05/17/00 Paddlng From Florence, South:
Temperature hovering in the low 90's for close to 2 weeks told me it was time to leave Florida behind for this season and head for the mountains with a couple of stops on the way. I spent Monday, the 16th, in a motel in Albany, updating the web site, catching up on email, etc. Tuesday I drove up to the Florence Marina State Park, about 75-100 miles southeast of Atlanta on the Alabama border.
I launched from the park's boat ramp onto the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee flows into Walter F. George Lake 7 miles farther south and flows out of the lake at the other end. I believe several locks and one or more dam are on or around the lake but I didn't run into any today.
The water level on the river appears to be down 8 feet or so in some places. Big, wide sandy beaches line both shores on this section and sandy bluffs sit back some distance from the water. I assume these bluffs are the normal banks of the river.
I saw no development at all on this day. Various hardwood trees, many of them heavily draped in Spanish Moss are interspersed with several types of pine trees. These sit on top of the bluffs along both shores. Many trees seem ready to topple into the water from lack of support for their exposed root systems.
The Chattahoochee River is quite wide at this point, somewhere around 150-200 feet. The skies were overcast with a 5-10 knot wind blowing from the southwest. Every time my hand went into the water I was surprised by how warm it was, probably in the low 70's.
Blue herons were really in evidence today and I spotted 25 or so. Many great egrets could also be seen. Paddling into the wind, many, many flocks of a small, white, egret type birds overtook and passed me. These birds had pure white bodies, I think an orange bill and black legs and feet. They were smaller than a seagull. I saw at least a couple hundred go by but dunno what they are.
I went poking into every little cove and feeder stream I came to but they all ended pretty quickly with sandbars or mud flats blocking the way.
A half hour into the paddle I came to what turned out to be Turner Creek. It extended farther back than any of the other feeder streams. I soon came to the CR 39 bridge spanning the creek and passed a couple of boats fishing the pilings underneath it.
I passed a lot of turtles in the 6 inch range sticking their heads up out of the water to catch a breath of fresh air and to see what was going on. I also passed several water lines with pumps built onto rafts. The rafts were all half out of the water and the pumps were silent.
As I neared the end of one Turner Creek tributary I saw a 4 foot alligator, that had been sunning itself on a baked mud bank, calmly get up and walk into the water without an apparent care in the world. A little later, when I'd turned around and was heading back, I thought I saw the same gator again, just floating around keeping an eye on me. But then I saw a second alligator a little behind that one.
A little 3 footer surfaced close to me and didn't seem at all concerned about me being there. I suspect there bold alligators and old alligators. My experience so far indicates there are probably no bold, old alligators. It seems the bigger they are, the faster they head for the water. The ones that don't probably get killed along the way.
A couple of osprey were out fishing. I watched one fly by with a fish clutched in its talons. I watched another circling ever lower and then make a grab for lunch. The fish eluded it and it flew away empty handed (taloned?).
Another 4 footer was floating around when I got back out on the Chattahoochee River. As I watched, it moved out towards the middle of the river. The wind was kicking up ripples and with the glare of the sun it was pretty hard to keep it in sight, even knowing exactly where it was.
As I had been exploring the feeder streams, they gradually changed from sandy shores and bottoms to a reddish mud. I was paddling into a pretty steady 10 knot wind but didn't mind. Every time the wind died down, the heat became more noticeable, probably mid to upper 80's.
After lunch I paddled across the river to another small feeder stream. The entrance was guarded by a 5 foot alligator but he glided away and appeared to be heading for the middle of the river as I approached.
The creek was lined with steep red bluffs. A small 3 footer surfaced near me, took one look at me and ducked back out of sight under the water.
This stream ended in a dried out creek bed through a long, low, narrow, dark tunnel through overhanging trees. It would have been neat paddling back through there if there had been any water and assuming there were no cottonmouths dangling from the tree limbs.
When I got back to the river again, the same or a different alligator was patrolling the entrance again.
The water has been so low for so long, grass is starting to grow on the exposed flats.
I saw a lone coot and then to wrap things up for the day, a dozen Canadian geese. Huh? Canadian geese? In Georgia? In May? Hey, I just report 'em. I don't have to explain 'em too.
