Nature Travelers
Contact Us​
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels

Day 2 - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - Solo Paddling Trip

3/7/2017

0 Comments

 
Lot's of HUGE alligators, a nice paddle, solitude, and sleeping in the woods to the sound of nature. Just what I was looking for.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Billy's Lake Alligators
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - Billy's Lake

I was up at first light and well rested.  After packing up the tent, I drove down the little road along the canal past the rental kayaks and canoes to unload my gear.

As I was preparing to inflate the boat, several deer appeared on the edge of the woods.

 

 

They were playing and were curious enough to let me get closer.

 

 

After inflating the Sea Eagle FastTrack, I loaded up and was ready to head out around 8:30 a.m.

 

 

I paddled out the little canal at the Stephen C. Foster State Park ....

 

 

to Billy's Lake.  

 

 

 

The "lakes" are just wide areas in the rivers and streams flowing through the swamp.  I took a left and headed west on Billy's Lake with the current toward the River Narrows.

 

 

 

It was a gorgeous day, and I was the only person out there.  But I had plenty of company.  :)

 

 

Gators were in the water, in the lilies, and on the bank, and they weren't small.

 

 

Some were more skittish than others.  Sometimes, I could be a hundred feet away and several would rush into the water at the same time.  Sometimes I was much closer and they stayed put.  If they were in the water, they all had different "safe zones", and they would just sink with barely a ripple if I was too close.

The water is so dark, you can only see about six inches to a foot below the surface.  Though I'm fascinated by alligators and have been around them a lot in bodies of water all over Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, I have to admit I was a bit nervous due to the numbers and size of the gators and the fact that I had no idea where they were under water.  And because they tend to approach fishermen here looking for an easy meal, I didn't do much fishing.  I was extra cautious and kept my distance more than usual.  My biggest fear was not that they would want to chomp me, but that I might startle one and get hit with a massive, powerful tail as they tried to get away.

But none of that would keep me from enjoying the beauty and the solitude.

 

 

I took a little side channel ....

 

 

but just a short way in, there was a sign that the refuge was closed beyond that point.  So, I just took more alligator photos and returned to Billy's Lake.

 

 

 

Not far from there, I saw my first people - four guys in two canoes that had camped at a shelter last night.  They would be the only people I would see on the water the rest of the day.

Soon, the channel narrowed ....

 

 

and I came to Mixons Hammock where I would be camping tonight.

 

 

This campsite is only 1.7 miles from the state park, so it was still early when I arrived.  Last night's group was still there, and I had already decided to paddle another two miles down current through the River Narrows.

 

 

The river narrows way down for the next third of a mile or so, and it takes a bit more skill to maneuver.  I didn't see any gators in that stretch, and I eventually reached the 2-mile marker (2 miles from the state park).

 

 

Shortly after that, the river widened a bit, and I started seeing gators again.  This was a big one.

 

 

Then I came out into the wetland plains and the current got stronger.  It was going to be a tough paddle back, but the sun felt good and I knew I wouldn't be seeing anyone out there.  The day-use rental boats are not allowed in the River Narrows.

 

 

The sun felt great, and there were enough gators .... 

 

 

and birds to keep it interesting.  

 

 

 

There were Great Egrets, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons, Double-crested Cormorants, Anhingas, Belted Kingfishers, Red-shouldered Hawks, Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, and more.  I even saw some wild turkeys leave their roosting tree along the bank.

Reaching the three-mile marker.

 

 

 

Then I came to a "T" and a large canal running north/south.

 

 

 

Another shelter, Cravens Hammock, was another five miles north if I had taken a right.  But I just paddled a little ways to the left down to the Suwanee River Sill, a water control dam.

 

 

The Okefenokee is the source of the Suwanee River which runs from here down through Florida to the Gulf of Mexico.  You can drive to the Sill, and I was thinking this would be a great, down-stream, one-way paddle if you have your own boat.  You could leave a bike locked up at the Sill, and then drive to the state park and launch.  I'd highly recommend doing that trip.

I pulled over to a sand bank and got out to stretch my legs a bit before heading back.  I wasn't looking forward to the two-mile trip back upriver against a fairly stiff current.  There were about four particularly difficult stretches, but I finally made it back to Mixons Hammock.

 

 

There is a dock with a latrine, and then the campsite is back in the woods.

 

 

It was early afternoon as I unloaded the boat and set up my tent.

 

 

 

I didn't realize this campsite had a firepit.  Fortunately, there was plenty of wood, and I had some fire-starting aids.

I set up my camp chair and table on the dock and did some reading while again enjoying the quiet and solitude.

 

 

After awhile, I cooked dinner on my little MSR Windburner.  That thing boils water faster than anything I've ever seen and it's so easy.

Some mosquitoes came out around dusk, but they weren't nearly as bad as in the state park campground last night.  As it got darker, I hung my food bag in a tree as there were signs indicating bears were a possibility.

