Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper Program Director Dianna Wedincamp organized a mid-summer paddling trip on the Ogeechee. Here are photos of OCR members on the trip, including first-time paddler Anna Thibeau, who blogged about her expereince, “Seriously, I had not expected to get wet above the knees. I had even styled my hair and put make up on carefully before we left home. The drenching was wonderful!”

Read Anna’s complete blog about her first-ever paddling experience.

First Paddle

By Anna Thibeau

You know those beautiful Impressionistic paintings with couples in row boats? The lady is in a diaphanous gown with a large brimmed hat and the man has on a striped jacket, white pants and a straw hat?  I guess that is what I had in mind when our friend Dianna Wedincamp invited us to join Riverkeeper’s paddle down the Ogeechee River. This being the beginning of the 21st century, bathing suits, bermudas and baseball caps make up a plausible modern version of this idyllic situation.

On the Saturday of our adventure, we set the alarm early so we could be out of the house by 8:00 AM, and after an uneventful trip, arrived at Morgan’s Bridge at the appointed 9:30 AM. The canoes belonging to Riverkeeper were already in the water, and Dianna’s husband Jimmy were keeping guard over them. Other people on the paddle trip were to-ing and fro-ing in cars. I suspected they were doing something useful, but wasn’t quite sure exactly what.

By 10:00 AM, everyone who was to paddle down the river was present. It was an obviously bright and enthusiastic set of people who love the river. Dianna showed us our boat. Thomas climbed into the rear seat and I started to the front. No sooner did I attempt to step on board than my old Crocs slid on the green, slimy boat ramp and I was flat on my butt. Pratfall. Oh well, does anyone on the river care that I have a green, wet rear end? Not really! I have plenty of time to dry out before we will see people again.

Rowing is tricky but paddling takes less skill, at least when everyone gives you a wide berth. The Ogeechee downstream from Morgan’s Bridge was flowing gently, the sky was blue, there was a gentle breeze, and ospreys and other interesting birds were flying to the water’s edge or to their nests. Thomas and I figured out how to get the boat to go forward and approximately in the right direction.We paddled for about an hour and a half until we came to a golden sand bar. The water around it was shallow and sandy. You could see your toes. I like that. Standing in murky water always gives me a creepy feeling. We got the boats on shore, but do you know that to do that, you have to get your feet wet? I was wearing Crocs, so no problem, but Thomas had on his running shoes and socks! Squish, squish, squish, the rest of the day.

For about 40 minutes we ate our lunches and larked about in the water. Now, I was so glad not to have on that delicate frock in the Monet paintings or I would have had to stay on shore and behave like a proper lady. It was just wonderful to wade in the water, enjoy the flora and fauna, not having any ipods, radios or TVs making their horrible dins. The other paddlers turned out to be excellent company too.

Our lunch break was over and it was time to continue the second half of the trip down the Ogeechee. We piled back in our canoes and kayaks and began paddling down the river. It got narrower and the water became more active. Trees had fallen in our paths and we often had only a few feet of space to get through. One -by-one our companions guided their boats through these narrow passages. Thomas and I, not so much. Give us 20 feet on either side for error and we can manage, but it became necessary to get the boat exactly in the right place to make it through.  Dianna and Jimmy kept near us and pulled us out of the tree branches at least a half dozen times. We must have been hilarious to watch.

Finally we came to a place in the river that was completely blocked by a huge cypress tree. I suddenly remembered the old frontier movies where people like Daniel Boone carried their canoes overland until the river again became navigable. I’m just not strong enough for that! Dianna and Jimmy knew what to do. They lifted their boat over the fallen tree log and then hopped up over the log. Yikes! I wish I were more fit.

Thomas and I elected to go under the log, which meant getting completely submerged in the water. Dianna and Jimmy lifted our boat over and we swam under. Now we resembled drowned rats, but we were free to continue downstream.

Seriously, I had not expected to get wet above the knees. I had even styled my hair and put make up on carefully before we left home. The drenching was wonderful. The breeze through our wet clothes cooled us off and we felt great. We were getting the hang of it all now. We would soon be “river experts” and real outdoors people. Oops what’s that ahead? Another tree fallen into the river. Head for the left bank. Didn’t make it. That’s okay. I’ll reach out to the tree and get us headed over to the opening. All of a sudden the canoe is going over my head and I am in the water with all our belongings hurtling into the river: hats, my shoes, towels, sunglasses, cell phone, water bottles, food. The other paddlers rushed to our aid, grabbing most of our stuff out of the river and securing the canoe. We eventually got ourselves and our stuff, with the help of these wonderful river people, back into the boat. I was relieved but also embarrassed. My thinking I could hand steer the boat around the tree had caused the calamity. The paddlers assured us that this was common. They had three canoes overturn the last trip, they assured me. We weren’t the dumbest people ever to try to paddle a river.  Thomas had his wallet and I had my cell phone in the canoe. Duh! Like why would anyone even think to put them on a canoe, especially in an open bag? It just didn’t occur to me that we could get upside down in the water. It’s Tuesday now and the content of Thomas’ wallet are still spread out over the dining room table, almost dry. My cell phone must be floating towards the Atlantic and hopefully will join Thomas’ keys -from our Hilton Head trip two years ago – in some shark’s stomach.

We were now baptized, and after a few more uneventful skirmishes with the trees in the river, Dianna got in the boat with Thomas and I joined Jimmy. I have little upper body strength was really getting tired and Jimmy is very, very strong. He told me to just sit while he paddled. I wimped out for a while but started paddling again after a rest.

Our trip would end a few yards up the Savannah-Ogeechee canal. All we had to do was paddle until we saw the sign for the canal. The river was wide and high. The current was almost non-existent. It was high tide. We paddled, and we paddled, and we paddled, and then we paddled more. Each time we came around a curve to the next section of the river, we were sure the sign would be there. Finally, at 3:00 PM, we saw the sign that let us know we had reached the canal entrance.

Canals are now kept up for recreational purposes. In the 19th century they were dug by hand as a means to get goods from one place to another. There was a path along the side for mules to pull the boats. Our canal would have taken us to the Savannah River if we kept going. We were all very tired, so even 200 yards of the canal seems like a long way. We had made it.

Now the boats had to be secured on the various vehicles. Everyone else knew to bring a change of clothes, but Thomas and I had no choice but to continue on in our “riverwear.” We were almost dry except for Thomas’ shoes and socks, which he had kept on. Squish, squish, squish.

The paddlers all went home, but Thomas and I followed Jimmy and Dianna to Love’s Seafood Restaurant near Richmond Hill. We sat out on the patio overlooking where the Ogeechee River flows into the Atlantic. There was a breeze, a clear sky, and we had own air conditioning of wet clothes, river-water hair and not giving a damn how ridiculous we must have looked. It was heaven on earth. One of those exceptional times in life where, you get completely into the moment and love every minute of it.

Thank you, Dianna and Jimmy, for the magical day.

And what have I learned? Well, we can hardly wait until the next paddle and  will:

1. Bring a change of clothes for afterwards
2. Secure everything in a bag that zips shut
3. Put out food in airtight, zip lock containers
4. Bring plenty of water
5. Leave wallets and cell phones in the car
6. Get a waterproof sun lotion
7. Not wear socks
8. Wear a bathing suit with lightweight clothes over it
9. Get a fishing hat that ties under the neck
10. Not bother to fix hair or do make up

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 8:23 am and is filed under Rivers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.