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This is a stub post (empty post ready for the true content to be added soon).

Despite the floods and seasonal weather, another Etowah-X trip has passed us by. I hope that some folks submit a trip report and add their photographs to the communal album. These are the photo’s that have been submitted so far…

I’ll add the link to the second communal album if the first fills up…

Back in September 2009, there was some flooding in Georgia that set new records for ‘High Water Marks’ all over the various river basins.

Richard and Doc went out after the storms and took these photo’s of the Etowah River/Amicalola Creek areas in Dawson County, GA. This is the area of the Etowah-X Fall 2009 trip the following week…

No doubt, once the flood levels subsided, there would be some flood debris cleanup required…

The Google Earth map file for the Etowah River-X (Etowah-X) paddle camp trip, in Dawson County, GA.

This post is a work in progress as I’m busy creating chickens for eggs and eggs for chickens…

There is a lot more information in this particular file than the other maps. I have begun experimenting with embedding photographs; multiple path and mile marker layers etc. The best thing to do would be to download the file and manipulate the layers you want to see in Google Earth.

Once I’ve finished all the maps, I will publish them, as usual, to the Google Earth community via our EveryTrail account. You will also be able to download the gpx file for use with your GPS device. If you want an actual track log, email me for a copy. We want this information available to world for free.

The KMZ File (right click to save!)

Our paddling friend Cindy Kelly has weathered the trials of paddling with the wolf pack and gets to eat fresh meat. She always brought her own anyway -independence being the hallmark of reliability.

We take you now to the action already in progress…live on disk:

Cindy Kelly

You’re a rare find. Up before dawn gelding the stallions before you had to go to kindergarten?

Nah, they let me wait till second grade.  Actually, it was more Chemistry sets and quadratic equations.  I was even on the Science quiz team.  Over the years I’ve built up a confidence - I’m just not afraid to try. I can usually do whatever I set my mind to and if I don’t, it’s a learning experience. Well except singing or dancing -those have both been dismal failures.

Ah yes, the triumph of logic paths and process over extrapolating rhythms and getting funky with it. I don’t believe you. Do you mean to tell us that you did not participate in the PAGA 2006 square dancing partner twirling? I could’a sworn…

Given your Swiss army knife-like skills and interests, why paddling?

It just feels good.  I work in a cube farm.  Paddling gets me out in the real world.  You can paddle the same river, but it’s always different, I never get bored.  Plus I can’t deny there is that adrenaline factor.

Yes, substituting one form of stress with another keeps that soothing momentum going. You are a trooper and it is appreciated.

Day trips or paddle/camp trips?

Paddle/camp trips. Gives me more time to decompress.

Early or late?

Definitely early. While I probably won’t be meeting the guys at 6:00 a.m. at the Huddle House, I love to see the mist rising over the river in the morning.

You can have my ice-cream next time. We’re headed towards Fall and will be able to enjoy more misty mornings soon.

Best/worst gear investment?

Worst – My three boat kayak storage hanger - It collapsed after about 6 months and all three boats came crashing down.  I was not pleased. (Good thing that REI has a great return policy)

Best- I love the Seven2 paddle I bought used.  It’s light and I love the ergonomic grips (sadly, they don’t appear to make them anymore)

Yes, Seven2 is no more. After 10 years… I have their 210 Vapor.  Saves my web-worker wrists.

What’s on your paddle trip wish-list?

Alaska maybe. Prince William Sound or Glacier Bay.  Closer to home-would like to paddle in the Everglades.

Let’s do it. There are enough people who have been to gather the beta necessary to optimize such a trip.

What advice can you give to someone just starting out?

Find out what you want to paddle before you buy.  (Nothing worse than the wrong boat for the conditions.) Try boats out, many of the outfitters let you do this. Just because you find a kayak cheap on Craig’s list, doesn’t make it a good deal.  Actually considering all the accessories (roof racks, paddles, PFD, etc) the price of the kayak is minimal.

So true. Many of the big box stores carry gear for shooting the ‘hooch, which is understandable. I suggest deciding on what type of paddling you aspire to in the medium term and then jump right into it with a group of paddlers that want you to succeed. Don’t waste resources on baby steps.

Can you recommend an exceptional river section for a beginner kayak camper?

