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.