The water was at 28.85 feet, just right for paddling above the highway 12 bridge. Shuttle in place and boats in the water just a few minutes after 0800, our day began. We launched from the ramp at the highway 93 bridge in Georgia. There was lots of parking. A heavy fog made it seem even more interesting. Our reference book said that it was a difficult 14 mile paddle. I was mentally prepared for several pullovers, portages and brush trimming. I had a big lunch, several snacks and a hand saw.

The river at this point is very large. There was plenty of water to paddle in. We didn?t even see the first obstacle until we had paddled three miles downriver. I was able to paddle around and under the tree. Michael chose to pull over. That was probably the easiest way to pass. Still a wonderful open river. At times the current was forced around a sharp bend and narrow so attention still needed to be paid to the river. We saw a half dozen houses on the river in some very secluded locations. At one dock there were some people out getting ready to fish. Somewhere around the five mile mark there was an easy portage of about thirty feet. A freshly downed tree was across the river. We took a quick break, drug the boats under the branches and then stepped over them and were once again on the way.

We encountered an elderly fisherman. He asked about the boats and where we were going. I thought I should ask him about some distances. The next ramp/bridge; his answer was about a mile. It turned out to be a mile and a half. I guess that was good for an estimate. He then said the next bridge after that one was about two and a half to three miles. He must have written the book we used as our guide. It was actually twelve and a half.

The Hadley Ferry bridge was the next bridge we came to, at the ten mile mark. There is a ramp, the new highway bridge and an old iron and wood bridge here. There is not much wood left and the iron is getting pretty rusty. Still a pretty neat sight. It looks like the bridge was replaced because the decking was below the high water mark. It was a good place to have a sandwich and a cold one. The section we had so far completed would make for a very nice paddle or float trip. It would be ten easy miles from bridge to bridge. With the amount of parking at both bridges and easy launch ramps, there could be a large group of paddlers.

We started out with our bellies refilled and bodies refreshed. More easy paddling. A few more miles downriver we had our next obstacle. I was able to paddle around some deadfall and around one of the few rocks on the river. Once again the river opened up nice and wide. A very long straight section was ahead. At about the fourteen mile mark, I began to get a cramp in my left leg. We pulled over for a few minutes for me to stretch my leg. This was the only place that we encountered anything close to mud. The bank was soft but not to where I sunk in very deep. I was surprised that most of the river had sandy bottoms and banks. There was a section that had limestone walls. After this leg stretch, I was good to go.

I'm not too sure at what point the river sort of opened in to a bit of a swamp. We could still follow flow and the brush was easy to navigate. Somewhere around the twenty mile mark, when I was getting pretty tired, and the brush really started to get thick. The flow was all but gone. We had been paddling in brush for about three days now, actually about a hundred yards. There was a very pronounced split in the river. To the right a pin cushion of cypress knees and to the left very little flow but room to move. We chose left. This is where it started to get hard. The brush was thick. That's about all I can say about it, it was thick! After a few hundred more yards we found the flow again. We stayed in the flow for about a mile struggling through the brush. I wish I had a nickel for every spider that was in my boat and web that I took down. I could retire and take some people with me. Then all of the sudden the river opened up! There were guys fishing from a canoe. They asked if we were able to get over "that log", when I told them where we started from all they could say was "wow".

A quarter of a mile later, we were at take out at highway 12. It was a very long paddle and only difficult because we were tired. I think if I had known it was 22.5 miles and not 14, I would have been better prepared mentally. If the mile and a half of brush would have been over the whole distance, it probably would not have made such an impact. Since it was so condensed and the end of a long trip, it probably seemed more difficult that it really was. The next time I tell the story, it will have been 15 miles of punishing bee stinging, snake infested thick brush. Oh, and so thick with alligators that we had to pull our boats across their backs to get to open water. Did I mention the headwind? Okay there were no mosquitos!

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