little better place to live.

Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia Coordinator

June 27, 2022

Haikus and Water Dog Jokes

In keeping with Paddle Georgia tradition, during this year’s event we cracked jokes about gulf coast water dogs, a aquatic salamander found in the Chattahoochee basin (previous events have poked fun at gopher tortoises, darters, blind cave salamanders, shad and sturgeon). Participant Anne Ledbetter added what might become a new tradition–haikus. For your entertainment–though some may be cringe worthy–here’s the best of this year’s animal jokes and haikus:

A man was seen walking down the middle of the Chattahoochee holding a leash. A confused and befuddled bystander asked what the man was doing. He replied: I’m walking my water dog. –Georgia Ritchie

What did the catfish say to the water dog? Hush, puppy. –Janina Edwards

What’s the difference between a water dog and a dog in the water? Simple, one is a salamander.–Sarah Topper

…and a water dog limerick courtesy of Sarah Topper below:

Brionte McCorkle and Georgia Milteer with Georgia Conservation Voters frolick in the falls at Hilly Mill Creek on Day 7 of Paddle Georgia.

There once was a dog named “water”

He swam in the river like otter

He’s not a dog really

And his gills are real frilly

So it confuses the people a lotter

…that being entirely enough, we move on to haikus below:

Carolyn Morris of Thomasville runs the Chattahoochee’s Waterworks Rapid in Fulton County.

The crawdad was found

By Chase released safe and sound

Back to swim around

-Powell Andrews

Jared Garrison of Snellville drifts through one of the Chattahoochee’s gentle shoals downstream of Atlanta. Thirty years ago such intimate contact with the Chattahoochee downstream from the big city would have been almost unthinkable, but thanks to progress in improving the City of Atlanta’s water infrastructure, the health of the river has dramatically improved.

Yucky river muck

How you cling to my bare toes

Now I’ll stink all day

-Bailey Sauls and Cecilia Nachtmann

Harold Harbert, director of Georgia’s Adopt-A-Stream citizen water monitoring program, shows off a small softshell turtle. The Adopt-A-Stream staff collected stream health data throughout the seven-day journey and trained some participants to become citizen water monitors.

Early morning fog 

Chattahoochee curtain rise

Beauty crystallized

-Janina Edwards

Leslie Raymer of Decatur relaxes in camp after a day of paddling. Participants camped on land next to or near the river each evening of the trip, enjoying catered meals and nightly education programs.

Paddle Georgia 2021: Tall Tales on a Beautiful River

Let me admit it now. When you return from a seven-day paddle trip on a beautiful Georgia river, your family is expecting you to recount stories of breathtaking encounters with nature, but those are not the first stories I told to my wife after more than 100 miles on the Flint River.

Georgia River Network board members Tammy Griffin, Terry Pate and Carol McNavish take a dip in one of the Flint River’s crystal-clear blue hole springs during Paddle Georgia 2021.

No. On this scaled-down, more intimate pandemic edition of Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia with just 36 total participants, I came back with stories of the people with whom I travelled. In recent memory I cannot remember laughing as hard as I did on this trip.

Throughout the week, we shared “little known facts” about ourselves during our evening program. We learned that as a teenager, Jim Potter performed on stage with a famous Italian ballet troupe. Now decidedly not of the ballet physique, Jim recounted passing the prima ballerina overhead and remembered, “For a prima ballerina, she had a surprisingly mushy tush.”

This hilarity was followed by Bonny Putney revealing that when she was a teenager and part of an exchange program visiting the Soviet Union, she was severely disciplined by a red soldier when she cracked a laugh during a tour of Vladamir Lenin’s tomb. Imagine, Bonny cracking a laugh…hard to believe.

And, then there were the “Oh, son, I don’t know if I would have told that” stories. Stacy Dounias recalled her first experience peeing in the wilderness–an affair that saw her rolling head over heels down a steep hill. And, then there was Charles Lewis, the Navy pilot veteran who, despite successfully launching and landing his jet on aircraft carriers dozens of times, nevertheless, “shot” down his own experimental paraplane–a story that involved a large American flag and a brick. He safely landed in a cornfield. Next time you see him, request the story. It’s a hoot and Charles can spin a tale…and a joke or two.