05/18/00 Paddlng Florence, North:
I put in from the Florence Marina State Park boat ramp again this morning. I hadn't noticed any wind at all until I had the kayak unloaded and ready to go. Then I felt a strong wind coming out of the southwest again. When I got out onto the river I was greeted with 6" wind waves. This was mildly upsetting because today I was heading north on the river and I'd rather paddle against the wind in the morning when I'm fresh. Oh well, I didn't plan on going very far and would make sure I didn't have to spend more than an hour or two paddling against the wind on the way back.
Flocks of those little white birds with the build of a small egret were flying into the wind again. They must feed in one place and sleep in another. I saw no sign of the dozen Canadian geese from yesterday.
For what it's worth, the Chattahoochee River provides the border between Alabama and Georgia much of the way.
I found 2 pairs of Canadian geese a half mile up river on an island. They had about 6 little goslings between them. They all took off running as I approached so I changed directions and paddled on the inside of the island.
The island turned out not to be an island but, because of low water, a peninsula. All was not lost because I found a nice little feeder stream back there. It ended a short ways up in a mud flat that had been there long enough for grass to begin growing. A pair of wood ducks swam away from me rather than fly away as usual. They hopped up onto the mud bank and waddled away across the flats. This behavior led me to believe they might have a nest nearby and were trying to draw me away from it, rather than to escape.
The geese were nowhere to be seen when I came back out. They were probably all hiding in the tall grasses and peeking out at me as I went by.
5-6 foot bluffs of a reddish dirt lined both shores. These would normally (I think) be the banks of the river but with no rain for a long time, the river's really down.
Lots of blue herons flew away awking their fool heads off as they caught sight of me. Several egrets flew away with a little more �lan. A couple of carp panicked when I came between them and deeper water.
Many of the coves and feeder streams are full of tree stumps. A sign by the boat ramp listed when the locks are in operation so I guess much of the water area is because of them and a nearby dam or two.
The wind continued to blow and I was constantly aware of it at my back. Fortunately I spent most of my time exploring the small creeks and rivulets joining up with the Chattahoochee River and wasn't making a lot of mileage upstream.
Another pair of geese and 3-4 geesies (hey, if little ducks can be duckies, why can't little geese be geesies?) occupied another islands. These guys were a little cooler than the others. They just kinda sauntered into the taller grasses when they saw me.
Some of the backwaters I paddled were really pretty. With the water levels so low, many 5-6 foot red bluffs could be seen and the water was still high enough to create channels through and around them. This provides a really different and interesting environment with lots of little coves, inlets and hidey holes. I'm starting to think about Arizona and Utah now. These areas would be even nicer to paddle if there was more water. Of course if there was more water there would be less bluffs. Sigh!
Even back in these tributaries I could feel the wind blowing.
I popped into one little cove and startled a great egret. About a dozen little fuzzy ducklings (duckies) headed for shore and ran behind a bank. A snake slithered by in the water and I could see several turtles swimming around. Looking up I saw some of the duckies peeking around the corner at me. I suspect little ones with too much curiosity don't get to be big ones.
After lunch I got back on the Chattahoochee and turned into the wind. It was blowing a steady 10 knots and gusting to about 15. With all the side creeks and coves I'd explored I'd only come a mile and a half or so. Even so it took me 45 minutes of paddling 3/4 speed to get back.
05/19/00 Paddlng Rood Creek:
Rood Creek Park lies 3 miles south of Florence Marina State Park on CR 39. A couple of different locals had told me about the 12-14 foot alligators in this area. How could I pass that up? I'm glad I didn't because this trip is a keeper.
I was gonna go hiking but the forecast was for temperatures in the 90's. I figured the water would be a better place for me today, especially since 10 knot winds were forecast too. That would cool things off without making too difficult to paddle against.
Rood Creek Park has free camping and is actually quite pretty and well maintained. There's no electric or water and there is a $2 boat ramp fee. It's less than a half a mile from the boat ramp to the Chattahoochee River. Rather than go that way, I turned right to see how far up Rood Creek I could go. It proved to be not too far.
Rounding the very first bend in the river, a 4 foot alligator calmly stood up and nonchalantly walked into the water. It then surfaced to eyeball me and seemed to determine if all that effort was really worth it.
