Ochlockonee River Change of Plans Tour Feb 15 – 22, 2020 We were to do the Apalachicola River again but due to extreme high water and flooding we did the Ochlockonee River. It turned out to be a great change of plans!
Our trip was on the Ochlockonee River and we started 25 miles west of Tallahassee, FL on FL 20 where FL 20 crosses over the river and ended near the Gulf of Mexico. Paddlers: Dave B, Stew, Dave Sea Kayaks: Seda Glider, Current Designs Solstice, Current Designs Solstice GTS (same order as paddlers) Trip Conditions: Temps low to mid 70s daytime; cloudy, rain a few days, 50 - 60s night, 30s on our last night. The weather was great being overcast and cool - except for the rainy parts that weren’t too terrible. Meals: We each brought our own meals – some better than others! We learn a lot from watching what other people bring and do on trips. You can make gourmet camp food if given some thought. Snacks: nutrition bars, beef jerky, apples, oranges. Water: we each had at least 5 gallons each in 16.9 oz bottles,some liter containers and water bladders. Beer: Yes.
The Tuesday before our trip (we are set to leave Saturday at 4am) the lockmaster calls me and says that the Apalachicola River is at flood stage and he doesn’t know if he can lock us through. We were to start in Lake Seminole, lock through to the river and continue to the Gulf of Mexico. So I asked if we could put in at a boat ramp a little lower down the river. He then explains to me that we will get killed if we attempt to kayak the river at the current water levels. There are large trees and dead cows floating in the swift current. I asked a bunch of questions and he became exasperated at me and said “You’re not listening. If you attempt to kayak the Altamaha River you will be F’n killed!” Okay, I was convinced. So I texted Dave and Stew and we were looking at alternatives. We were looking at some rivers we already did and not very happy about it. Dave Briggs (Dave B) said he found a river called the Ochlockonee in the same area. He made more calls and was told it is okay to paddle - even with water levels being a little high. So change of plans. Dave put in a couple of days of quick planning, calling and making reservations, and saved our trip. Thanks again Dave!
Day 1 Saturday, Feb 15, 2020 We all drove up from south Florida to 25 miles west of Tallahassee, FL – about a 7 hour drive. Stew and Dave drove up from the east coast while the other Dave B (actually both Dave’s are Dave Bs) drove up from the southwest coast. We met at the Riverfront RV and Campground which is where FL 20 crosses the Ochlockonee River – perfect place to start. The owner, Nader was very nice and let us camp next to the boat ramp. .
We set up our tents and then the two Daves shuttled one vehicle to our take-out point in Ochlockonee River State Park – around an hour drive one way. Along the way they saw fires – the park service was doing controlled burns. We hoped that it wouldn’t affect our trip and it didn’t. For dinner we drove to a food truck just down the road that served Greek (I think) food. It was good. Nice to still have our vehicle and of course we had bought some IPA beer to go with dinner. Weather was pleasant in the low 70’s with forecast of rain and 50’s for the evening. We had a nice fire going and talked to some locals. The fire was very nice as it turned cooler.
Day 2 Sunday, Feb 16, 2020 17 miles to Huey P Arnold boat ramp Dave B brought supplies to make us all a hardy breakfast for our first morning. This was doable because we had a vehicle with us at the starting point and could leave the cooking stuff and ice chest in the car. He did a great job and there is nothing like a nice hot meal on a chilly morning on the river. The first day of paddling was cloudy and it rained on and off with steady light downpours. It made us chilled but we were prepared with rain tops and layers. We paddled up to the CH Corn Hydroelectric Generating Station – a dam that separates Lake Talquin from the river and then into the rushing water that turned us around to begin our journey to Huey P Arnold boat ramp as seen on Map 2 below. We didn’t see many animals – some bald eagles at the beginning and an unconfirmed otter sighting. There were oyster shells at all of the boat ramps and we figured that must be from otters. We saw some otters (confirmed) later on the trip.