Stacy Dounias, Kathy Vaughn and Georgia Ritchie drift down the Flint River during Paddle Georgia 2021.

Speaking of jokes…the Paddle Georgia animal joke tradition continued. Started in 2007 on the Ocmulgee when we adopted the robust redhorse fish as our trip mascot and proceeded to tell jokes and puns about the rare creature (What do you call a redhorse that was arrested? A robusted redhorse), Paddle Georgia animal jokes have been told for more than 13 years with varying degrees of success. Most of the jokes are so lame they rarely even rise to the level of “dad jokes.”

This year, the federally protected gopher tortoise–a keystone reptile of the southeast–was the subject of our humor, and Mike McCarthy supplied at least one knee-slapper that belongs in the Paddle Georgia animal joke hall of fame. The survival of the gopher tortoise hinges on the survival of the long-leaf pine habitat–a habitat that has been decimated during the past 200 years–but they are further hampered because it is difficult for them to reproduce. They simply aren’t terribly successful and few of their offspring survive to maturity. Mike explained that scientists have closely studied the gopher tortoises’ reproductive efforts and, in fact, have ferreted out the problem: “e-reptile dysfunction.”

On the river, the fun continued. A few highlights…

Aviva Peiken with green tree frog at Mitchell County Landing on the Flint River.

Aviva Peiken, daughter of Georgia River Network water trails and outreach director, Gwyneth Moody, made fast friends with frogs of all kinds–more than one of which found a perch on the six-year-old’s nose.

The aforemention Charles Lewis defied his 70-plus years, performing an almost flawless back flip off a limestone bluff.

Leslie Raymer, a professional archaeologist, pointed us to shards of flint, potsherds and fossils on a sandbar–a reminder of just how much history flows along the Flint.

At the Jones Center at Ichauway, aquatic biologist Steve Golloday welcomed us to the 30,000-acre ecological research facility by showing off a infant gar fish seined from the river that morning–a beautiful creature not two inches long that may some day grow into a 3-foot-long, long-nosed, sharp-toothed, armor-scaled predator.

Out of our boats, our small group enjoyed the pleasures of riverside camping. The call of the bobwhite quail–Georgia’s state game bird–echoed through the open forest at Red Oak Plantation as we broke camp.

The haunting howls of coyotes and hoots of barred owls stirred us through the night at Covey Rise Plantation while the full moon arched across the sky.

At Mitchell County Landing, the clouds broke long enough to reveal Venus, bright behind the pink-red sunset, shining in the western sky.

At Reynolds Sandbar, a magical sunset prompted a photographic feeding frenzy.

These delightful sights and sounds were a welcomed counterpoint to the swarming gnats and almost daily rain. But, truth be told we didn’t rough it too much.

The Paddle Georgia 2021 Navy gathers for a group photo at the Bainbridge Boat Basin. The group ended the seven-day, 100-mile journey with a fish fry meal provided by Flint Riverkeeper. Bonny Putney, Dee Stone and Charles Lewis were recognized as among the paddlers who have participated in every Paddle Georgia event since its inception in 2005.

Stays at Rocky Bend Flint River Retreat with its riverfront cabins and Covey Rise Plantation with its luxury lodge rooms were a welcomed respite. Rocky Bend was so civilized many of us caught a thrilling game seven of the Atlanta Hawks-Philadephia 76ers series on TV, and at Covey Rise we dined sumptuously, feasting on fried quail and homemade pecan pie among other delights.

We finished the trip in Bainbridge with a traditional fish fry meal hosted by Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers and his staff. Their involvement was a reminder of why Georgia River Network organizes these journeys–to connect people with the rivers we are trying to protect.

Together, the 36 Paddle Georgia participants raised more than $44,000 for river protection and water trail development through our Canoe-a-thon, and along the way discovered–or rediscovered–the beautiful Flint River.

That said, if you encounter a Paddle Georgia 2021 participant, don’t be surprised if they recall an anecdote about a fellow traveler before they tell you about the river itself. As we learned on this journey, the Paddle Georgia family is a cast with many a tall tale to be told.

Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia Coordinator

June 2021

P.S. Here’s a few more worthy images from the journey…

Anne Ledbetter, Karen Hill and Sarah Topper strike a Charlie’s Angels pose during a sunset photo feeding frenzy at Reynolds Sandbar.

It wasn’t all rain and gnats. Paddle Georgia participants luxuriate in recliners at Covey Rise Plantation. The plantation, which normally hosts quail hunters in its upscale lodge, played host to Paddle Georgia for one night of the journey.

Leslie Raymer snaps a photo of a young gar at the Jones Center at Ichauway. Members of the Center’s research team met Paddle Georgia participants at the river to show off the Flint’s aquatic diversity and the long-leaf pine forests along the Center’s riverfront property.

Carol McNavish emerges from one of the Flint’s blue hole springs during Paddle Georgia 2021.

Paddle Georgia 2021 – Days 6 & 7

By Sarah Taylor, GRN Communications Coordinator

“When we save a river, we save a major part of an ecosystem, and we save ourselves as well because of our dependence — physical, economic, spiritual — on the water and its community of life.” —Tim Palmer

Day 6 of Paddle Georgia 2021 was highly anticipated as this 13-mile stretch promises the best of the lower Flint River’s blue hole springs, including Bovine, Hog Parlor and Westrick. To begin the day, all basked in a much-needed lazy morning at Covey Rise (at this point, we were 89 miles into our 112 mile journey and we could feel it!). The staff spoiled us rotten with a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits and fruit, and helped us pack up equally mouth-watering lunches of overflowing, gourmet sandwiches, sides and slices of bunion cake.

We shuttled to the put-in, located a short distance away on private property, and folks helped each other carry boats down to the launch before pushing off the bank for another day-long adventure around 10 a.m. (I told you it was a lazy morning!). The river was still high, a slight let-down for those of us anxious to see the springs, but we held out hope and let the current carry us past pretty islands of tall trees and around beautiful bends with blue and green vistas stretching out before us. When we weren’t paddling, we could hear every bird, buzzing insects and water whispering its way through strainers and around trees. 

Not even a mile in, the families I was with pulled off onto an inviting beach where we searched for, and found, an array of fossils, unique rocks, mussel and clam shells and even a sea urchin. I spent my time with the families’ children (Aviva, Jazzy and Ellie), who emphatically said, “Look!” each time they carefully placed a new rock, shell or piece of wood in my hands. I had so much fun slowing down and discussing the differences between the different treasures they found and answering their questions, like how a tree transports water to its leaves. 

It was starting to get pretty hot, but we decided to go a bit further downriver before enjoying our first swim of the day — and a good thing we did, too! Pretty soon on river left, a large and pristine sandbar stuck out from the bank, with a couple boats already stopped there. What began as an innocent swim spot quickly became the site of a kayak sledding competition. One by one, paddlers dragged their boats to the top of the sandbar’s steep slope, climbed in, and slid down the 30 foot sand hill into the water — many even managed to successfully stay upright after hitting the water, but not without filling their boats half-way with water.  

Paddling on, we discovered first Bovine and then the Hog Parlor springs submerged below water. The Adopt-a-Stream team was testing water at Bovine as I passed and I saw one team member dive down to try and capture a sample of pure spring water without any river water contamination. At this point, I seemed to be one of the few hopeful that Westrick Spring, truly the gem of the trip, would be visible.

Next, we found a limestone bluff perfect for jumping and a couple of us took turns scrambling up the rock before returning to the refreshing river with a “woohoo” and a splash. When we got our fill, we continued winding our way down the Flint towards Westrick.

Dear reader, there are no words to describe the magic of a blue hole spring, especially after being worried that you would not be able to see it due to recent rains. 

The clear and cool blue flow of Westrick spring greeted us on river left and shone in stark contrast to the warm, murky river water beneath our boats. I felt a grin stretch across my face as I followed a group of 10 or so kayaks single-file up the narrow spring run, watching the water become clearer and bluer and feeling the temperature become cooler around me the further we paddled. The run opened up onto a scene of snorkelers, swimmers and some bystanders gathered with their boats on the grassy ledge lining a bright blue pool. 

