Okefenokee Swamp Swamped Tour Feb 13 – 20, 2021 We’ve been wanting to do the Okefenokee Swamp for a while. We’ve tried to book it twice but once there were fires burning so it was closed and another time, the water was too low and the canoe trails were closed. This time it worked out and we were told that they never heard of someone doing a full round-trip like ours…
Our trip was in the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. Paddlers: Sam, Dave (Manson), Stew, Dave Sea Kayaks and a canoe: QCC 500, 16 ft Old Town Penobscot Canoe, Current Designs Solstice, Current Designs Solstice GTS (same order as paddlers) Trip Conditions: Temps low to mid 70s daytime; a few in the 50’s cloudy, rain a few days, first two nights were very nasty rain/wind/lightning; 40’s most nights, low 30s on a few nights. The weather wasn’t bad and we lucked out by arriving at our campsites just before the downpours came. A few members mentioned that it seemed pretty cold most of the time – especially in the mornings… 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. Also Dave (Manson) had a canoe and very luxurious meals. He had eggs 4 or 5 mornings. He told us “you could have brought a canoe” as we were eyeing his food. Snacks: nutrition bars, beef jerky, apples, oranges. Water: We each had at least 3 gallons each; some in 16.9 oz bottles,some liter containers, water bladders and a large container in the canoe. Beer: Yes.
Here’s our route. Pink circles are campsites and the number designates which night – 1 through 6 we spent there. We started and finished at Kingfisher Landing. Our route was counter-clockwise.
Preparing for this trip we needed to make reservations to do the paddling trails and to have the campsites reserved. Due to limited camping facilities and an effort to control the number of people who go into the swamp, they have designated itineraries that you must choose. We wanted to do a loop but that was not one of the available options. Okay, so we’ll book two trips. Sorry, you cannot book two consecutive trips. One must end before the next begins – we tried to book a trip that ended on the same day a new trip begins. So, we asked how many trips can someone book in a season? We were told there isn’t a limit but each trip must be booked separately and cannot just continue the same day the first trip ends. Some quick thinking and a very nice person helping with the reservations came up with a solution. If we end trip number one and spend the night at Stephen Foster State Park, then we can book the next trip (number two) for the following day – two separated trips! The ranger said she never heard of anyone doing this before and neither did the outfitter we contacted (as a back-up plan in case the water became too low to paddle through.) So, we had to be on-line with Reserve America and call the ranger to book trip number one. You can only do this from 7am to 10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays. With internet connected we called the ranger. Great! The first trip we wanted was open so we booked it. Then we had to hang up and call back to book our second trip. You are not allowed to book two or more trips at one time in order to be fair to others who are trying to book trips. I get it. 2 hours later we got through again (it is hard to get through because everyone must call to book and you can do this up to two months in advance.) The second trip was still available. Yahoo! Booked it and now we are set. Let’s just hope there is enough water to do the second trip from Stephen Foster State Park back to Kingfisher Landing. We were told this can close at any time due to water level too low.
Day 1 Saturday, Feb 13, 2021 We left for the trip on Saturday, February 13^th and the plan was to camp at a nearby RV/camp park just down the road from Kingfisher Landing where our trip was to begin. Sam, Stew, and Dave rode up in Sam’s truck as usual and Dave (Manson) drove up from the west coast of Florida alone. Since there are two Dave’s we started calling English (he’s from England) Dave - Manson. A trip ago we were sitting around talking about hiking the Appalachian Trail and how people come up with trail names. I think beer was involved but we started coming up with goofy names so others would be nervous or just leave us alone. Manson was what we decided to call Dave.
We arrive at the campground and it has standing water everywhere except a mound where two goats lived in a pen. We knocked on the door where we thought the owners lived but no answer. We drove around the property and did not see anywhere that we would pitch a tent. Oh well, let’s drive to the Kingfisher Landing boat ramp to see if we can camp there! We find the turn-off and it was a fairly long dirt road and we were a little worried about getting stuck in a mud puddle as we drove down it. The landing has a nice parking area and places on the ground were dry. We decide we will camp there but will wait until near dark before setting up the tents. If someone told us we couldn’t camp there we would plead our case but no one came by. Sam and Manson decide they will sleep in their trucks and Stew and Dave pitched their tents. Then it starts drizzling but Manson has a great tarp he sets up between the trucks so we can sit around, cook dinner, talk, and have a beer.