Dave B making a hardy breakfast while Stew devours it.	We paddled to the dam (CH Corn Hydroelectric Generating Station) and into the rushing water.
As we paddled we each tell stories of past trips and funny things that happened. Dave B told of a trip with a Brazillian friend who when they accomplished a milestone on a trip proclaimed “We are mans!” We used that phrase a lot for the rest of our trip. After a difficult paddle around and through deadfall someone yells out “We are mans!” We told lots of neat stories and funny things but I just can’t remember them now. Dave B said that on hiking trails like the Appalatian Trail people give trail names. We made up some porno names and things that would keep other travelers away. We decided Dave B would be “Manson” since he kind of resembles the guy!
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First night on the river was at a designated camping spot per the river maps we downloaded. Huey P Arnold boat ramp that was right on the river. We had paddled around 17 miles – added a few due to exploring and paddling to the dam at the beginning. Stew kept asking how far and since we didn’t know, the standard answer became somewhere between 12 and 22 miles. Nice, leisurely day. It, as well as all of our camping spots, had a boat ramp. We were very pleased with all of our campsites – nice, high and dry. I think all of them were in a state our county park. All seemed pretty remote. The rain had stopped for a while as we set up our campsite. Nice end to day one and we have beer! Of course we made a fire – if you don’t make camp fires, try it. It adds so much to the experience. We found plenty of wood and Stew has this napalm - like fire starter stuff that drips fireballs until the fire gets going. Heard some owls during the night, and it rained a little while we slept but was done come morning.
Day 3 Monday Feb 17, 2020 17 total miles Paddled to Whitehead Landing Today we had some sun and actually a little warm for a while.  There was some deadfall and current which was a little alarming at first because our trip a few years ago on the Withlacoochee River was riddled with deadfall and current and we had to do emergency maneuvers all day. Not on this trip. There was just enough obstacles to keep it interesting and make you pay attention. To get to camp we paddled up a fork from the main river; went past the first campsite and on to a camp site near a bridge.  Paddled up-current; eventually found the spot heavily occupied and literally right under a bridge so we paddled back to first spot we saw which was Whitehead Landing – it actually is the second landing on the map, access point 8. This was a good camping spot.
Lunch Break	We had to maneuver in the current to avoid deadfall. Sometimes we weren’t as successful as we wanted to be.
The campsite was another nice place to camp. Stew brought some potatoes so we had baked potatoes as a treat. Dave B presented some cheese and we rolled it up in the potatoe skins for another treat! At dusk, we were sitting around making our dinners and we saw a bat flying overhead swooping and eating insects. Always cool to see bats but you have to be watching for them just before the sun goes down. Not sure if it was this camp night but we heard a pack of coyotes howling and we presumed going in for a kill. It got a little noisey there for a while. We weren’t really worried but it did sound like there were quite a few of them in the woods.
	Baked potatoes in the fire – yum!
Day 4 Tuesday Feb 18, 2020 14 miles Paddled to Hitchcock Lake Campground Today was another almost perfect day with it being overcast. Scenery first rate and the company the same. A 14-mile paddle with current is what we consider a very light day and something I think our future trips will embrace. In the past, we always wanted to do big days with big miles but now we are starting to enjoy the stress less days of getting up whenever we wake up and leisurely starting our day. To get to the campground we had to paddle upstream on a tributary and though a cypress tree forest. At first, there are little yellow arrows attached to trees but when you really needed one, nothing. Of course we went the wrong way when we got to a fork in the river but we were rewarded for our efforts with some really cool views and large trees. It was as if we went back in time to prehistoric days.
Getting ready in the morning	We’re off!
