Doing Georgia

To keep everyone in the loop, here’s what is being worked on for the next couple weeks.  We are working on the Wakulla and St. Mark’s Rivers today and tomorrow.  We are scheduled to do a program for the Rotary Club in Perry, FL, on Tuesday for benefit of Save The Children, and will then make a stop in St. John’s Co.  We'll make a break from the Florida loop until next winter, when we return to complete the Florida peninsula.  We had hoped to be on the water here by no later than 15 January, but were a couple months late getting started due to problems beyond our control.  The best times to do Florida waters are from late fall, after the hurricane threat has diminished, through winter.  Not only is the climate better, but problems with wildlife, bugs, and excessive heat and humidity are also less.  So, we will start our trip up the East Coast from the City of St. Mary’s, GA, and finish Florida later.  

Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom near St. Mark's Lighthouse.

There’s little information on real haulout camping sites along the Georgia paddling trail.  They vary from Cumberland Island, where campsites are up to a mile and a half inland, to parks several miles up branch tributaries off the main route.  That means up to eight miles of extra paddling or over 12 miles of portaging per day just to find a spot to sleep.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’d think anyone would know that’s not going to fly when you are trying to make miles in one direction, so I’d welcome any information any of you may have on stopping locations through Georgia.  They would be easiest to find if they were referenced to GPS positions or the mileposts plotted on the Georgia paddling trail maps found on line.  Any help there would be appreciated, and the company of anyone who’d like to come out and paddle with me would be welcome as well.