Day 2 Sunday, Feb 14, 2021 Our first paddle day: 13 miles to Maul Hammock campsite It was a rainy night but not terrible. The morning was overcast and drizzling but we had enough time to load up and get on our way. As with all trips, the first time you load your kayak is always the hardest. The weather cooperated enough to allow us to load up without rain but as soon as we pushed off we had a steady drizzle. Today is one of our longest days but we aren’t worried because for us this is a short day. Previous trips rarely had a day under 20 miles with many over 30, but as we age, we are starting to really like the shorter days and relaxed paddling. Because we are in a swamp and the water level was high, there were no places to stop to stretch our legs or to pee. We paddled around four and a half hours at a very leisurely pace. Dave (Manson) and Stew had a short race to see if Manson could keep up. He did quite easily because he is a superman when paddling. I would not bet against him even with canoe vs kayak.
The trail in the swamp was made in the 1970’s for canoeing/kayaking. It is narrow and doesn’t allow you to go off and explore because it is the only place with enough water to paddle through unless you are passing a lake or other area with enough water to float in. Pretty neat but after a while I missed being on a winding river with sandbars and places to explore. Lots of birds, neat terrain with plants and trees to observe, and an occasional alligator. The alligators are pretty scarce in the colder months but I hear this place has many, many gators and some pretty huge ones too. There are markers every mile that makes you feel good to know that you are still on the trail. There were only a few places on our trip where we wondered a little if maybe we took a wrong turn because it got very narrow but we didn’t get lost or take a wrong turn the entire trip.	Narrow trails cut out to make canoeing in the swamp accessible.
The campsites on the water are all the same and very nice. Having a roof was very nice especially because we had several nights of bad weather. All campsites also have a porta-potty stocked with toilet paper. We all brought extra just in case! We arrived earlier than planned and were very glad we did. As we were unloading and preparing our tents, it started to rain. Then it really started to rain and was coming down in buckets. We were very lucky to have arrived before the storm hit. We each made our own dinners, drank some beer and had a good time talking and catching up. We called it an early night due to the pouring rain. It was a good night even with the pounding rain – very nice to have a roof that took the brunt of the rain from hitting our tents. Below is the Maul Hammock platform and the view looking out from it.
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Day 3 Monday Feb 15, 2021 8 miles to Big Water campsite We got up leisurely the next morning and were amazed that we all had slept 10 hours or so. I say leisurely because as I said earlier, this is a relaxed trip. Sometimes on previous trips, well, a lot of times we were packing up before sunrise to have enough time to make our mileage for the day. We only have to paddle 8 miles today and just woke up when we woke up – no schedule. We did think about the weather and decided we wanted to get to the next spot before the afternoon rains come.
Beautiful scenery and just great being outdoors, with friends, and on our own doing another adventure paddle.
The day’s paddle was nice and the weather was cooperating with overcast skies and a drizzle here and there. The trail had some narrow spots but mostly wide enough not to cause concern. Some areas opened up and you needed to pay attention as to what direction the trail went. We really enjoyed the changes in scenery from very narrow to open. The narrow portions were pretty cool because of the beauty but also we had to use what paddling skills we have to navigate through them. We brought fishing poles and bought Georgia fishing licenses in case we wanted to fish. It was too cold and nothing was biting. We even had bought worms on our drive up to fish with but nothing hit.
We arrived at Big Water platform before the rain hit.
OMG! After we had eaten our dinners the sky opened up and the winds kicked in. We heard thunder that was far away but seemed to be getting closer. Seriously, the winds must have had gusts to 40 or 50 miles per hour and the rain was torrential. Then the lightning started. We heard the thunder from far away but it sounded weird. Then it was on top of us. It was spectactular but very disconcerning because we are in the middle of nowhere with no place to go. The lightning wasn’t just bolts but you could see it start from far away and come towards us in a huge bright swath in the sky. The entire sky would light up as if someone was using a paintbrush through the clouds. I’ve never seen one so bad and I have seen many being lightning storms in Florida. Then the boom would hit. Again, we went to bed very early, maybe 7 pm because the weather was so bad. Around 4 am I got up to pee and the stars! Woa, I’ve been to many places and in the mountains out west at night but this was spectacular. You could look up and see stars and behind them more stars and behind them, more stars. I almost woke everyone up to come look. The rain had stopped and the skies cleared up. I believe a cold front had passed through rather violently and there was more of a chill in the air now. Of note, Stew did a one-gallon challenge. Some of us keep pee bottles in the tents so we don’t have to get out in the cold at night. Works well when camping on land but not so on these platforms – still had to get up to dump so we could fill again later. Stew pees so much he thought he would fill up a gallon container. He didn’t but filled it up maybe two-thirds!