This was the coolest campsite to paddle up to.	Prehistoric looking area with large cypress trees
We met Rudy fishing at the boat ramp which seemed in the middle of nowhere. He was having a good time just relaxing and fishing. Said he comes here often and catches a lot of fish. We had a long walk from the boat ramp to where we camped. Sluffed our stuff up the hill and when the kayaks were reasonably empty, we carried them up too. We didn’t want to leave them at the boat ramp in case someone came down and was launching a boat. It would have to be a very small boat because this area is very narrow in the water. The camp site had a picnic table and a porta john. As with all the other places we see some oyster shells along the banks and figure it is from otters. Still strange to see oyster shells this far from the Gulf. There were nice trails for biking or hiking but we did not walk too far – just wanted to scope out the area. The camp had several game-cleaning stations - we figure for deer season. We had another good fire.  Another fine campsite
Day 5 Wednesday Feb 19, 2020 11 miles to Woodlake Campground. Today we paddled to Woodlake Campground so as not to get to our reserved campsite at Womack Creek a day early. This campsite was also great but frequented more by others due to its proximity to civilization. It has a nice camping area, cement out house and places for people in RVs to park. We met Sonny who was living out of his van and he was playing a 12-string Martin guitar. He handed it to Dave who can play barely good enough to be acceptable around a campfire. He dove right in to “You ain’t going nowhere” – an old Dylan tune. Sonny appreciated the tune and was invited to come sit around the fire with us later that evening.
After dinner when we were sitting around our fire, Sonny did show up. He was a kind of “out there” individual who talked about 432 tuning and how Big Foot came when it heard someone in the Civil War play a violin with 432 tuning. He had mystical rocks you could hold to gleam some of the energy. He was fun to talk to and an enjoyable person to meet. He thought what we were doing was phenomenal – he liked that word. He and Dave took turns playing songs on his guitar and singing. Stew played several songs too. Sonny was actually very good and said he played in several bands and played some bars in the past.
Day 6 Thursday Feb 20, 2020 3.5 miles to Womack Creek Recreation Area Today was a very short paddle to a supervised campground (Glenn and Linda were the hosts). When we first arrived we saw Linda who had caught 20 pan fish ranging from Shellcrackers, to Bluegill, to Stumpknockers; all of which got fried up for Friday night fish fry. She has a nice boat set-up with a motor and goes fishing most days. She was very proud of the fish she caught and showed them to us in a 5-gallon bucket.
Sonny sending us off with good vibes	Only 3.5 miles to go today
Our site at Womack Creek campground	Located in Tate’s Hell state forest
We bought a six-pack of beer from the camp hosts. Glenn told us it was his wife’s beer but would let us have it. I told him I didn’t want to get him in trouble and asked if she (Linda) had enough left after I eyed a large container containing many empty beer cans. She had two left but they had to go shopping anyway. Dave B and Stew can be beer snobs so I wasn’t sure how they would react when I brought back six Busch beers. Dave B said “Hey, they’re cold!” They went down with ease and we enjoyed them on the deck overlooking the river. Due to impending bad weather on the way, we decided to camp here two nights and abandon our next leg which was to paddle out in open water to Bald Point, around 19 miles. That was a good choice because later that day the sky opened up, it got cold and extremely windy.	Dave B and Stew enjoying a cold beer
Day 7 Friday Feb 21, 2020 7 miles to Ochlockonee River State Park We paddled to our take out at Ochlockonee River State Park. We were going to paddle out to Bald Point and had reservations for Chaire’s Creek but the weather deteriorated. So we decided to stop a day early and spend another night at Womack Creek then head back Saturday.
	The morning was very windy and in the low 40’s / high 30’s. We gathered around Linda’s fire in the morning and went through our options, none of which included paddling out to Chaires Creek. So we decided to paddle our empty boats down Ochlockonee State Park; load up (that’s where we had left one vehicle), get some BBQ for lunch, then head back to our camp at Womack Creek..
