Cleanup: GA: Chattahoochee River: Bush Head Shoals: Paddle Island 1a: Memorial Day Weekend

Sometimes, it is nice to be alone.

It was Thursday when I decided to spend the weekend with my old friend, the Chattahoochee River. I needed some ‘alone time’ on the river and with the Bush Head Shoals 2 event coming up on June 27 & 28, this would be a good weekend to spend some time on the island and plan the event logistics.

My plan was to leave early Saturday morning and return late Sunday. It was supposed to rain both days which was good, because I also wanted it to be a tough weekend. Friday night I was working on my computer and as always, time got away from me. Before I knew it the clock showed 1:10am when I went to bed. Five hours later, drinking coffee and trying to get things in order for the trip, I decided not to complicate the weekend, but just throw some things together and go. I’d make the best out of the spur of the moment plans and not worry about what I forgot. The plan was to clean up the island and make sure that 22 people could camp there.

Taking all the gear and equipment necessary for a cleanup had been an issue in the past. The local outfitter has NuCanoes™ and I had used one on the previous trip,  towing it behind my kayak. The NuCanoe™ did the job; but leaving the island with it already loaded to the hilt meant that we didn’t have that much room for extra trash. My sister has an aluminum Grumman row boat that I considered using as a tow boat. It was light, wide flat bottom boat with a flat up sweeping bow that might work better. A hole was drilled on either side of the bow gunwale/gunnel for a two point tow rope to be attached to my kayak. This should keep it in line. Would it work was the question. The only way to find out was to try it, so it went into the pick up along with: my kayak; Stihl™ 024AV chainsaw; gas; oil; ax; small sledge; wedge; hatchet; pruners/loppers; rake; shovel; trash bags and my personal food and gear which I hadn’t even started packing. Having been on many overnight trips, food and gear was selected in less than 30 minutes.

By 2:10pm I was on my way to the local outfitter and it rained on the way, which I had expected. I was paddling downstream at 5:25pm. The Grumman worked like a charm. Of course, it started raining hard half way to the island and I arrived at 7:50pm soaking wet.

By the time I arrived, the rain had slowed to a misting rain. The tent went up immediately and all personal gear was placed inside just in case it rained hard again. The kayak was pulled onto the sand and tied to a tree trunk with the Grumman tied to it. Now it was time to get some firewood cut before dark. The Stihl™ and I went to work cutting up the dead trees that had washed up on the island. The last time we were on the island, we built our warming fire under and beside a large washed up tree. After the fire burned through the trunk one end was cut off and put on the fire. This time more of that section was cut off to be used for a chair. Cutting this section off also cleared a path, so no-one would have to climb over the trunk to move around the sandbar campsite. The fire was started even though everything was soaking wet and by the time it was going good, darkness arrived.

With everything going well and nothing to do, it was time for coffee. So here I am, sitting by the fire on my freshly made log seat, drinking coffee on an island in the middle of the Chattahoochee River. The crickets, frogs and jumping fish furnish the sound and the fireflies twinkling in the darkness are my movie. I was completely surrounded and entertained by Mother Nature and I was lost in the moment in this peaceful world I had come to love. Whatever was important -it wasn’t, for the moment. Tomorrow would be another day.

Time for some trivia. Did you know that crickets and frogs go to bed around 1:00am? Well they do! It was 1:02 and I was sitting in total silence except for the crackling fire and an occasional fish splash.

5:05am and coffee was brewing. The fire was still going because I had added logs during the night because I wouldn’t leave the campsite until 3:30pm. After coffee, I paddled the Grumman to the head of the island where there was a huge pile of washed up logs and trash. Ten 44 gallon trash bags were easily filled with trash and there is still more. With plenty of time, I decided to empty the bags out to sort and count what had been collected. Besides something required by the Rivers Alive river cleanup group; sorting the different types of trash is one of the things I can do to keep my mind busy so I am never bored. Afterwards, I decided to clean some areas for campsites when I hear what I thought was an Indian on a praying mission, but it turned out to be the local outfitter in a kayak. Some people can’t stand someone having a great time so he came to join the party. We talked for a short time but it was time to get busy.

Across from Paddle Island (the sandbar at the head of Island 2) is another island (island 1) with a small channel separating it from a lower one (island 3). The outfitter and Chris went scouting in this area on the last trip because trees blocked the entrance to the area below the islands. Well, the outfitter suggested that we start clearing the trash and trees blocking that entrance and another mission was started. The river between the island we were on and the one where we were going to clean was shallow enough to walk across . He waded across and I took the Grumman, with the chainsaw and trash bags. Many washed up trees branches and trunks were cut up and 10 more bags of trash were collected; plus a few larger trash items that were thrown in the Grumman. With the new trash and what I collected earlier, the Grumman was going to be loaded to the max.

Finally it was time to go. We had two sets of shoals to go through, Bush Head shoals and Daniels shoals, so all gear and trash was carefully packed in the Grumman. The campsite was cleaned up and given a last minute check before we left.

We came, we saw and we did. At least we were satisfied with our accomplishment. On a large scale, what we did was small; but for two people and Bush Head Islands we did well.

The trip from the 5 islands to Franklin was uneventful except for the rain. Bush Head and Daniels Shoals can both be exciting for beginners and even though the outfitter and I are experienced, it is still tricky especially if you are towing a loaded 12’ Grumman row boat. It was 5:00pm when we arrived in Franklin.

There will be another trip another time. Some of the details will change, but it will be another wonderful weekend and you are invited.

Cleanup Information.

Approx weight: 580lbs.

List of materials:

• 315 plastic bottles
• 91 glass bottles
• 19 spray cans
• 7 metal cans
• 8 aluminum cans
• 132 tennis balls
• 11 basketballs
• 8 footballs
• 2 soccer balls
• 3 softballs
• 4 baseballs
• 27 misc balls
• 16 pens / markers
• 22 cigarette lighters
• 7 snuff containers
• 1 Freon 22 20# container
• 1 Propane tank
• 31 sandals / shoes
• 3 head lights
• 2 tail lights
• 3 reflectors
• 1 plastic property line marker
• 1 x 2 gal pump up sprayer
• 1 x 5 gal gas can w/ gas
• 4 toys