A noisy pump was sucking water out of the creek, probably for irrigating a nearby field. Georgia is of course known for the 3 P's; peaches, pecans and peanuts. On the way to this area I had seen several signs advising a Jimmy Carter National Monument or site was nearby. I was going to stop by and say hi to Jimmy and bum a Billy Beer but figured he'd be off banging nails somewhere for Habitats For Humanity.
After mumbling about the noise from the water pump for a while, I turned my head to see a 7-8 footer giving me the eye from 20 feet away. I don't know where he came from. We sat and watched each other for 15-20 seconds or so. Just as I was beginning to wonder if this guy was being aggressive, it submerged.
The creek dead ended in less than a quarter mile in the usual mud flats. Paddling back out, the big guy and a couple of 4-5 foot gators were waiting for me. If I was suffering from paranoia I might have thought they were ready to gang up on me. As it was, I still had all my parts after I paddled past them.
A lot of blue herons and a fair number of great egrets make themselves at home in these waters too. I guess fishing must be pretty good. A large number of fishermen apparently think the same thing.
Rood Creek is a pretty creek. The extremely low water levels leave 6 foot tannish colored bluffs overlooking the river. These bluffs are normally the creek banks. Spanish moss covered hardwoods sit on top of the bluffs.
I followed a couple of small creeks to their end (not very far). I then turned into a canal near where Rood Creek empties into the Chattahoochee River. Right at the entrance to the canal is a big mud bank that is now baked hard. It contains the imprint of a very large gator. The footprints are close to 2 feet across from each other and the distance between front and rear footprints was about the same.
This was very interesting because you could clearly see most of the body imprinted in the mud. A long tail widening into a wider body which tapered into the big neck and shoulder areas with deep holes for all 4 feet. I started looking around to see if this big bad boy was lurking in the wings somewhere looking for a quick meal.
I didn't, but the thought occurred to me to scratch my initials into the mud bank near the imprint. In a couple of million years someone would unearth this ancient fossil and wonder what those strange, primitive hieroglyphics meant.
A gator was drifting right around the bend from the imprint but it wasn't the big one. This guy had a head that seemed to belong to a 8-10 foot body. A 5-6 footer cruised by not too far away.
Another annoying water pump roared in a nearby channel. Paddling by it I was reminded of the joys of having a jet propelled airboat zooming close by.
While poking around back in one little dead end, a 3 footer plopped into the water stirring up a lot of mud. I was sitting at the entrance to the creek and watched as mud clouds rose up from the bottom and passed under the kayak as the gator moved towards deeper water. It can be a little spooky when something as primal as an alligator, even a small one, comes towards you and passes so closely under the boat.
As I turned back into the canal, I saw a 2.5 footer suspended in the water near shore not 15 feet from me. I passed within 6-8 feet of it before it deigned to act nervous and finally submerge.
Several smaller trees had fallen across the channel and I powered over them where I could. This was the end of the canal though. It ended in the usual mud bank. What wasn't usual was the very large that led up from the muddy shallows across the mud bank for 20-30 feet to a downed tree.
The track coming out of the water was more than 2 feet wide. It narrowed somewhat as it hit the mud but also sank down about 6 inches. I couldn't see past the tree trunk and had no desire at all to follow the to see what might be at the other end. Whatever it was, I think it was very, very big <shudder>.
Coming back out of the canal I turned out onto the Chattahoochee River. The river at this point is well over a hundred yards across and a stiff 10 knot wind was still blowing from the southwest. Since it was only 11:30, I thought I'd get a little exercise paddling into the wind for a while. I'd been told some neat creeks and channels could be found 3 miles or so downstream but I had no intention of trying for them on this day. The drone of the fishing boats was almost pleasant after the noise of those water pumps.
Even with the small chop being kicked up by the wind, I still spotted a couple of 6-7 footers cruising on the river. I stopped for lunch after 45 minutes or so and let the wind blow me back upstream. I thought I'd make it an early day.
When I got to the mouth of Rood Creek again I spotted a feeder creek on the left I had missed on the way out. Actually it was a small cove with two channels leading out of the far end. A couple of fishing boats sat near the channel on the right so I took the one on the left.