We loaded up the truck with our kayaks and headed to the town of Sopchoppy where we had lunch just outside of town at Hamaknockers. It was a very good bbq place and Dave said he had the very best bbq beef brisket ever. He isn’t a huge barbeque fan but this may have changed his mind! If in the area, eat here! Hamaknockers BBQ, 2837 Coastal Hwy, Crawfordville, FL 32327, USA	Lunch Photo Op
For dinner, Linda had invited us for a fish fry – Stew and Dave B declined but Dave said “Heck yes!” He loves a fish fry especially after eating camp food all week. The fish fry was delicious and Linda even had hush puppies made that were better than I ever had at any restaurant. We had a nice fire again supplied by our camp hosts and we sat around it until time for bed. It was going down to 30 tonight. Stew wore all of his clothes that included thermal underwear and a mylar blanket and was still cold in his 40 degree sleeping bag. Dave B and Dave were fine in their down bags.
Day 8 Saturday Feb 22, 2020 Drive Home We awoke on this chilly day and there was ice on the truck!   The host Linda had a fire going and we again huddled around it and drank our morning coffee. We were told about a breakfast place we would pass on our way back to pick up our other vehicle. We never found it and doubt there was one near since we could not find it on our cell phones and the locals we asked said there wasn’t any. We did find a small grocery store that the owner’s wife made breakfast sandwiches each day. We bought some, had more coffee and it hit the spot. We made it back to our starting point, unloaded our gear and placed it on the proper vehicle to start our journeys home. Dave B was heading to the southwest coast of Florida while Stew and Dave were on their way to the southeast coast. We said our good byes and headed home. Please Read: This is where we usually put the conclusion and resources but something happened to Stew and Dave on their drive home which could have end tragically. They switched drivers every two hours and were in Dave’s Honda CR-V. When it was Stew’s turn we had got on the expressway and Stew looked at Dave and asked how to turn off the cruise control. Dave said “tap the brakes.” Stew said it didn’t work so Dave reached over and turned off the cruise control. By this time Stew’s eyes were as wide as saucers and said the brakes aren’t working and we are accelerating. “I can’t slow down!!” Dave said “Stew your foot has to be on the gas!!” We had no time to look down because we were in traffic and passing cars. Stew swears his foot isn’t on the gas pedal and we are both starting to freak out a bit. Just like out of a comedy movie. 60, 65, 70 ,75 – Dave says “Stew, get over to the side and I will turn off the engine just one notch so you will still have steering but no power steering or power brakes.” Now we are up to 85 mph and thank God we were able to maneuver around traffic. Dave turned off the engine and we coasted to a safe stop. WTF? Dave got into the driver’s side and felt something on the right side – it was Stew’s paddle that is stuck and doesn’t come apart any more. It shifted and went down and pressed the accelerator to the floor. We had tears of laughter and relief but it could have been disaster! We’ve both done hundreds of trips and we are both safety minded but we did not pay enough attention when loading the car with a long paddle. I truly believe if it were anyone else it would have ended differently. Please be careful and think about these things. We do and it still happened to us…
Conclusion: This was a highly enjoyable leisurely trip for us and something we will continue to do. Get up leisurely, shove off around 9:30 am and have shorter days (20 miles or less) than many of our past trips. Taking time to smell the roses, relax without a challenging paddle every day. We were a great team and got along very well – all mellow and team players. Stew’s comments: “All-in-all; except for missing Jack and Sam; one of the best trips I’ve had. A beautiful river with no one else we saw in kayak or canoe - only a few boats. Apparently lots of fish including large Gar and Catfish. Saw 2 deer (one alive); one confirmed Otter, Raccoon, Squirrel, heard coyotes, owls, saw bats; one bald eagle, osprey. Lots of great trails for biking and walking. Weather great. Some areas very remote and others within a few miles of a town.” Resources: Google Maps Called local parks and river keepers Found maps on Florida Paddling Trails government website: https://floridadep.gov/PaddlingTrails PDF of Map : https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/Upper_Ochlockonee%20Guide.pdf