Apalachicola River
“The Panhandle Tour” Feb 19 – Feb 25, 2011 Paddlers: Jack, Tom, Sam, Dave **Stew did not make it
this year due to work commitments. We
sorely missed him. Note: Tom drove down from Kayaks: Current Designs Storm, QCC 700, QCC 500, Current Designs Solstice GTS same order as paddlers list. Preface We
chose this river because it is long enough for a 7-day trip and it cuts across
Florida keeping us true to our name “Paddle Across Florida.” We also had good reports from others who
have done the whole river and parts of it.
We left our vehicles in Apalachicola and caught a shuttle to our
put-in near the Alabama/Florida/Georgia border. The river up there is the Chattahoochie which empties into Lake Seminole and then
becomes the Apalachicola River. The
Apalachicola Riverkeeper was a great help for our
trip planning. In
order to make it a true paddle across Florida we needed to start at the
Georgia/Florida border at the Woodruff dam.
This is where Lake Seminole empties into the Apalachicola River. To add more distance we decided to start in
the Chattahoochee River at the FL/AL/GA border intersection. Last year’s trip down the Suwannee River
was so cold that each of us brought cold water paddling gloves, booties and
warmer sleeping bags this time. It got
cool at night (40’s) but not in the 20’s and 30’s as last year. The weather was near perfect for this trip
with sunny days and pleasant nights. Friday, Feb 18,
2011 Drive to Apalachicola, FL Jack and Dave drove up with Sam in his
truck. Sam has a great way of hauling
kayaks and we arranged them in such a way that was very secure and easy to
do. The drive up was uneventful and we
enjoyed each other’s company and the views along the way. We arrived in Apalachicola around 5pm and
immediately went to Papa Joe’s for some fresh oysters. If you like oysters, it doesn’t get any
better. Make sure you visit Papa
Joe’s’ – they are the best in town and the locals will confirm it. We then went to the Buchaneer
Hotel on St. George Island because that is where the outfitter (Journeys) is
- they shuttled us to put in. Nice
people – use them if you need to rent or a ride. Tom had arrived earlier and was waiting for
us. Day 1 Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 - 23
miles After
spending Friday night at the hotel we arise and drive to Journey’s shop to
load our kayaks on their shuttle.
Dale, the owner was there and she and her friend helped us load up and
we’re off! The drive to put-in was around 2.5 hours and we got a
little bit of a late start so after unloading and packing our kayaks we
finally launch at 10:45 am. We had to
paddle upstream for 1.6 miles to make it to the Alabama border – there was a
sign posted on a tree that marked the spot and we were happy to see that it
corresponded exactly with the GPS point loaded from Google Earth. Then, we turned around and paddled downstream. The
water was very cold and the air temperature was in the 70’s – perfect! Our first campsite was actually at a marina
on Lake Seminole – Seminole Fish Camp.
A true fish camp. They were
having a fishing tournament that weekend and we were somewhat disappointed on
our first day of paddling to see so many speeding bass boats but the
tournament explained it. We didn’t see
much boat traffic the rest of our trip. We
found a decent place to pull out after scouting the area for a while. The shores are all rocks and around 5 feet
high. We found reeds in the canal
where the boat ramps are and we paddled over them to a grassy area where we
pulled our kayaks up for the night. Of
course we checked out the store and bought beer. It was slim pickings but we got some! The motel was what you may expect for a
fish camp out in the woods. I know my
wife would not have stayed there but for us guys it was fine. We cooked our dinners on our stoves outside
our rooms and cooked up a plan to surprise Tom being that today was his 62nd
birthday. On
our drive up to Apalachicola we stopped for lunch and saw a consignment shop
as we were leaving and decided to see if we could find something fitting for
Tom’s birthday. They didn’t really
have anything of interest but they did have dresses! Well, we had a few beers at lunch and
thinking it would be too hilarious, we each purchased a dress to wear in honor of Tom’s birthday. When
Tom went into the shower we all came into the room and donned the dresses
awaiting his exit of the shower. When
he came out with only a towel wrapped around him we all said “Happy
Birthday!” I didn’t know if this guy
from Wisconsin could handle South Florida humor but he laughed and we took
some pictures. When we left the motel
we left two of the dresses hanging in the closet – another hilarious
gesture. Sam saved his for a friend
(so he says). I wonder what the
cleaning lady thought… Day 2 Sunday, Feb 20, 2011 23 miles
and Day 3 Monday, Feb 21,
2011 0 miles We
got up early and witnessed the start of the second day of the fishing
tournament. Bass boats with big
engines lined up waiting to be released.