Day 4 Tuesday Feb 16, 2021 13 miles to Mixon’s Hammock campsite This is our longest paddling day but we knew there was a rest stop along the way. It made it so much nicer knowing we didn’t have to stay in our kayaks and canoe for another 4 or 5 hours non-stop. The morning was nice and cooler. Clouds had moved in but it was basically sunny so that took the chill off. Another georgeous day of paddling. We passed some motor boats as we neared Stephen Foster State Park that had kids and a ranger guiding. They seemed impressed to see us out there with all our gear…
We stopped at Stephen Foster State Park on our way to Mixon’s Hammock. We asked if they had firewood but they didn’t. We were excited because at Mixon’s Hammock you could build a fire because it is a ground campsite. We saw an alligator near the office. It had a hook in it’s eye and the rangers were aware of it. We were sorry to hear that nothing was being done to help the alligator. We got back in our kayaks and canoe and continued our paddle to the campsite which is only two miles from the park. The river here is the Suwanee River and it is wider here before you get to the narrows. We did that portion in 2010 on a Suwanee River trip from the swamp to the Gulf of Mexico.
Mixon’s Hammock has a wood platform and a porta-potty but you camp on the ground. Luckily there is a ridge there that was dry and excellent for camping. The lower areas were wet due to all the rain we were having. As we were setting up our tents a herd of deer came through, stopped, looked at us, and then promptly ran away. Pretty cool. Manson made a pineapple upside down cake after we had all eaten our dinners. It was fantastic. Treats like that always makes the camping experience so much more enjoyable. That evening we had a nice fire. We really missed having a fire the first two cold nights (not allowed on the wooden platforms) but with all the rain, we wouldn’t have been able to make one even if we had a place to do so. It was a clear night and the stars were out again. We couldn’t see them very well due to all the trees we were under but could see how dark the sky was and the millions of stars in the background. Dave had brought a blow-up alligator to prank Stew. He was worried that someone could get hurt so planned it in the open instead of outside someone’s tent or in their kayak. While everyone was around the campfire, he placed it on a bridge at the campsite and it worked out well and really looked real in the dark. Stew saw it and said “Guys, come here. There’s an alligator!” Dave came up and approached the toy and Stew said “Be careful!” At that point Dave dived on the alligator and started wrestling it. Stew knew right away it was a prank and everyone had a laugh. The next morning Dave (Manson) treated us all to pancakes. It was wonderful. Having filling pancakes that were delicious while camping is such a treat. Manson even brought a bottle of real maple syrup. We may ask him to bring his canoe on more trips!
Day 5 Wednesday Feb 17, 2021 2 miles to Stephen Foster State Park.
Getting ready to leave Mixon’s Hammock. Nice to get up leisurely knowing we only have a short paddle to the next campsite today.
We had a two-mile paddle to Stephen Foster State Park. Wide Suwannee River but very scenic. We saw a few alligators and lots of birds along the way. We wanted to get to camp and relax and mainly be set up in case it rains as predicted tonight.
Stephen Foster State Park is a very nice campground. We could have stayed there a few days and done day trips. As we mentioned earlier we had to have at least one day between our registered trips so this was it. We saw deer in the campsite and there were others camping in tents and campers. We checked in and then carried our stuff from our boats to the campsite. Not too far (maybe a quarter-mile) and it was enjoyable walking after sitting all day while paddling the last few days. Being lazy and not wanting to bother with cooking dinner, a few of us ate frozen hamburgers and chicken sandwichs from the park office. Not bad, we put them in a microwave and were set. Manson had yet another good-looking meal. He said once again “You could have brought a canoe!” Dave (Manson) made us another cake – gingerbread this time. He mentioned how Sam was endlessly producing beers, seemed like he had an unlimited supply in his kayak. Always nice to have a few beers while relaxing at camp. We collected wood for the fire and were having trouble finding large pieces to keep the fire going for a while. Sam came upon a rotted pine tree that had the center exposed and we picked up what we could of it. Wow! Those pine tree centers produced the best campfire ever – it looked like it was being powered by gas. The pine tar was being drawn out of the pine tree cores and producing hot streams of fire. Really neat. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of it. Around 9 pm it started to drizzle so we all called it a night hoping the morning would not have rain.
