Since moving to Georgia, I've always wanted to "shoot the hooch", which is local speak for floating or paddling some section of the Chattahoochee River, which starts in northern part of the state and flows through the northwestern part of Atlanta. It's a major source of recreation for locals. I finally decided to just schedule an event for one of the Meetup groups that I lead hikes for. In addition to floating through Helen, GA, my plan was also partake of the Oktoberfest celebration that this little mountain town with German Heritage is known for locally.
Meeting at Cool River Tubing's Headwater's Outpost, just outside of town, the eight of us got our gear together and then headed into the registration building. We were informed that the river was extremely low and they were recommending only doing the short float, instead of the longer float I had planned. No worries, we'll still have fun. We loaded onto a shuttle bus and were taken to the lower of the two put-ins, which is used for the shorter run. We quickly hopped on the river and began our slow, leisurely float through the city of Helen.
Though, the skies were gray and we did encounter a few rain drops here and there, it was great fun. With the river being as low as it was, we had to do a lot of work to get ourselves unstuck from rocks along the way. It made for some comedy, seeing people struggling, but having fun at the same time. It took us over an hour-and-a-half to float just 1.6 miles, but we didn't mind. It was a great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon. After we left the river, we stopped into one of the very busy German-themed restaurants and enjoyed a great feast of beer and faire. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves, which was great to see.
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