A Whip-poor-will called nearby and then some Barred Owls communicated with their "Who cooks for you?" hoots as I got a fire going.  I did some fireside reading, ....

 

 

while listening to the crackling of the fire and the breeze in the tops of the trees.  Sometime before 9:00, I decided to put the rain fly on the tent as I remembered there was a chance of rain in the morning.  There was no cell service out there, so I left my phone in the truck - checking weather, emails, etc. was not an option and that's the way I wanted it.

Not long after putting on the rain fly, I crawled into my tent under a three-quarter moon.  What a great day.  






 

 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Interests - Backpacking
    Interests - Bird Watching
    Interests - Boat Tours
    Interests - Caves
    Interests - Fishing
    Interests - Hikes
    Interests - Paddling/Float Trips
    Interests - Scenic Drives
    Interests - Waterfalls
    Interests - Wildlife - Alligators/Crocodiles
    Interests - Wildlife - Bears
    Interests - Wildlife - Beavers
    Interests - Wildlife - Bighorn Sheep
    Interests - Wildlife - Bison
    Interests - Wildlife - Coyotes
    Interests - Wildlife - Deer
    Interests - Wildlife - Dolphins/Porpoises
    Interests - Wildlife - Eagles
    Interests - Wildlife - Elk
    Interests - Wildlife - Javelinas
    Interests - Wildlife - Manatees
    Interests - Wildlife - Moose
    Interests - Wildlife - Mountain Goats
    Interests - Wildlife - Otters
    Interests - Wildlife - Owls
    Interests - Wildlife - Prairie Dogs
    Interests - Wildlife - Pronghorn
    Interests - Wildlife - Seals
    Interests - Wildlife - Whales
    Interests - Wildlife - Wolves
    National Conservation Areas
    National Conservation Areas - Red Rock Canyon
    National Monuments
    National Monuments - Bandelier
    National Monuments - Chiricahua
    National Monuments - Grand Staircase Escalante
    National Monuments - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
    National Monuments - Vermilion Cliffs
    National Monuments - White Sands
    National Parks
    National Parks - Acadia
    National Parks - Arches
    National Parks - Badlands
    National Parks - Big Bend
    National Parks - Bryce Canyon
    National Parks - Canyonlands
    National Parks - Capitol Reef
    National Parks - Carlsbad Caverns
    National Parks - Cuyahoga Valley
    National Parks - Everglades
    National Parks - Glacier
    National Parks - Grand Canyon
    National Parks - Grand Teton
    National Parks - Great Basin
    National Parks - Great Sand Dunes
    National Parks - Great Smoky Mountains
    National Parks - Hot Springs
    National Parks - Isle Royale
    National Parks - Joshua Tree
    National Parks - Lassen Volcanic
    National Parks - Mammoth Cave
    National Parks - Mesa Verde
    National Parks - North Cascades
    National Parks - Petrified Forest
    National Parks - Redwood
    National Parks - Rocky Mountain
    National Parks - Saguaro
    National Parks - Theodore Roosevelt
    National Parks - Voyageurs
    National Parks - Waterton Lakes (Canada)
    National Parks - Yellowstone
    National Parks - Yosemite
    National Parks - Zion
    National Preserves
    National Preserves - Mojave National Preserve
    National Wildlife Refuges
    National Wildlife Refuges - Ash Meadows
    National Wildlife Refuges - Bosque Del Apache
    National Wildlife Refuges - Laguna Atascosa
    National Wildlife Refuges - Okefenokee
    State Parks
    State Parks - Adirondack NY
    State Parks - Anza Borrego CA
    State Parks - Dead Horse Point UT
    State Parks - Del Norte Coast Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Goblin Valley UT
    State Parks - Hocking Hills OH
    State Parks - Jedidiah Smith Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Kodachrome Basin UT
    State Parks - Palo Duro Canyon TX
    State Parks - Patrick's Point CA
    State Parks - Prairie Creek Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Quoddy Head ME
    State Parks - Valley Of Fire NV
    States - Alabama
    States - Arizona
    States - Arkansas
    States - California
    States - Colorado
    States - Florida
    States - Georgia
    States - Kentucky
    States - Maine
    States - Michigan
    States - Minnesota
    States - Montana
    States - Nevada
    States - New Hampshire
    States - New Mexico
    States - New York
    States - North Dakota
    States - Ohio
    States - South Dakota
    States - Tennessee
    States - Texas
    States - Utah
    States - Washington
    States - Wyoming

    Archives

    September 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    January 2015
    June 2014
    May 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    August 2011
    July 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009
    November 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    October 2007
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    February 2007
    November 2006
    March 2006
    October 2005

Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy our website.

Contact Us

Nature Travelers  •  Howard & Linda Payne  •  Howard@NatureTravelers.com  •  www.NatureTravelers.com

All content, photos, and videos - Copyright © Nature Travelers.  All Rights Reserved.
Website Designed by: WCWDesigns