With no hesitation, I grabbed my goggles and dove into the breathtaking (in more ways than one) water. We must have swam there for more than an hour, diving down as deep as we could toward the deep blue hole, the source of the spring, before bursting lungs or popping ears made us push off the limestone boulders back up to the surface. Eventually, the cold forced me back to land, but as promised, this was the perfect capstone to an amazing week. 

Although it was now late afternoon, we knew we were only just more than mile from our takeout site, so a small group of us stayed behind, chatting and enjoying the immature bass circling beneath our boats.

When we eventually pulled up to Reynolds Sandbar, some were busy setting up tents along the river edge and others were up at the Reynolds’ family cabin, setting up camp. With everyone still buzzing with excitement from Westrick Spring, we lined up at 6:30 p.m. to enjoy a catered dinner of pork, salmon or vegetarian lasagna with a variety of side selections including mashed potatoes, salad, vegetable medley and roll. For tonight’s program, Joe’s good friend Steve, who has been involved in the Tri-State Water Wars since the 1970s, spoke to the group about the issue from the Floridian perspective. His expertise is in simulation models of rivers, which helps one understand the capacity of and what you can do and can’t do with a river system. 

The evening ended with with fun and games on the sandbar. Joe showed off his photography skills by taking beautiful long-exposure photos of friends before a pink and purple sunset backdrop, perfectly mirrored on the surface of the Flint River. Some played a game of corn hole while others stood beneath the stars, naming constellations as they waited for the full moon to rise. When we settled into our tents for the night, more than any other campsite, we could hear the wildlife awake around us, singing us to sleep. 

We awoke on Day 7 with the bittersweet taste of having arrived at the final day of our weeklong Paddle Georgia adventure. After our 6:30 a.m. breakfast, we packed up camp and set out on the day’s brief 9-mile paddle, influenced by the backwaters of Lake Seminole, to Bainbridge Boat Basin Park. On this stretch, backwater sloughs begin appearing and the river widens as it approaches Bainbridge with its historic steamboat landings.

Along the way, we spotted a pair of black and white winged ducks, perching on and poking their heads into the holes of a tall, dead tree. I had never seen a duck perched in a tree before! Next, we explored a few sloughs (I was desperate to spot a gator, but no luck) and stopped to admire the purple blooms of water hyacinth, tall grasses, and elephant ear.

As we entered Bainbridge we passed under three bridges, two of which were crowned by a huge Osprey nest. In the second, we spotted a few juveniles and the parents, feeding and talking to each other. 

When we arrived at the boat basin we were met by the cheers of friends who had arrived before us. All gathered to enjoy a final program and a traditional fish fry lunch feast cooked by Flint Riverkeeper staff. Some of the fried fish were brim and and bass from Gordon Rogers’ own backyard pond! It was the perfect ending to a wonderful week. 

If you’d like to join Georgia River Network on an upcoming paddle trip, or learn more about next year’s Paddle Georgia 2022 trip on the Upper Flint, click here. 

Paddle Georgia 2021 – Day 5

By: Sarah Taylor, GRN Communications Coordinator

“The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are.” — Lynn Noel

Today we enjoyed a slower morning highlighted by a filling egg, biscuit, sausage and grit breakfast catered by Main St. Cafe before loading up the trailer and setting out on our 18-mile journey down the Flint River. A little ways down the river five scientists from The Jones Center at Ichauway met us at Fourth of July Beach (normally a large sandbar, but today was submerged) to teach us about the flora and fauna all around us. The Jones Center’s mission is to understand, demonstrate and promote excellence in natural resource management and conservation. They “understand” by performing research, they “demonstrate” through conservation work and they “promote” through their education and outreach programs. 

Today’s educational offerings included a nature walk with a botanist, catching and identifying fish and watching a water testing demonstration by the Adopt-a-Stream team. On the nature walk, I learned ways to identify plants beyond their flowers/fruits or leaf shape. We stopped at a Mulberry tree, and the expert plucked off a leaf at the base of its stem, squeezed and showed the group its milky sap. Then she held it up to the sun and explained that often, she will use the venation of a leaf, rather than its shape, as an identifier. 

