Spooks! Daredevil dry-land kayaker! Bridge climber! Gnarly jerky and the golf cart! Also the Withlacoochee River at Spook Bridge, Knight’s Ferry Boat Ramp, Nankin Boat Ramp, each with road and kiosk signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, plus briefly Port-A-Potties at all those places and halfway back up towards Troupville Boat Ramp, and a gopher tortoise, all during Day 2 of #PaddleGA2019.

Joe Cook and Harold Harbert

There were boats.

Just a few

Most people used the rope to get down.

Rope

Except the last kayak paddled on dry land.

Movie: Go! (29M)

Not pictured: how Suwannee Riverkeeper saved all 350 paddlers from being arrested by a Lowndes County Deputy. By explaining we had permission to be there. The deputy rode back in the golf cart. Thanks to Battery Source for the gold cart. Thanks to The Langdale Company for the access at Spook Bridge and halfway upstream from there to Troupville Boat Ramp.

Good thing the deputy didn’t come up against our security.

Gnarly

OK, maybe he’s not that scary.

Gretchen, Rena Peck Stricker, Gnarly, and jerky

River check-In closed, Jesslyn Shields accepted the last rid out on the golf car. Well, almost last, before the deputy incident.

Steve Miller and Jesslyn Shields

Knight’s Ferry Boat Ramp

By the time I could drive to Knight’s Ferry Boat Ramp, many paddlers were already there and snacking.

Boats, ramp, signs, cars

Note the WWALS water trail signs on the 4×4 and the Lowndes County road sign on the steel post.

Side by side

And the essential for any rest stop.

Off to the side

Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp

At least I beat the paddlers to the take out for the day. Aren’t those nice water trail signs?

Beside Boat Ramp

Each landing gets a similar top sign for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), with writeups on the water trail, WWALS, safety, etiquette, and a checklist. Thanks to Dan Phillips for planting these signs the day before #PaddleGA2019, so as to minimize risk of damage or theft.

WLRWT Sign

Each landing gets a lower sign specific to it, with descriptions and maps of what to expect downstream and upstream.

Nankin Boat Ramp Sign

And the essential item if you invite 350 of your closest friends:

Beside entrance

Langdale Port-A-Potty

This time nobody got stuck in the sandy dirt woods roads. Thanks again to The Langdale Company for access to this site, halfway between Troupville Boat Ramp and Spook Bridge.

Retrieval team

Downstream

Gopher tortoise

This Gopherus polyphemus seemed quite nonchalant for a keystone species whose burrow hosts 300 other species, including rattlesnakes.

Moving along

Spook Bridge Port-A-Potty

And the final pickup of the day.

He lifted it right in

There are many more pictures on the WWALS website, including a side trip to a nearby inland spring.

However, unlike the previous day, I did not paddle that day, so wait for Gretchen’s pictures to see what happened on the Withlacoochee River.

Okra Paradise Farms

I had to pick squash and cucumbers.

One day’s pickings

The cucumbers were popular at Grassy Pond.

Cucumbers

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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