Smith State Park & Three Nights in Okefenokee
by TrailZen
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
02/26/2024
Entry & Exit Point:
Other
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (5 messages)
Day 5 of 5
Friday, March 01, 2024, ONWR
It was a quiet night, and we were out of the tent before 7:00 am. The sky is gray, and it feels like rain, so we have breakfast and are on the water by 8:30, with rain gear at the ready and lunches in our PFD pockets. The morning was surprisingly warmer than yesterday evening and we had no wind. The canal, which we’ll follow about half-way back to the Refuge headquarters, was glass. We took advantage of the calm to take more photos. No one else was on the canal for our first five miles or so, but then we saw a steady stream of canoes and kayaks until we turned onto the ‘day use canoe trail’, which we hadn’t known existed until this trip. The day use trail is where we saw the trail cutter, and we’re surprised at the water’s turbidity two days after the trail cutter did its work. We had the day use trail to ourselves, and were able to take more bird and flower photos. Our last mile was a wet one, but we were in rain suits and our gear was in dry bags or the cooler, so no big deal.
We loaded the Outback, got coffee, and hit the road. Okefenokee is about seven hours from home, and we’d planned to stop a couple hours from the refuge for the night, but a free day tomorrow would be great. We've got another trip in 11 days, let’s head for the barn! Got home at 10:00 pm.
It was a quiet night, and we were out of the tent before 7:00 am. The sky is gray, and it feels like rain, so we have breakfast and are on the water by 8:30, with rain gear at the ready and lunches in our PFD pockets. The morning was surprisingly warmer than yesterday evening and we had no wind. The canal, which we’ll follow about half-way back to the Refuge headquarters, was glass. We took advantage of the calm to take more photos. No one else was on the canal for our first five miles or so, but then we saw a steady stream of canoes and kayaks until we turned onto the ‘day use canoe trail’, which we hadn’t known existed until this trip. The day use trail is where we saw the trail cutter, and we’re surprised at the water’s turbidity two days after the trail cutter did its work. We had the day use trail to ourselves, and were able to take more bird and flower photos. Our last mile was a wet one, but we were in rain suits and our gear was in dry bags or the cooler, so no big deal.
We loaded the Outback, got coffee, and hit the road. Okefenokee is about seven hours from home, and we’d planned to stop a couple hours from the refuge for the night, but a free day tomorrow would be great. We've got another trip in 11 days, let’s head for the barn! Got home at 10:00 pm.
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