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!