Starting in the Swamp
- Cassandra Smith
- Mar 3, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 24, 2023
Day 1 - 11.2 miles
January 5, 2023
Again, Henry and I are lucky to have friends in the area that made logistics so easy for this trip. Poet and Hippie Chick were kind enough to lend us their canoe so we didn't have to drive across country with one of ours. We also packed all of the food we would need for our entire trip so we didn't have to bother with resupplying anywhere.
Poet gave us a ride to the source of the river, the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. We unloaded the canoe and all of our gear in a small canal at the state park before bidding him goodbye. Across the water from our canoe lounged two huge gators, tangled up in a cuddle puddle. We paddled away and within a few minutes came out to the intersection with the Suwannee River. It was much larger than I expected, I had done literally no research on this river, looked at no pictures, just trusted Henry's planning and went with the flow as usual.
We had to paddle a couple miles up river to get to the true beginning of the river, with a tailwind it was easy, even going against the current. We passed by so many gators I lost count after 30. Beautiful swamp birds flew overhead and perched in cypress trees. Turtles plopped into the water off of their logs every few feet. We stopped at the wooden platform that marked the start of the river and ate a little snack before turning around and heading back downriver to officially start our journey.
The river narrowed and the gator sightings increased. Several times, one would slide into the water right beside our canoe and drift underneath us. I looked at the shoreline, wondering just what our camping situation would be. So far it was all swamp grass and gator infested muddy banks and I was really hoping it would clear up into some forests. It did, and near sunset we found the perfect campsite for our first night on the river. I set up the tent while Henry made dinner. We fell asleep cuddled up in the tent with no rainfly, the full Wolf moon's light pouring in. It feels so good to be back to the dirtbag life.
Comments