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I was lucky enough to get away for a few days with my wife to paddle and camp in the Okefenokee NWR a week or so ago. We met up with our friends, Joy & Chip Campbell who are the owner/operators of "Okefenokee Adventures," which is the official partner of the US Fish & Wildlife Service for the refuge. Chip is a walking, talking, paddling encyclopedia of the swamp and typically guides their trips. Joy is their business manager and former guide herself. In the past I've typically brought my college students to the refuge for trips so we all appreciated that this would be a recreational trip for each of us instead of the usual working type excursion.
We left the Suwannee Canal area and paddled westward towards Round Top; which would be our campsite for the evening. Along the way we were treated to a great number of bird sightings. The first one was a Rosette Spoonbill...
From here we proceeded down the canal and came upon a Wood Stork...
After a break at mile 3
We headed off to Round Top. Round Top is located out on the Chase Prairie. As soon as you leave the protection of the canal you're open to the breezes and sun beating down on you. I've only paddled here now during the spring and fall but I can only imagine how hot it must be during the warmer months. Sunscreen and economy of motion are truly you're best friends when out on the open prairies. One great thing about being in the prairies is the diversity of plants and animals you'll see along the way. We were able to get up close to some interesting pitcher plants as well as a variety of sunflower. Along the way the scenery was all sunshine and blue sky.
If you've never paddled or camped in the Okefenokee please note that while there are a few land based campsites, most of the camping locations are actually platforms. Built up over the high water mark, these platforms give you a stable place to pitch your tents, cook your meals and, when the mosquitos aren't biting, enjoy the night sky from the comfort of their benches. Each platform has a picnic table and a vault toilet that uses a wind turbine to keep the smell down. All of these sites also seem to have their own resident alligator who will hang out nearby. While it's illegal to feed animals in the refuge, it's obvious from their behavior that these gators have all been fed at one time or another. It's too bad too because it can sometimes lead to the elimination of the animal when they become too aggressive; which is what happened to a gator called One Eyed Jack when he charged me and another student during our trip in March, 2014.
SIDE NOTE: Not long ago someone wrote about the resident gator at Round Top and referred to it as being One Eyed Jack. Since Jack was the resident gator around Coffee Bay for over 20 years, it's not the same one.
The next morning we took off for Canal Run and the platform back on the canal. The wind was a bit brisk at times and fighting through the lily pads and low water was challenging at times but not a deal breaker. Along the way we took in the Broccoli Tree (a local landmark) and enjoyed another sun filled day.
Once back in the canal all the trees made for a darker environment so I didn't get any other photos. After setting up camp we continued to paddle westward down Canal Run towards Billy's Island. We knew we didn't have enough daylight to get there and back but Chip wanted to show us where the point was that all digging ceased on the original attempt to build a canal; just about at mile 11. It's very obvious, if you know what you're looking for, to see where an earthen berm was built to create a dam so as to hold the water back. At this point he hasn't discovered whether the dam was purposely destroyed or if the wooden boards just rotted out but either way, eventually the water flowed back into the original streambed where you can still paddle it today down to Billy's Island and out to the western side of the refuge at Steven Foster State Park.
That night we enjoyed another beautiful dinner and evening under the stars. Two barred owls were very vocal and when things began to quiet down I'd send out a call to get them talking again. It's always great to hear the variety of sounds these wonderful birds can make. We didn't stay up too late that evening because we still had a 10 mile paddle back the next day before my wife and I had to head back to Jacksonville for an early morning plane the day after. Because of that, and the increase in wind, I didn't spend time taking photos on the way back but suffice to say, it was a very enjoyable trip. After putting away some gear we said our good-byes and headed off. Hopefully in the future Chip & Joy will be traveling up our way and we'll be able to repay them with some time in our B&B and on our local waters. I can't wait until then.
That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.
snapper
We left the Suwannee Canal area and paddled westward towards Round Top; which would be our campsite for the evening. Along the way we were treated to a great number of bird sightings. The first one was a Rosette Spoonbill...
From here we proceeded down the canal and came upon a Wood Stork...
After a break at mile 3
We headed off to Round Top. Round Top is located out on the Chase Prairie. As soon as you leave the protection of the canal you're open to the breezes and sun beating down on you. I've only paddled here now during the spring and fall but I can only imagine how hot it must be during the warmer months. Sunscreen and economy of motion are truly you're best friends when out on the open prairies. One great thing about being in the prairies is the diversity of plants and animals you'll see along the way. We were able to get up close to some interesting pitcher plants as well as a variety of sunflower. Along the way the scenery was all sunshine and blue sky.
If you've never paddled or camped in the Okefenokee please note that while there are a few land based campsites, most of the camping locations are actually platforms. Built up over the high water mark, these platforms give you a stable place to pitch your tents, cook your meals and, when the mosquitos aren't biting, enjoy the night sky from the comfort of their benches. Each platform has a picnic table and a vault toilet that uses a wind turbine to keep the smell down. All of these sites also seem to have their own resident alligator who will hang out nearby. While it's illegal to feed animals in the refuge, it's obvious from their behavior that these gators have all been fed at one time or another. It's too bad too because it can sometimes lead to the elimination of the animal when they become too aggressive; which is what happened to a gator called One Eyed Jack when he charged me and another student during our trip in March, 2014.
SIDE NOTE: Not long ago someone wrote about the resident gator at Round Top and referred to it as being One Eyed Jack. Since Jack was the resident gator around Coffee Bay for over 20 years, it's not the same one.
The next morning we took off for Canal Run and the platform back on the canal. The wind was a bit brisk at times and fighting through the lily pads and low water was challenging at times but not a deal breaker. Along the way we took in the Broccoli Tree (a local landmark) and enjoyed another sun filled day.
Once back in the canal all the trees made for a darker environment so I didn't get any other photos. After setting up camp we continued to paddle westward down Canal Run towards Billy's Island. We knew we didn't have enough daylight to get there and back but Chip wanted to show us where the point was that all digging ceased on the original attempt to build a canal; just about at mile 11. It's very obvious, if you know what you're looking for, to see where an earthen berm was built to create a dam so as to hold the water back. At this point he hasn't discovered whether the dam was purposely destroyed or if the wooden boards just rotted out but either way, eventually the water flowed back into the original streambed where you can still paddle it today down to Billy's Island and out to the western side of the refuge at Steven Foster State Park.
That night we enjoyed another beautiful dinner and evening under the stars. Two barred owls were very vocal and when things began to quiet down I'd send out a call to get them talking again. It's always great to hear the variety of sounds these wonderful birds can make. We didn't stay up too late that evening because we still had a 10 mile paddle back the next day before my wife and I had to head back to Jacksonville for an early morning plane the day after. Because of that, and the increase in wind, I didn't spend time taking photos on the way back but suffice to say, it was a very enjoyable trip. After putting away some gear we said our good-byes and headed off. Hopefully in the future Chip & Joy will be traveling up our way and we'll be able to repay them with some time in our B&B and on our local waters. I can't wait until then.
That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.
snapper