They roared off one at a time into Lake Seminole. Today
we are paddling to Alum Bluffs. We
were told this is a great place to camp and explore so the plan is to stay
there two nights. This was the
highlight of our trip besides eating oysters at Papa Joes. We load up the kayaks and shove off and are
around 3 miles from the Woodruff Dam and lock. The lockmaster’s name is Packer and he was
very friendly and helpful. We had
called him prior to our trip and he said he would watch for us. Sure enough, as we approached the lock
Packer was there waiting and he gave us instructions to tie off but also to
be able to untie in a hurry in case of an emergency. Locking
through was a treat. The water level
in the lock went down 34 feet or more and it was just a cool experience. When the gates of the lock opened, we
paddled into the Apalachicola River.
The current in the river was about 2.4 mph the entire trip. Made it nice for leisurely paddling. The river is scenic but wide – not as
intimate as we would have liked but still it was an adventure and a good trip
to do. We arrive at Alum Bluffs and it does look
like a really neat place to stay and we immediately agree that we should stay
here for two nights. Nice sandbar to
camp on with the bluffs across from us.
Lots of paths in the woods behind us to explore as well as streams
across from us. We walked the trails
behind us and explored the creeks on the other side of the river. There is a cypress swamp that was very
interesting too. We
found shards of pottery on our sandbar – possibly from Indians? We looked around for arrowheads but didn’t
find any. Then we decide to climb the
bluffs so we paddled across the river and secured our kayaks in a creek.
We climbed the steep side of the bluffs. Wow.
What a great view from up there!
That was well worth it. The
climb down was tedious because it was so steep but we made it down without
mishap. This
was a special day because it marked passing the 1,000 mile point that the
group Paddle Across Florida has kayaked.
We passed out Maori Twists – native necklaces
of tribal people from New Zealand to honor the event. We made sure these were from New Zealand
because that just makes them more “righteous.” The Maori
Twist represents the many paths that life can take and the strength of
friendship along these paths. It represents the joining together of two
people or groups for Eternity, telling the tale of how a bond of Friendship,
Loyalty, Love and Respect will last forever. Sometimes the two paths will
diverge, but will always come together eventually. This symbol is often
exchanged between friends to indicate a long lasting bond. Spent
the rest of day 2 relaxing, exploring, Sam fished; Dave went for a swim (brrrr). After
dinner we played Bocce Ball – Dave had packed a heavy bean-bag style
set. That was fun and a nice way to
end the day. We had a nice fire to
relax near and watch the stars. Day 4 Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 20 miles Another
nice day. The current is keeping us
moving between 5.5 and 6.5 mph so we are covering ground quickly. Our destination is a sandbar near Estiffanulga. Uneventful
paddle, wide river with nice current. We stopped at a county park for resupply of
water and the guy there told us the sandbar was just around the corner. He also said to look out for a black bear
that had been frequenting the area lately. When
we rounded the next corner, there was this huge sandbar. Really big.
