We have officially reached the half-way point of Paddle Georgia 2013 with 3 days of awesome paddling behind us and 3 more ahead. Everyone really enjoyed their stay at Chehaw with their friendly staff, beautiful grounds and comfortable facilities and we were all sad to leave, but excited about the new digs in Camilla.
Although everyone seemed to cringe at the mention of a 21 mile paddle – the current was the fastest we’ve had yet and we scooted swiftly along.
Playful paddlers, as always we encountered hoola hooping in the morning and bubbles in the afternoon.
Red Tailed Hawks, Belted Kingfisher, Bob Whites, Pileated woodpeckers, and Green Heron could be heard and occasionally seen through the canopy that shrouded the winding river.
The limestone caves along this stretch were beautiful and mysterious with their tight crevices and dangling ferns that formed curtains on the rock walls surrounding the cave mouth.
Twisted, gnarly roots of Sycamore and Cypress trees reached out like fingers and hands holding back the river bank, their knees jutting up out of the water resembling mud castles at the beach.
And even with the usual swimming, lounging, and jumping from rope swings paddlers completed the trip in record time, and were shuttled to our new home of Mitchell County High School.
And what a better way to end the day than with an awesome street party in Camilla! It was great to see everyone boogying down and enjoying themselves so immensely.
Looking forward to another day in South Georgia paradise tomorrow!
Keep on rollin’ down the river,
Gwyneth Moody