I immediately saw a 6 and a 8 footer drifting by. The 8 footer looked as if it had been ready to crawl up on a bank for a little sun but veered off at my approach. I hung around and watched it for a couple of minutes, hoping it would crawl out somewhere else. It did make it over to another shore but just hung out there without getting out so I left. Another 6-8 footer floated way from some branches it had been resting on a little farther on.
Soon I saw a big gray lump projecting out from shore. It looked kinda like an alligator head but was much too large. The wind was pushing me along so I just kinda drifted with it. I kept looking around, enjoying the scenery but kept watch on the gray thing out of the corner of my eye.
And then it started to move! Gawd! There must have 18 inches or more between the snout and the eyes. I don't know how big it was but it had to be in the 12-14 foot range folks had been telling me about.
It submerged and I quickly paddled away casting nervous glances behind me. I used to have a Walt Disney screen saver with a crocodile snapping at Captain Hook as he ran across the water. I didn't want anything remotely like that happening here.
Of course I hit a dead end and had to retrace my route past where I had seen this monster. On the way out I saw a gator patrolling the middle of the creek and 2 others hanging out nearby. I was wondering if they were going to demand a toll to let me past, like an arm or a leg, but as I drew near, they graciously moved aside. Whew!
Even though I'm sure that alligator was in the 12-14 foot range I can't apply it towards my record. They have to be out of the water in full view for them to count.
05/20/00 Paddlng Twin Springs:
The map showed some open water pouring into the Chattahoochee River 1.5 miles or so upstream. I thought I'd go up and check Twin Springs out and then come back to Rood Creek and finish exploring a couple of feeder streams I had missed.
A 5 knot breeze was blowing out of the northwest as I turned north. Poking around in a small feeder stream on the far shore I came across a 4 foot alligator way back in one of the little coves. A male wood duck swam away from me in the next cove and disappeared around a bend. When I rounded the bend he was gone. I presume he had scooted across a small mud flat and up a bank to where his mate was sitting on a nest.
I turned into another little stream going nowhere and found 5 fishing boats jammed in there. There wasn't room for two and here were five. I started to turn away in disgust but then decided I'd go in anyway.
I've been watching fishermen for the past 5 months. They spend tens of thousands of dollars on boats, motors, gear and electronics and never seem to catch anything. Do they really like it out on the water that much. Do they really need to get away from the wife and kids that badly? I don't understand. It's not just that I never see them catching anything, when I ask, they usually say, nope, nothing yet. Zooming from place to place at full throttle must be really exciting to make up for all the boredom and wasted money.
An hour or so brought me to a big bay (400ydsX100yds). I got stuck cutting it a little close to a sand bar as I entered the bay. Of course there were a boat load of fishermen right there who sat there and gawked at me.
Steep pebbly beaches lined both shores with a fishing boat tucked away here and there in little coves out of the 10 knot wind that had picked up.
Two channels emptied into the bay at the far end. I went for the one on the left but it quickly ended in a cove after a half mile. No sign of a bubbling spring or even a change in water color. A 4 foot alligator eyeballed me from the water as I turned around and headed for the other channel.
Paddling up this channel I passed a couple of small alligators before that channel too ended. No sign of a spring here either.
Back out on the Chattahoochee River after lunch a strong 10-15 knot wind had shifted to the southwest, the direction I was heading, of course.
When I got back to Rood Creek I first went up the stream in which I'd seen the 12-14 footer yesterday. Right away I saw a 4 footer then a 8-10 footer and then another 4 footer cruising around. No sign of the big guy. That wasn't surprising to me because as I had approached the stream a big bass boat had come roaring out of there.
I followed another stream about 0.75 miles to its twisty end. A couple of 6-8 footers pulled out from the shore as I passed.
Almost all of the gators I've seen recently have been in the water and not up on the banks sunning themselves. Either I'm making a hell of a lot more noise than I think I am and scaring them into the water or they're not climbing the banks as much. I wonder if it's because the water's so warm now they don't need to warm up by sunning themselves.
I didn't have time to paddle a couple other sections I had been told about and didn't even touch Walter F. George Lake. They'll have to wait for another time. Given the opportunity I will be back though.