Just Returned Sunday from a our first weekend on the Suwannee River. We had a great time. A little wet and a little tired, but with a great feeling of accomplishment.
Three adults and 4 boys put were dropped off by Canoe Outpost Friday at Cone Bridge at around lunch time. The water level was still up (68' at the White Springs gauge), but not enough to cause concern.
After we had paddled for about an hour we stopped for lunch (peanut butter and jelly burritos). The kids played in the water for a little. We didn't really find any really nice sandbars to play on, but kids will make do.
We were told by Debbie we needed to camp at Big Shoals the first night, but because of the water level she didn't know if we would be able to see Big Shoals. She have us a series of land marks to be looking for and I was also tracking our distance by GPS so as not to miss it. We were a little concerned being our first trip about finding the portage. We made several false stops trying to find the portage. Finally we found the portage right under the big sign that said 'Big Shoals Portage'. I don't know how long the sign had been there, but I made a point to tell Debbie about it when I got back.
As my luck would have it the big campsite above the Shoals that I had been told about was occupied. So we took the next one down and started lugging our gear over the trail. One of the men at the first camp site told me he had been coming to the shoals for 20 years and with the high water they had paddled through the small rapids. So after we unloaded the really important stuff (food, tents) we paddled through the rapids with no trouble at all.
After setting up camp it was time for supper. We cooked steaks, french fries, and peach cobbler in the dutch oven. The sound of the shoals was very relaxing, until about a hour after dark a several ATVs came riding right by our camp. The riders we nice, but so much for the wilderness experience.
The next morning was nice and cool. My favorite part of the day. We had breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Soon we broke down camp and was on our way. Rain was expected this afternoon or tonight so we wanted to get going early. After paddling for about an hour we see an 8 foot gator on the bank. He never moved just watched us as we floated by taking pictures. I still think he was trying to figure out which one of us would taste the best. A little farther down we saw a glimpse of another gator disappearing into the black water. Right before we got to White Springs we saw another gator sunning on a small log. This gator was less than a foot long. That was three gators in about 3 hours. I had been told the Suwannee didn't have very many gators, maybe we were just lucky.
We stopped at White Springs for lunch. Several people came down from the Stephen Foster Center and spoke with us. Soon after some swimming and resting we were on our way again. We knew the rain was coming, but we wanted to get most of the paddling out of the way on Saturday.
We kept pushing under I-75 and we kept paddling. Past several great campsites and we kept paddling. Past a group of campers that yelled 'you better find a camp site it's about to rain', we kept paddling. Finally I said we better start looking for a campsite, but my luck had kicked in again and we couldn't find a campsite, but we did find the rain. I steady down pour. We stopped at several places, but couldn't find one that would work. Finally we found one just big enough for three tents. We knew we needed to set up the rain fly first then the tents. Well not supprising our rain fly leaked, BAD. Thank goodness the tents did not! We ate supper and turned in early and listened to the rain, thunder, and wind.
Next morning we cooked breakfast and started packing up our rain soaked, sandy mess. The weather radio said 30% chance of rain and clearing. I think we got all 30%. As soon as we left the rains started pouring again.
Paddled the remaining 8 miles back to the Outpost. Even with the rain the paddle was very pleasant. Back at the Outpost a hot shower was waiting.
Overall the trip was great. I will absolutely do it again. I hope next time the water level will be down so the boys can do more swimming. I also hope next time I will have the brains to stop and set up camp before the rain hits.
Three adults and 4 boys put were dropped off by Canoe Outpost Friday at Cone Bridge at around lunch time. The water level was still up (68' at the White Springs gauge), but not enough to cause concern.
After we had paddled for about an hour we stopped for lunch (peanut butter and jelly burritos). The kids played in the water for a little. We didn't really find any really nice sandbars to play on, but kids will make do.
We were told by Debbie we needed to camp at Big Shoals the first night, but because of the water level she didn't know if we would be able to see Big Shoals. She have us a series of land marks to be looking for and I was also tracking our distance by GPS so as not to miss it. We were a little concerned being our first trip about finding the portage. We made several false stops trying to find the portage. Finally we found the portage right under the big sign that said 'Big Shoals Portage'. I don't know how long the sign had been there, but I made a point to tell Debbie about it when I got back.
As my luck would have it the big campsite above the Shoals that I had been told about was occupied. So we took the next one down and started lugging our gear over the trail. One of the men at the first camp site told me he had been coming to the shoals for 20 years and with the high water they had paddled through the small rapids. So after we unloaded the really important stuff (food, tents) we paddled through the rapids with no trouble at all.
After setting up camp it was time for supper. We cooked steaks, french fries, and peach cobbler in the dutch oven. The sound of the shoals was very relaxing, until about a hour after dark a several ATVs came riding right by our camp. The riders we nice, but so much for the wilderness experience.
The next morning was nice and cool. My favorite part of the day. We had breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Soon we broke down camp and was on our way. Rain was expected this afternoon or tonight so we wanted to get going early. After paddling for about an hour we see an 8 foot gator on the bank. He never moved just watched us as we floated by taking pictures. I still think he was trying to figure out which one of us would taste the best. A little farther down we saw a glimpse of another gator disappearing into the black water. Right before we got to White Springs we saw another gator sunning on a small log. This gator was less than a foot long. That was three gators in about 3 hours. I had been told the Suwannee didn't have very many gators, maybe we were just lucky.
We stopped at White Springs for lunch. Several people came down from the Stephen Foster Center and spoke with us. Soon after some swimming and resting we were on our way again. We knew the rain was coming, but we wanted to get most of the paddling out of the way on Saturday.
We kept pushing under I-75 and we kept paddling. Past several great campsites and we kept paddling. Past a group of campers that yelled 'you better find a camp site it's about to rain', we kept paddling. Finally I said we better start looking for a campsite, but my luck had kicked in again and we couldn't find a campsite, but we did find the rain. I steady down pour. We stopped at several places, but couldn't find one that would work. Finally we found one just big enough for three tents. We knew we needed to set up the rain fly first then the tents. Well not supprising our rain fly leaked, BAD. Thank goodness the tents did not! We ate supper and turned in early and listened to the rain, thunder, and wind.
Next morning we cooked breakfast and started packing up our rain soaked, sandy mess. The weather radio said 30% chance of rain and clearing. I think we got all 30%. As soon as we left the rains started pouring again.
Paddled the remaining 8 miles back to the Outpost. Even with the rain the paddle was very pleasant. Back at the Outpost a hot shower was waiting.
Overall the trip was great. I will absolutely do it again. I hope next time the water level will be down so the boys can do more swimming. I also hope next time I will have the brains to stop and set up camp before the rain hits.