When we returned to the beach, folks were gathered around a tub of fish including damsel fly larvae, bream, shiner and wait for it, a very small gar fish. The gar fish sparked the telling of the legend of Bobby Marie, a veteran Paddle Georgia participant. The legend goes like this:

It was Paddle Georgia 2012 on the Altamaha and Bobby Marie was paddling along in his kayak, minding his own business, when a big gar flipped out of the water and into his lap. He wrapped his arms around that fish and tried to hold on for dear life, but that fish whipped its tail and escaped back into the water, leaving behind a mean, scale-shaped burn on Bobby Marie’s arm. 

So goes the legend of Bobby Marie. May it live on for eternity. 

The group of us who had signed up for the Adopt-a-Stream workshop stayed on the beach a bit longer to enjoy a water testing demonstration. First we tested for dissolved oxygen to see how much is available for fish to use (because they need to breathe too, y’all!). This test required a series of steps and after a list of chemicals I can’t pronounce were added to the water, it was determined that the dissolved oxygen was 5.7 or 5.8 mg per liter (it can range from 0-14.6; below 2 is hard for life to survive, an average of 5 and no less than 4 is the state standard). Next, we tested for conductivity which measures the ions in the water. Pure water will not conduct electricity, but if a water has “things” in it whether it be runoff from limestone or a sewage overflow, you can expect a higher conductivity. Today’s was 100 (the range is 0 – 1500). Last, we tested the pH of the water. This is important because like humans, river plants and animals have evolved to survive in a specific pH range. Today’s pH was 7, neutral, and within the state standard of 6 – 8.5. 

After our brains were full of new knowledge, we departed Fourth of July Beach to continue our float past partly submerged islands full of beautiful sycamore trees with limbs spilling up and out over the river. We were were speeding along unsuspectingly when we heard a holler from somewhere on river right. Leslie’s red boat showed through the trees and then we heard the voice again, “Hey Joe, come over here, there are mussels!”

We paddled over and spent the next hour puttering around a small spit of land that offered mussel shells, limestone rock fossils, flint, two hatched turtle nests and, easily our favorite, a rope swing. We each took turns climbing up the knots of a gnarled tree and bracing between a fork in the branches before swinging out over the water to land with a splash in its cool flow.

Reluctantly, we traveled on and after a few more hours of swimming at the couple exposed sandbars to cool off from the June Georgia sun, we arrived at the takeout on private land to be shuttled to our riverside campsite at Covey Rise Plantation. 

After part of the group set up tents and the other half checked into the comfortable, air-conditioned rooms of Covey Rise, the group gathered for a delicious, and I mean DELICIOUS, fried quail dinner complimented by dressing, green beans, black-eyed peas, sweet potato sweet pie and pecan pie. State Representative Joe Campbell, who represents the citizens of House District 171, joined the group for dinner, chatting with folks about a shared interest in water conservation.

Roger, the owner of Covey Rise Plantation, which is a commercial quail shooting preserve, generously offered his time to discuss quail, quail hunting and the economic impact of quail hunting while we finished licking our plates clean. He said, “quail hunting is not sitting in a stand and waiting for something to walk by…there’s something about having to take dogs, and going out to the woods to find birds that you shoot and the dogs bring back.” It is clear that the folks here care deeply about the work that they do and the services they provide visitors. If you’re a hunter, be sure to check out Covey Rise Plantation. They’re good people!

Before lights out, folks reclined in the comfy chairs in the lodge, played some poker and rocked out on the porch. Tomorrow, Day 6 of Paddle Georgia 2021 awaits.

Paddle Georgia 2021 – Day 4

By Sarah Taylor, GRN Communications Coordinator

“Every river has…its individuality, its great silent interest. Ever river has, moreover, its influence over the people who pass their live within sight of its waters.” – H.S. Merriman

We started the day laughing and honestly, haven’t really stopped. While packing up camp this morning, a group of us began to take down the large tarp shelter that provided shade during dinner the night before. Before a single fold had been made, Paddle Georgia Coordinator Joe Cook grabbed the dish soap and squirted it down the length of the tarp. It wasn’t until his shirt was off and he was diving head first at the tarp that I understood the morning’s new contest: slip & slide. 

