The focus of my weekend trip is another adventure with the Georgia Conservancy. This time, we will be camping at Reed Bingham State Park and paddling on the Little River. Arriving at the group shelter around 6:00 PM, I quickly check-in and say hello to friends I have made on past trips. I unload my gear from the car and set up my tent on a nearby open area near the shelter. The ground here is covered in a short grass over a sandy soil, which is home to a number of bustling ant colonies. I try to find a spot with less traffic, but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not.
After setting up my tent, I head in to the air-conditioned group shelter to enjoy happy hour with friends. It's great reuniting with these wonderful people over a cold beer. Soon, dinner is ready and we enjoy some slow roasted pork tacos with all the 'fixins'. The Georgia Conservancy really does a wonderful job of organizing these events and I'm privileged to be able to participate. After a nice dinner, we set around a firepit outside and enjoy the night sky. Just as I join the group, I spot of series of lights in the sky moving in a straight line and nearly evenly spaced. Apparently, these are some of SpaceX's Starlink satellites which have come online over the past couple of years. Their purpose is to provide cellular service globally, but I'm not sure that's worth the intrusion into the magic of the night sky.
With the hour getting later, most of us decide to turn in for the evening. I crawl into my tent and atop the pile of sleeping pads I prepared earlier. It's too hot to sleep under a blanket or my quilt and so, I just curl up and fall asleep. Hopefully, the tent will keep most of the bugs and critters off of me while I get some rest.
Early the next morning, I awaken before sunrise and head over to the nearby restroom to take care of business. I then head into the shelter and enjoy a cup of coffee. Oddly, this particular coffee doesn't mess with my stomach the way most do and I'm able to enjoy a couple of cups. Breakfast consists of French toast and bacon. Everyone agrees it's a pretty good way to start the day.
Late morning approaches and we begin to collect at the launch point. I decided to borrow a kayak from the park instead of hauling my personal boat all this way. It's often easier. I believe there are eighteen of us in total and before heading up the river, we get a group shot. Though we are headed against the currant, the paddling is very easy. The Little River was damned up to make this small lake, which is now home to a variety of wildlife, including great blue herons and alligators.
Soon, we are enter the swampy areas at the north end of the lake and beyond in the flooded river. Our guides, a local, describes the impact of many of the invasive species that have all but taken over this area. They prevent us from heading to a spot he wanted to show us called Amos' Pond. He feels the tangled vines would be too much of a challenge for such a large group.
The beauty of this place is undeniable though. The tea-colored water of the river is full of tannins from the dead and decaying organic matter at the bottom. This would be classified as a black water river for this fact, but the water is not quite as dark as others I have paddled in the southeast. Continuing up river, we pass numerous cypress trees, some in the middle of the shallow river, and muscadine grapes hanging overhead. As the group begins to splinter into different paces, I tend to stay towards the front of the group and over the course of the next hour or so, we make our way to the Roundtree Bridge, which will be our turning point.
When we arrive, I beach my boat and head into the woods to take advantage of a 'facilitree' and then munch on some pasta salad I had made for today's paddle. It's pretty tasty and provides the energy boost I needed. That sun beating down on us has really drained a lot of my energy. After just a short time, we climb back into our boats and begin making our way back to the launch point. Today's paddle was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but the area we were going to take the kayaks today was scouted earlier in the week and found to have to many fallen trees to be passable by such a large group. I'm content though, this was a beautiful little tour of the park.
As we approach the lake again, I feel the energy leaving my body. The heat is just to intense without any shade from the trees lining the banks of the river. I grab a few ice cubes from my cooler and toss them under my hat in an effort to cool down, but it's only of marginal assistance. Finally, I beach my boat at the launch point and find a seat in the shade to cool down a bit. I really think I suffered from some minor heat exhaustion, but when my energy has returned I make my way to the air conditioning and spend twenty minutes or so really cooling myself off. While there, I check my tracking app and see that we had only paddled about 6.9 miles, but it sure felt like a lot longer in the heat. I'm guessing it was too hot for the alligators today, as we didn't see any at all.
Again, I rise early. This morning I find that my ankles have been feasted on by 'no-see-ums', which are a few varieties of tiny gnats prevalent here in the southeast. Those will be itching for a few days. I head up to enjoy more coffee before breakfast and breaking down my camp. It's always bittersweet to depart these adventures and the great friends I have made over the past couple of years, but it just makes us look forward to the next one. For now, it's time to head home.
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