WWALS Alapaha Quest starts Saturday, January 6th27th, 2018

Update 2018-01-19: First leg rescheduled again, due to low water, to become a hike to the Dead River Sink, still on January 27, 2018.

Update 2018-01-01: The first leg of the Alapaha Quest is rescheduled to January 27, 2018! Follow this link for the revised details of that outing.

Join us to explore the entire Alapaha River Water Trail on the 2018 Alapaha Quest!

The Alapaha River is described as unspoiled, wild, and scenic. Add these remoteness features, some the dark reddish-brown waters with occasional shoals and it becomes a gem to paddle.

Landings, ARWT

What is the Alapaha Quest?

The 2018 Alapaha Quest is an organized exploration by WWALS of the 125 miles of the Alapaha River Water Trail, from Sheboggy Landing at US 82 to the Alapaha Confluence with the Suwannee River, in ten day-paddle segments. We will include a hike to the Dead River and the Alapaha River Sink, which are fascinating in themselves.

When and Where: Water Levels and Weather

WWALS will start the 2018 Alapaha Quest on Saturday January 6th, from Sheboggy Landing at US 82 in Berrien County to GA 135 in Atkinson County, both in Georgia We intend to paddle each consecutive segment, at least one per month, in an order that may change depending on water levels and weather. Since the Alapaha River is often dry from Jennings Bluff to the Suwannee, we will conquer it when the opportunity first presents itself.

As many of you already know, the Alapaha water levels fluctuate rapidly, often, and throughout the year so the order and dates of segments may vary. WWALS will announce the tentative outing date for the next segment then finalize the details the week of each paddle trip. This will allow WWALS to make needed adjustments for weather and river levels.

Cost

This special adventure will cost $10 per vessel and will be free to all WWALS members.

Shuttle and Supplies

Most segments will require a 7:00AM meet time for the shuttle with an expected launch time of 8:00AM. We will shuttle soon after 7:00AM. Late arrivers will be shuttled after paddle.

Each participant should dress appropriately for weather, wear proper shoes, preferably a wide brim hat, sunglasses, provide their boat with bow line attached, paddle, PFD, whistle, sunscreen, insect repellant, plenty of water/fluids and lunch.

Looking forward to everyone enjoying the Alapaha.

—Phil Hubbard, WWALS Outings Committee Chair

Safety and Signs

On every WWALS outing, we want everyone to have fun, learn something, and be safe. We will file a float plan with local emergency management. Please us know if you are CFR certified and whether you are carrying a first aid kit, in addition to your PFD. Please don’t start paddling until you hear the safety lecture. We will appoint leaders for the front and sweeps to make sure nobody is left behind. Listen up and speak up for things we will see along the way. To promote paddling and cleanups, we will plant signs for the Alapaha River Water Trail at each end of the paddle that does not have them. And don’t forget the photo-op with the banners at the lunch stop!

—John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper

Background for the Alapaha Quest

WWALS previously paddled almost all the Alapaha River Water Trail in three years, so here is some background on what the Alapaha Quest will do in one year.

Here are the segments we did before, listed from upstream to down, which is the same order as on the Alapaha River Water Trail Summary Access Table.

  1. US 82 (Sheboggy Landing) to Rowetown Church Cemetery
  2. Rowetown Church to GA 135
    The first leg of the 2018 Alapaha Quest goes all the way from Sheboggy to GA 135 in one day.
  3. GA 135 to Berrien Beach (GA 168)
    This was the longest segment, at 18.26 miles and 9 or 10 hours. Also reputed to have the most deadfalls, but the water was so high we floated over all of them.
  4. Berrien Beach to Lakeland Boat Ramp (GA 122)
  5. Lakeland Boat Ramp (GA 122) to CSX RR below US 84
    Instead of US 84, we now have access to the site of the future Naylor Boat Ramp.
  6. Hotchkiss Road (washed out, so put in at US 84) to Mayday
    Instead of US 84, we now have access to the site of the future Naylor Boat Ramp.
  7. Mayday to Statenville
    WWALS has not done an outing on this stretch.
    This stretch is pretty long: 13.64 miles or 6.8 hours.
  8. Statenville to Sasser Landing
  9. Sasser Landing to Jennings Bluff
  10. Alapaha Dry River Cleanup
    (Alapaha Quest will paddle as Jennings Bluff to Suwannee River)

WWALS has paddled the entire length of the Alapaha River Water Trail except for Mayday to Statenville and the often-dry part below Jennings Bluff.

While we are paddling the Alapaha Quest, we will not forget to organize outings on the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, and Little Rivers.

This means we will usually have two outings a month in 2018, sometimes three.

For outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS calendar.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!