With a bit of encouragement, and a bit more water and soap, a few more brave souls took their turn at sliding head-first, feet first or just simply slipping and falling down the tarp. It was a lot of good energy right at the start of a great day on the river.

Today’s journey was intended to be 22 miles of sand bars, springs and limestone bluffs, but due to the high-flow from rain earlier in the week (it was running at 6,000 cubic feet per second, normally its at 2,000) most were submerged beneath a few feet of extra river water. That didn’t mean we stopped looking for the springs though! The first stop of the day after launching from Mitchell County Landing was the Wall Spring, where I found Georgia Adopt-a-Stream staff diving down to collect water samples for testing. A group of four with Adopt-a-Stream are conducting both field tests and collecting samples to be tested offsite at key spots along our route (more on them tomorrow or Friday because they’re doing a workshop for those interested!). As predicted, we could not see the clear blue water bubbling up, however you could feel the cooler temperature of the water compared to the rest of the river, which inspired the feeling that what you were looking for was just beyond your fingertips. 

As we glided almost effortlessly in the fast current down toward the next spring, Leslie pointed out two barred owls perched in a tree just on the riverbank. They looked at us as we paddled up against the current, trying to keep them in our sights. They were stunning, especially against the white-washed coloring of the branches they sat upon. Before letting the current carry us away, Harold pointed out a loud buzzing noise and spotted a large hornets nest in the tree adjacent to the ‘owl’ tree. I was happy they were far away!

The fast current allowed for less paddling today, despite being a high-mileage day. This meant more conversations and more poking around discovering things on the shoreline you wouldn’t normally see when you have to book it to the takeout. One thing that struck me was how many of the participants have been coming back year after year, and in particular, how many of their kids grew up on Georgia’s rivers thanks to adventures like Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia. As a newcomer to the Georgia River Network team (I was hired on as Communications Coordinator in March of this year — yay!), it injects incredible meaning for me into the work that I’m doing, to meet our supporters in this way and to hear how their stories intertwine with Georgia River Network’s mission to connect people with Georgia’s rivers.

One of the highlights of today was navigating a variety of Cypress tree knees and other branches and stumps while paddling up Raccoon Creek in search of another spring. The water was unusually muddy, but the recent rainfall allowed us to paddle much further up the creek than you can normally get by boat, all the way to where the spring (Walton Spring, I think), is normally bubbling up. 

We parked the boats to look around. Joe and I climbed over roots and limestone rocks (some of which had shell fossils imprinted on them) to get a better look at the cypress knees poking out of rolling murky water. They created an almost eerie, almost enchanting feel about the place. As I scrambled about, I noticed clam shells sitting shattered at the edge of the creek and wondered what, if anything, had eaten them. After crossing the creek to look for more fossils in the limestone rocks, it hit me how rivers have this unique capacity to transport you to scenes like this, a space that is less traveled by humans because there are no hiking trails or roads leading to them. The aloneness, the immersion into the sound and feeling of the place, can make even a muddy creek mesmerizing. Before we headed on, Joe caught a beetle and shook it gently in his hands before taking a big whiff, expecting to smell green apple but coming away disappointed (apparently you need more than one beetle to get this effect). 

Further downstream, there were more limestone bluffs along the route like on Day 1, decorated by maiden hair and other ferns. A few fun pockets cut into the limestone bluffs were just large enough for a kayak to go in, make a 3-point turn, and exit. You better believe we all tried it, more than once, sometimes a few at a time (I told you at the beginning that we spent the day laughing, didn’t I?). 

With seven miles left of the 22, and feeling like we didn’t want to rush through the rest of the day, we stopped paddling and put our feet up for a bit. We allowed the current to carry us past large, voluminous trees standing tall in the hot sun. The end of some of their green branches sometimes dipped down into the water, creating small bridges that, when paddled under, offered a brief respite from the hot afternoon sun.