The Etowah-X Fall 2009 trip coming up is a good one for someone starting out.  The days are relatively short and the river is beautiful.

Camping guilty pleasure?

A wee bit of rum. It makes sleeping on an inflatable mat the approximate thickness of a two ply paper towel just a tad easier. Also, ear plugs when you hang out with some of the guys I paddle with.

Haha! *cough* Ear plugs you say, really? I hadn’t heard (and definitely did not solicit the revival of this thread)! I thought it was badger caught in a barb wire snare.

You’re (alledgedly, proof pending) an accomplished cook who has travelled for classes etc. What’s on the deluxe paddle/camp dinner menu?

Well it won’t be soufflé or mousse.  How about some nice grilled salmon with asparagus and homemade brownies for dessert.  Definitely packable.

GSI has an anodized aluminum Dutch Oven that is a third of the cast iron equivalent.  REI has them too although at the time of this linkage, the price was about $20 cheaper in the store! I took a good look at these. I could easily paddle with two of these things in my kayak for a few days.

Well, thanks Cindy for playing along. Always good times, thank you!

Cindy Kelly everybody! [APPLAUSE]

This is information from our 9.5 hour, 20.8 miles kayak trip. The trip consisted of 18.8 miles on the Amicalola River starting at Lindsay Ford (Six Mile / DNR Campground) to the Etowah River and 2 miles down the Etowah River to Kelly Bridge in recreational kayaks. It was quite a trip. Mileage was documented using a Garmin 76CS GPS.

Below is some general information for the benefit of readers who do not know the river.

Section I is a Class I/II creek. The creek is very boney (rocky) at a flow level of 0.63 but a safe trip for beginners. At this level, the ledges allow you to paddle up to them and scout ahead without being uncontrollably washed over them. Plan on getting stuck on rocks many times. Some of the bedrock is angled and some is flat. The flat rock is the hardest to see. Near the Hwy 53 Bridge there is a 3 foot ledge that should be scouted. There are a couple of areas where the route will take you along the bank where the branches (strainers) of shrubs can drag one out of their kayak.

Section II is a Class III/IV (V) creek. A few hundred yards below the Hwy 53 Bridge is an area know as ‘Edge-of-the-World’ for good reason. I read about this area but was impressed when I actually saw it. Special note: The area is a massive, solid rock formation and extremely slippery. The rock in the water is extremely slippery and the exposed rock becomes slippery after getting wet. I would believe more people are hurt falling in this area. Below ‘Edge-of-the-World’, the river is a little wilder than Section I with a few more ledges.

The water level on this date was adequate for what we wanted to accomplish, yet we dragged and got stuck many times on rocks. The ledges were fun and scouted for safety as well as navigability. Scouting is important. It doesn’t tell you how you will do, it shows you the best route and what to prepare for.

Our trip started Saturday morning at 9:30 am when Traci, Cindy, Doc and I slipped our kayaks into Amicalola Creek at the Lindsey Access (Six Mile put-in / DNR Campground)

GPS put-in coordinates: N 34 – 28 – 556; W 084 – 14 – 535

USGS River gage: was 0.63

There were many flowers (whose names I do not know) in bloom that I photographed.

At 0.63 the river is rocky, but much better than out trip the previous Sunday at 0.53. We had fun paddling around obvious rocks, or some how getting unstuck from the unmarked sneaky ones just below the surface. After 2.5 hours we took our first break and were surprised to find out that we had only paddled 3.7 miles. This was our first indication that it was going to be a long day. Our second indication was at the Hwy 53 Bridge which was supposed to be a 6 mile trip was 8.6 miles. By looking at the USGS gage you can see the river level drops as fast as it rises and it was dropping as we paddled. Our second stop was at the big rock formation on river-right, just before the take-out at the Hwy 53 Bridge. None of us wore spray skirts (even though we had them with us) so we were constantly sponging or pumping water out of our boats. We did have some folks who went swimming but that’s the beauty of a water sport. There were 2 dead-falls on this section that we had to exit our kayaks and climb over.

