Day 3: 30 miles in one day!

Richard spent Sunday night near the intersection of Old Federal Rd. and Nicholson Rd., which was the take out point for the first day on Paddle Georgia this year. It amazes me that on our first day of Paddle Georgia, we only paddled 14 miles and Richard has done over 39 miles in 2 days on the river.

He took his time getting started this morning, his brother in law (Paul) brought him a new, dry tent last night and it seems to be working out well. Today’s paddle began around 10:30 am and his goal was to get to Heritage Park in Canton, GA  This was another take-out point and campsite on the week long Paddle Georgia 2006 trip. There is a grocery store within walking distance and a YMCA where he hopes he will be able to shower on Tuesday. I’m sure he’ll be able to talk him into letting him in…I can’t wait to hear THAT story tomorrow!

He took his time paddling today and stopped off to talk to some landowners along the river. First, he stopped at the “Woodhaven” development along the Historic Woodhaven Bend on the Etowah. The developers have taken great care to ensure that the river will be protected and preserved for all to enjoy. The developer sold the all of the land within 150 feet of the riverbank to the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently protect the land from being developed.

A few miles down the river, he spotted a farmer out cutting hay in his fields. Richard stopped to chat with him for a few minutes and the farmer immediately recognized him from the AJC article in Sunday’s “Metro” section. After visiting with the farmer, he learned that the land where his farm is currently located has been in his family since the 1800’s. His family owns about 300 acres along the river and this particular gentleman grew up on the Etowah and knows the area surrounding the river very well. They also share a unique experience - they have both seen the spring that starts the Etowah River up in the mountains of North Georgia. Richard was honored to have made the hike to the spring earlier this year with a friend of his, Dr. Robert Fuller. This trip is especially important to him because this is the first time he’s actually going to see a river from the spring where it starts to where the river ends and joins the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of his ambitious goal of arriving at Heritage Park in Canton and his late start this morning, Richard ended up paddling in the darkness. He did stop around the I-575 bridge to put on his headlight, but he was still amazed at how dark the river was after sunset. He compared this night paddling experience to his experience paddling through the night on the Paddle Mania: the 24-hour continuous paddle he lead in August. When he compared Paddle Mania’s night paddle to tonight’s experience, he was surprised to find that the river tonight was much darker. He was also surprised to discover an abundance of beavers along the river after dark. He had a few close encounters with beavers that slapped their tails on the water beside his boat. This startled him even more than the alligator that he encountered on his first trip in 2004.

Richard finally arrived at Heritage Park in Canton around 9:45 PM and set up his tent. His total mileage for the day came to a little over 30 miles. Needless to say, he is exhausted and expects to get a good night’s rest tonight. He will be paddling on Lake Allatoona tomorrow, which will be a tougher paddle than paddling on a moving river. Tomorrow should be a full day of paddling – approximately 9.5 miles on the Etowah plus 17 miles on Lake Allatoona. The Army Corps of Engineers will assist him with his portage around the dam and he’ll continue on his journey to Rome.