This section of the Flint River normally offers sandbar after sandbar, meaning it’s normally ripe with swimming opportunities. Today, we were lucky enough to find two. The laughter continued as we ping ponged jokes back and forth, discussed topics of interest and cooled off in the river. One person in our group said it was the hardest she’s laughed in a year and a half — yay, pandemic-edition Paddle Georgia for the win!

As we neared the takeout at Rocky Bend Flint River Retreat, the evening’s campsite, the dark clouds that had been growing quickly up ahead began to unleash great cracks of thunder. We were just crossing the river to the takeout when the rain droplets began to pelt us, but it didn’t even matter — today was perfect.

Everyone was in good spirits as we gathered in Rocky Bend’s air-conditioned pavilion for a dinner of fried fish and tasty southern classics. Following dinner, we enjoyed an educational talk by none other than Gordon Rogers of the Flint Riverkeeper, who has nearly 18 years of experience serving in riverkeeper groups for Georgia rivers. He discussed the infamous Tri-State Water Wars and the Flint Riverkeeper’s role in trying to improve the water flow problem, in particular the riverkeeper’s focus on continuing to improve agricultural irrigation technology, since agriculture plays such a large role in this issue. Please learn more about and support the Flint Riverkeeper for all that they do to keep the Flint healthy. 

After dinner, the program included gopher tortoise jokes, favorite moments on the river, little-known facts, volunteer prizes and thanks to our friend Georgia, some Flint River trivia! A huge thanks to Rocky Bend Flint River Retreat for hosting us tonight. Located right on the bank of the Flint River, Rocky Bend is a beautiful full-service campground with rental cabins available. Check them out!

More than halfway through the week, I feel that this closing gives an appropriate status update for the group: 

We are peppered in mosquito, chigger and red ant bites and have blisters where the sandals we swore perfectly fit our feet are now rubbing them raw, but we are also oh, so happy. We are sunburnt and our tents still haven’t quite dried out from the rain, but we are also oh, so happy. We are traveling down 100 miles of the Flint River on a weeklong journey with old and new friends, who come from all over, but who share a love for Georgia’s rivers and for Georgia River Network. You want to know how we all feel about being here? We are oh, so very happy.

Hopefully that didn’t wax poetic too much for y’all. Goodnight!

Paddle Georgia 2021 – Day 3

We started the day singing, “rain, rain, go away, come again another day,” and within an hour the rain dissipated and was replaced with a pleasant, overcast sky. The morning forecast had projected nonstop showers for the rest of the day and into the night — meaning a wet camp site after a wet day of paddling — but just like that, mother nature reminded us that we really never know what to expect when we head outside. 

Before the sky cleared, we had a portage around the Flint River Hydro Dam. It’s true what they say, teamwork makes the dream work! Friends helped friends run their boats up a grassy hill before loading them onto a trailer to be shuttled a short distance to the other side of the dam. 

The speedy current was welcomed with open arms after the lake paddle day. I was lucky to paddle with a few folks I hadn’t paddled with yet and we chatted and got to know each other while moving at a speed of 3 mph (thank you, current!). This meant that it felt like a short 16 miles from the dam to Mitchell County Landing, our campsite for the evening. 

Perhaps my favorite part of today’s river journey were the class one shoals under the Broad Avenue Bridge. There were multiple routes to take and we had fun finding the perfect line. The first “stop” along the way was Radium Springs. When Paddle Georgia 2013 followed this route down the Flint River eight or so years ago, Radium Springs offered a refreshing, crystal clear swimming hole, but today, the springs were covered with plant-life. Luckily, due to the overcast weather and occasional drizzle, we weren’t itching to take a swim.

Further downstream we spotted a baby deer, osprey nest and a few great blue herons who seemed wholly unconcerned with us passing closely by them — what a treat! Right before the takeout, the river split into two fast-moving sections. We weren’t quite ready for the paddle to end, so we took a few rides on the lower part of one of the sections by paddling up the eddy and cutting across to ride the current until it spiraled and fizzled out in the eddies downstream.

All got in to camp hours before dinner, which allowed for a lazy camp set-up and some extra fun, including a corn hole tournament and special piñata in celebration of little Aviva’s birthday! Speaking of which, it’s time for me to go beat some folks in corn hole! Talk to y’all tomorrow!