We started at Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River and paddled up the Alapahoochee River, chainsawing passage through several deadfalls, 0.86 river miles up to Devil Shoal, on this May 30, 2026, WWALS river outing.

Pictures: Alapahoochee River Cleanup, Turket Creek Waterfall, Passage Chainsawed from Sasser Landing up to Devil Shoal 2026-05-30

There was no way to even walk up past Devil Shoal anymore, after Hurricane Helene and numerous other storms. So we turned back, also to get ahead of the predicted thunderstorm.

Of course we stopped at Turket Creek Waterfall, where some dipped in the river and others hiked up the bank.

As we neared Sasser Landing again, our expedition leader Kyle “Bird” Chamberlain summed it up, “We did as much as we could, as long as we could.”

We’ll be back at a later date, to start higher up the Alapahoochee, when the water level gets appropriate again.

Here are some video snippets:

https://youtu.be/hMuKMrxxLDk

Thanks to Shirley Kokidko and Steve Shaw for meeting us at the Alapahoochee River Confluence. This outing was Shirley’s idea.

Thanks to Shawn O’Connor for bringing his pole saw.

Thanks to Will Hart for bringing a saw and Matt Jarvis.

Thanks to Karen Lehnert for coming from Tallahassee and Scott Wilder for coming from Monticello. They helped pull aside sawed off limbs.

I also sawed, but there are no pictures or videos of that.

Thanks to Wild Green Future for the grant that paid for the 24-inch Husqvarna Rancher chainsaw, which we had along, although we did not use it.

Thanks to Sue Raffaele for the Old Town Camper canoe she donated to WWALS. Bird and I were in that canoe, along with numerous chainsaws and other equipment.

On the Jennings Gauge, on the bridge a few hundred feet downstream from Sasser Landing, the water level was 62.85 feet NAVD88 at 9 AM, May 30, 2026.

On May 14, 2026, it read 61.1 feet NAVD88.

It was 62.84 feet NAVD88 at 11:15 AM, July 21, 2024, the last time we tried this outing.

https://wwals.net/?p=65415

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

There are more pictures below.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Getting ready, 2026:05:30 10:28:52, –jsq for WWALS 30.6008376, -83.0729167

Banners, 2026:05:30 10:32:31, –jsq for WWALS 30.6008907, -83.0732152

OtW

Bird Chamberlain says we’re go, 2026:05:30 10:36:04, –jsq for WWALS 30.6009772, -83.0735825

Shirley Kokidko and Steve Shaw loitering at the Alapahoochee River Confluence, 2026:05:30 10:35:58, –jsq for WWALS 30.6009772, -83.0735825

Closer Shirley and Steve at the Alapahoochee River Confluence, 2026:05:30 10:37:21, –jsq for WWALS 30.6017304, -83.0738928

Kyle Bird Chamberlain, our expedition leader, 2026:05:30 10:37:28, –jsq for WWALS 30.6017378, -83.0738978

RF

Rockfall, 2026:05:30 10:44:24, –jsq for WWALS 30.6038760, -83.0757359

TCWF

Turket Creek Waterfall, 2026:05:30 10:45:33, –jsq for WWALS 30.6043434, -83.0756053

Shawn O’Connor getting ahead of us, 2026:05:30 10:45:44, (5.6M) –jsq for WWALS 30.6043434, -83.0756053

DF1

Been there, sawed that, 2026:05:30 11:04:02, –jsq for WWALS 30.6050914, -83.0747261

DF2

Karen Lehnert from Tallahasee and Scott Wilder from Monticello waiting for sawed limbs to pull aside, 2026:05:30 11:07:42, –jsq for WWALS 30.6057223, -83.0744858

Bird sawing with jsq 18-inch EGO electric chainsaw, 2026:05:30 11:07:50, –jsq for WWALS 30.6057223, -83.0744858

DS

Devil Shoal, 2026:05:30 12:09:06, –jsq for WWALS 30.6101806, -83.0748567

Can’t paddle up that, 2026:05:30 12:09:30, –jsq for WWALS 30.6101806, -83.0748567

There used to be a trail along the right bank, 2026:05:30 12:09:34, –jsq for WWALS 30.6101806, -83.0748567

Not even Will Hart can paddle up that, 2026:05:30 12:10:25, –jsq for WWALS 30.6101983, -83.0748580

Movie: Shawn O’Connor tries walking up, 2026:05:30 12:13:29, (15M) –jsq for WWALS 30.6101983, -83.0748580

Down would be possible, but not up, 2026:05:30 12:15:56, –jsq for WWALS 30.6102559, -83.0749031

Lunch below Devil Shoal, 2026:05:30 12:16:11, –jsq for WWALS 30.6102559, -83.0749031

RF2

Rockfall with paddles, 2026:05:30 12:43:29, –jsq for WWALS 30.6086405, -83.0750322

Downstream to a former obstacle, 2026:05:30 12:43:36, –jsq for WWALS 30.6086405, -83.0750322

TF

A dip at Turket Creek Waterfall, 2026:05:30 12:56:58, –jsq for WWALS 30.6044354, -83.0756144

Hikers, 2026:05:30 12:57:06, –jsq for WWALS 30.6044159, -83.0756364

TCWF2

Turket Creek Waterfall, 2026:05:30 12:59:24, –jsq for WWALS 30.6044537, -83.0755912

Closeup, Turket Creek Waterfall, 2026:05:30 12:59:28, –jsq for WWALS 30.6044537, -83.0755912

SL

Sasser Landing in sight, 2026:05:30 13:08:39, –jsq for WWALS 30.5705163, -83.0745581

Movie: Bird says we did the best we could, as long as we could, 2026:05:30 13:09:59, (20M) –jsq for WWALS 30.6013934, -83.0737272

TO

Taking out, 2026:05:30 13:16:58, –jsq for WWALS 30.6008994, -83.0732513

Movie: About this expedition, 2026-05-30 –Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman

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