2009 Chattahoochee River Challenger Event -The Georgia Kayaker

2009 Chattahoochee River Challenger Event

Well, it started out great…

This two day, 53 mile kayak trip down the Chattahoochee River started at the CRNRA’s Powers Island Park located near the intersection of I-75 & I-285 on the north side of Atlanta. The plan was to meet in the park at 8:00am, unload our gear and take the vehicles to a different parking location.

When planning a kayak trip for a group, there has to be some flexibility built in. It isn’t unusual for something to go wrong and that something can be big or small. We had some of each on this trip. Our first minor problem happened to the veteran paddler, Doc, who forgot to bring the keys to the security cable that locks his kayak to his truck. Doc and I are regular paddling partners and many times in the past, we shook our heads when someone forgot something, yet we feared the day it would happen to one of us. While writing this, I know my day is coming. Luckily there weren’t any radar speed traps between I-285 and Cumming that Saturday morning…

The trip started on time as ten smiling paddlers made their way down the Chattahoochee River. The weather was cool on this April morning, but the temperature was predicted to reach the 70’s. Rain from the last several days had the river level above normal. The shoals were underwater and the wave train at the Devil’s Race course was mild. After a brief pit stop at the CRNRA’s Paces Mill Park, we were on our way to the McIntosh Reserve.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining by the time we reached the water-works near Atlanta Road, which was our potential “you might go swimming here” hazard. Everyone got wet. Some got really wet, but no one went swimming. This was the exciting part of the trip. Unfortunately we didn’t have a professional photographer on the trip. The water kept moving me around waiting for each paddler so I didn’t do a very go job of taking pictures of each paddler in the waves and missed a few. We stopped for lunch on the sand/mud bar at Nickajack Creek, the half-way point for the day’s paddle. It was a good day to be on the river.

The weather was beautiful and the flow helped move us along. After another 11.5 miles we arrived at the take-out, which was a boat ramp for a park beside the Metro Atlanta Softball Complex on Campbellton Road. The boat ramp was covered with slippery, slimy, foul smelling mud, so our challenge would be to get out of our kayaks and up the ramp to the dry part, without falling. Again the group came through with flying colors and very muddy feet. The kayaks were pulled up the ramp through the mud, then carried to the grassy flat area. Now it was time to clean up.

Previously, there was a water hose along the fence line, but it was gone. Someone found a water trough under the bleachers/concession hut that solved our problem. You would have to see it to appreciate it. After the de-mudding, some of us decided to have a real “ball park hot dog” or corn dog for supper. The concession stand was open for the softball season and there were several league games in play that day. Time to set up camp.

We started to set up our tents on the grassy island in the parking lot with our kayaks pulled up beside each tent for easier un/loading. This was where the next minor problem arose. Bonny forgot her tent, but luckily she called friends who brought her one of theirs. Tom had a hammock so he hung it between two trees, off to the side of where we were, at the tree line. His kayak was left near the road where we first carried them all up from the river, 50 or 60 feet from his hammock. This would prove to be major problem #1. After getting our tents and hammocks set up, we chatted until dark.

During the night, some four wheelers came into the park, zipping around making loud noise. Most thought it was a bunch of kids trying to disturb our sleep, until the morning, when we woke up and realized they had stolen Tom’s Wilderness Systems Tsunami 125 kayak with all of his gear! Kayak drag marks led down a dirt road behind the campsite, through the woods to the power line tract where the trail disappeared. The police were called, a report was made and sadly, the trip lost a paddler as Tom’s wife was called to come pick him up.

The day would not get any better. It was cool and overcast when we started our 33 mile paddle day and it wasn’t long before the rain came. It rained sporadically for hours. Several times it rained hard for a few minutes. During a dry spell we stopped for lunch. The mud here wasn’t as deep as it was at the boat ramp (and it was ‘clean’ mud not slime) but by this time it didn’t matter. After several more hours paddling in the rain, cold and wet, the decision was made to shorten the trip by 5 miles and take-out at the US 27 Bridge. It had been an experience and a good river trip, but it was time to go home.

GPS mileage for the two day trip: 49.15 miles.

Thanks to those who went on the trip. I hope each participant will take time to contribute something to this event discussion. Send pictures, if you have any; enjoy the slide shows and look forward to another river trip.

Richard Grove