We knew from reading about Section II of the place below Hwy 53 called ‘Edge-of-the-World’, but didn’t expect what we found. It was wild and beautiful. For a recreational paddler, wild is an understatement. After walking around and looking for a route, I decided to give it a try in my CD Kestrel 120HV. Having only the nylon spray skirt with me, I opted to paddle without it, which wasn’t a good idea. After the first drop, the kayak filled partially with water so I stopped and emptied it before making the second drop. On the second drop, the kayak took on about 5 gallons of water which was ignored (another bad idea). The last drop filled the kayak three quarters full, but we made it around the rocks to the recovery pool. My second run of the ‘Edge-of-the-World’ was in a WS Pungo 120 without a skirt. Thank goodness I like to swim and that’s about all I can say about that run, other than don’t paddle a WS Pungo 120 in Class III/IV with or without a skirt! My third run was in a WS Tsunami 125 with a skirt. They say the third one is a charm and this was the charm. The Tsunami paddled like a dream. It made a 120 degree left turn on a dime, dropped about 6 feet, went totally underwater, popped up and made a sharp 90 degree right turn, went over the second drop, totally submerged, popped up and headed for drop number 3, dropped, submerged and popped up again! I have to say that this was a dream run. My fourth run was in a WS Tsunami 120. Not much to tell about this one other than I had another good swim. Below ‘Edge-of-the-World’ and before the island on river-left there was a tree blocking the best route over this ledge, so we paddled down a tricky section just to the right of the tree.

There are several more significant ledges on down river, but after a day of paddling this stuff they were just ledges. Lots of rocks, lots of navigating, lots of dragging and getting stuck on rocks. Paddling on the Etowah River is completely different than paddling on the Amicalola.but it was fun. After what we had just paddled through, paddling on the Etowah is like paddling on slow moving lake water.

It was 7:10pm when we arrrived at Kelly Bridge and the GPS reading was 20.8 miles. It was 18.6 miles from Lindsey Ford to the confluence with the Etowah River.

Conclusion:

The upper 6 miles section was 8.6 (river) miles

The lower 9.75 miles section was 12.2 (river) miles

Time on the river including lunch: 9.5 hours

= One GREAT paddling day!

I have a few videos of the ‘Edge of the World’ ledge area… It would be best if you followed the album link to watch these directly from Google!

Tracy has a few good videos and photo’s in here album too!

ADMIN: The details of this trip may change at any time in the near future!

This is an overnight wilderness canoe/kayak camping trip where you will have the opportunity to share some of Dawson County’s rarely seen riverine beauty with your fellow paddlers. No paddling or camping experience necessary (but they are helpful).

Here is your chance to experience a real river trip and have a great weekend outdoors!

Note: This trip will be limited to the first 25 confirmed paddlers.

My typical Sunday paddle usually starts out meeting Doc for a 6:00am breakfast at the Huddle House in Cumming, but this wasn’t a typical paddle and I was an invited guest. Doc, two of his friends and I were going to paddle the upper section of Amicalola Creek.

After a 7:30am breakfast Doc and I drove to what was going to be our take out, the park at the Hwy 53 Bridge (crossing Amicalola Creek about 6 miles west of Dawsonville), where we met Gary and Kenneth. From there we drove up to the 6 Mile put-in. This is Dawson County Park which has good access as well as camping.

I’m not sure what time it was when we finally started downstream. It wasn’t important. Neither Doc nor I had been down this creek but it was on our list. River level wasn’t important either. We wanted to see what it was like and then we could watch the USGS gage and decide when to paddle it again. The river gage on this day was 0.53 and for you readers this is a boney level so plan on dragging bottom and getting stuck on the rocks many times. There are a few surprising drops and it may have potential to be an exciting river at higher levels, providing the ledges aren’t washed out. We did a lot of navigating around rocks and a lot of scooting over the rocks we got stuck on. There are so many rocks you couldn’t miss them all. Two deadfalls completely blocked the river which required us to get out of our kayaks and drag them over the fallen trees. If they are gone when you paddle through, then Doc and I probably removed them with our chainsaws…but don’t tell anyone. The scenery in this section is beautiful and there aren’t any houses.  At a place called “The Devil’s Elbow” you find a 30-40 bank to jump off or a rope swing which ever you choose. We passed on both.

We had a fun day on the river even though it took longer than we expected. We spent about 7 hours paddling the 6 miles. I haven’t checked the mileage but will take my GPS the next time we paddle this section. The next trip on the Amicalola Creek will be the wild and scenic Section 2, from the Hwy 53 Bridge down to the Etowah River and Kelly Bridge.