The sand was very bumpy but we all found
areas to place our tents. We were
worried about the bear but it never appeared. Saw an eagle and we again played Bocce
Ball after dinner and watched the stars when night fell as we once again sat
around a beautiful campfire. We make
it a game to see who can spot the satellites as they go by and we saw several
as well as a few shooting stars. Told
stories and went to bed. Heard owls
that night. Day 5 Wednesday, Feb 23, 2011 25 miles Today
we are headed for Dead Lakes park. It is around 5 miles off of the river but
supposed to be a neat thing to see. On
the way we explored a few side streams but were afraid to commit to taking them
in case they became a dead end. We
find the Chipola Cutoff that leads toward Dead
Lakes and head up it. On the way Jack
yells “Store” so we stop while he climbs up the bank and goes to the
store. He brought back canned chili, ice
(for his shoulder) and beer (yea!). Paddling
into Dead Lakes is eerie with all the stumps sticking up out of the
water. A few experienced kayakers from
the area advised us to stay on river right before venturing into the trees. Tom thought we could go on a straighter rout
per his GPS and he was right but we didn’t want to get lost in there and took
the other paddlers advice and stayed river right. None of us had maps of the area – only GPS
points and Tom’s fancier GPS that has maps loaded. At low water levels you could run into dead
ends and unnavigable areas. It
was a little bit unsettling trying to navigate to the park because it does
look like a place where one could become hopelessly lost or confused. We were told that the turning points were
well marked but if we didn’t have the GPS we may have missed the turns. The markers are strips of black and yellow
tape tied to trees and pretty high up. Dead Lakes park was a nice
place to camp but we didn’t see any compelling reason to stay there more than
one night. It has a pay station for campers, tables, a boat ramp and nice
grassy areas to pitch your tents.
Typical county park and nice but we decided not to stay for more than
one night. Ate our dinners, had a camp
fire, and drank some beer. We love
these trips just for relaxing and exploring. Day 6 Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 25 miles Met
a guy with a boat who told us to just go straight south instead of going back
the 5 miles on the Chipola Cutoff. Tom had suggested this per his GPS and with
the confirmation, we decided to go that route. Don’t know the name of the river but it
parallels the Apalachicola river from Dead Lakes for maybe 14 miles before
joining it. The paddle was a little more
pleasant because the river was narrower and protected from the wind. We saw many little houseboats throughout
our trip. We get back into the Apalachicola and it is
windy. We stopped for lunch along a
bank – the stopping places are becoming pretty scarce in this area. We find Owl Creek and turn up it and go
maybe 2 more miles to another county park.
Once we are in Owl Creek we were once again protected from the wind so
that was nice. The
park is yet another nice county type park with campsites for tents as well as
areas for campers. Lots of trails to
walk and we met a nice couple who go there every year at that time to get
away from the city. They go hiking
daily and just relax. We took a long
hike at sunset and returned in the dark.
Had dinner, of course our campfire and headed to bed. Day 7 Friday, Feb 25,
2011 24 miles to completion! Today we head to the town of Apalachicola –
one day early. No cell phone coverage
to change our hotel reservations but we will deal with that when we can. Blustery day with warnings that a strong
weather system is approaching – set to hit around 1 pm. Great.
Our ETA is 2 pm. We found this
out because a Florida Fish and Wildlife boat pulls up along Dave and starts a
conversation. Dave is paddling as best
he can in the wind while trying to talk to the officers. They were very nice and interested in our
kayaks and adventure. Dave encouraged
them to “Just Do It!” So many people
say “I want to do that someday” but never take action. We like to encourage people to do these
kind of trips – they are within most people’s reach and so enjoyable. You don’t have to do hard-core as we do
(and we don’t consider ourselves hard-core anyway). As
it turns out, the weather system missed us and we make it to Apalachicola and
paddle under the bridge where the Apalachicola River meets the bay. Then we turn around and head up a waterway
to our hotel. We were told of a boat
ramp we could use that was within a quarter mile of where we had
reservations. We did change our
reservations to this night so everything worked out well. The Waterstreet Hotel
was very luxurious and nice. Dinner
at Papa Joe’s – lots of oysters and beer.
Nice ending for yet another cool trip.
We really missed Stew on this trip because he adds so much to our group
and the fun of being outdoors on a journey with friends. Saturday, Feb 26,
2011 Sam,
Jack, and Dave drive back to south Florida while Tom heads back to the frozen
north in Wisconsin. Resources: Apalachicola
Riverkeeper - Very helpful with GPS points and
campsites that they have used on their trips.
Made planning very easy for us. Journey’s
– kayak outfitter on St George Island
website: sgislandjourneys.com Buccaneer
Hotel on St George Island, FL Water
Street Hotel, Apalachicola, FL Google.com
– I always use Google Maps and Google Earth for trip planning and GPS points. http://paddleacrossflorida.com Our website for more photos and other trips
we’ve done |