Day 6 Thursday Feb 18, 2021 7 miles to Canal Run campsite
We got up without any pre-designated time but knew rain was in the forecast so we staged our gear under a pavilion about half-way to our kayaks and canoe. It drizzled a little while we made and ate breakfast and had our coffee. Manson was nice enough to provide everyone coffee most mornings. We dried our tents out somewhat and packed up for our paddle today. It was an easy, enjoyable paddle to Canal Run. Today was the warmest day of the trip but we knew the next two nights would bring very cold weather. We tried fishing again because it had warmed up and we were hoping the fish would be more active. No luck so we set the worms free in the swamp – hopefully they may survive.
There is a land firepit at Canal Run but when we were trying to start the fire it started raining. No fire tonight. We ate our dinners and sat around talking. At dusk we were treated to bats diving and doing aerobatics while catching bugs for their meals. There was a big owl across the river from us in the trees – pretty cool. That night we saw a friendly alligator that was stalking us – probably has been fed by others who stayed there. It was hanging out by the kayaks.
Day 7 Friday Feb 19, 2021 10 miles to Bluff Lake campsite
This was probably our favorite paddling day. It started out gloomy, drizzling and cold but we were dressed for it. The rain abated pretty quickly and the path was more of the same until we got into a very narrow, winding section. With our almost 18-foot kayaks we sometimes had to stop and do a three-point turn. This lasted for around 4 miles and made our day. Very scenic and we were challenged to use our paddling skills to navigate. A few in the kayaks had not used their rudders the whole trip and vowed not to start now – not that rudders would help much in these close quarters. Stew commented: “Seriously – I can never describe the narrows passage but that might have been the coolest paddle I’ve ever done. And always the possibility of a large gator around any corner!.” Photos were few because I spent most of my time trying not to run into the bank or trees.
It got so narrow at times we wondered if somehow we got off the trail. We were happy to see the mile markers every mile.
We made it to the Bluff Lake campsite platform after a challenging paddle for the last 4 miles. None of us were looking forward to the night or next morning because it is forecast to be around 30 degrees. Brrrr. That’s dang cold when you are on the water!
Day 8 Saturday Feb 20, 2021 8 miles to Kingfisher Landing Then drive home
It was a very cold morning, the coldest of our trip. We all put on layers of dry clothes – for once all the extra clothes I packed were put to use! Being on the platform and it being dry didn’t seem that bad as long as you were moving around. We even decided not to wear our paddling gloves because we knew it was going to warm up. It did get warm after an hour or so with all the clothes on and we pealed some layers off. Beautiful clear day and it got up into the 50’s during our paddle.
We packed up vehicles and loaded the kayaks and canoe and went off to find a place to have our traditional departure lunch.
We ate at local place – very good food – we found it by luck. The first two places we looked for were closed. It was yet another great and memorable trip with friends who have become very close due to these adventures. Looking forward to the next one…
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 capable, mellow, fun, and team players. If you are thinking, “Hey, I’d like to do that!” then the best advice we can give is to just do it! Plan your own trip(s) according to your time constraints and abilities while considering the adventure/risk tolerance of everyone in your group. Be safe but not too safe… Resources: We Google everything – look up parks, reservations, outfitters, people to call and get local information. Google Maps and Google Earth – especially useful for measuring distance Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge – MUST CALL for reservations and information Home - Okefenokee - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov) Official website for the Okefenokee Swamp Okefenokee Wilderness Canoe Guide (fws.gov) brochure of the Okefenokee swamp Stephen Foster State Park Stephen C. Foster State Park | Department Of Natural Resources Division (gastateparks.org) You can reserve a campsite using their website Reserve America to make paddling trail reservations