Tag Archives: Lanier County

Pictures: Banks Lake Full Moon Paddle 2017-07-08

Lights! Full Moon! Paint! Rice and watermelon! Fun was had by all last Saturday on the WWALS watery living room, Banks Lake, just west of Lakeland, GA on GA 122.

Only saw one gator, and he got scared away by all the boats. Didn’t see any moccassins, but I bet they were there in the lily pads on the west side across the lake, where we turned back.

Paddlers with WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper Banners, 31.0351925, -83.0965187

The total I think was seventeen paddlers in sixteen boats, some not pictured here due to not arrived yet, or something.

Paddlers with WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper Banners,

Movie: Tom Cramer and his wife Barb are the volunteers at Banks Lake Outdoors (26M)

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Banks Lake Full Moon Paddle 2017-07-08

Bring bon-bons, lights, and boats to paddle the moonlit mysteries of our own mini-Okefenokee: Banks Lake, as the sun sets between Lakeland, GA and I-75.

300x225 Moonrise with lights, in Banks Lake Full Moon, by John S. Quarterman, 13 June 2014 Bring something somewhat more substantial and we will have a brief pot-luck at the gazebo before paddling. No cooking at the site.

When: 8PM Saturday, July 8, 2017

Where: Banks Lake Boat Ramp,
1099 W Main St. (GA 122), Lakeland, GA 31635.
Or: 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, Lanier County

GPS: 31.03492, -83.09619

Event: facebook, meetup.

Duration: Continue reading →

Berrien Beach Landing (GA 168) to Lakeland (GA 122), WWALS Outing 2017-02-11

12 + 4 boats and about 18 paddlers went even faster down the Alapaha River than we expected: six hours on the water between GA 168 and GA 122, including a lunch stop. That’s about 3 miles per hour on a chilly morning and a fine breezy warm day. And there were bon-bons and kumquats!

WWALS banner by Gretchen Quarterman
WWALS banner at lunch stop; picture by Gretchen Quarterman for WWALS.

Lots of native vegetation, no invasive species, some birds (buzzards, ducks, heron, flycatcher, cardinals), no animals on the land or in the water. People fishing at Lakeland said they didn’t even get a nibble. I did see a few fish beds below a creek confluence.

The water level was Continue reading →

GA 168 (Berrien Beach) to GA 122 (Lakeland) Alapaha River Outing 2017-02-11

Long, but if the water is high, should be fast: 16 1/2 miles from Berrien Beach Landing to Lakeland Boat Ramp on the lovely wild Alapaha River Water Trail. As long as the rains keep coming, the river should be high and it should take less time than the usual estimate of eight hours. Bring the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. There is no good place to take out before the end point, so be prepared to paddle all day.

When: 7:00AM, Saturday, February 11th, 2017

Put In: Berrien Beach Ramp, on GA 168 east of Nashville, Berrien County, Georgia, at 31.159076, -83.045554. Continue reading →

Nell Patten Roquemore to be honored tonight in Valdosta by Scouts 2016-09 -20

A chance to see a living legend from Lakeland honored tonight in Valdosta.

Book cover Dean Poling, VDT, 18 September 2016, Scouts honor Roquemore

VALDOSTA — Nell Patten Roquemore has written two books on Lakeland and Lanier County history.

She spearheaded the project of murals being located throughout her native Lakeland.

And Roquemore has been designated as the first woman to receive the prestigious Distinguished Citizen’s Award given by the Boy Scouts of America South Georgia Council.

Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is scheduled to speak in her honor Tuesday during the award banquet, according to organizers.

“I am thrilled to be the first woman chosen and I am truly honored by the selection,” Roquemore said in a statement. “There is no finer Continue reading →

WWALS Adopt-A-Stream Cleanup at Berrien Beach Landing (GA 168) –Gretchen Quarterman 2016-09-10

WWALS collected many bags of trash and four mattresses Saturday in the Rivers-Alive Cleanup at Berrien Beach Launch on the Alapaha River.

At Berrien Beach (with permission) Thanks to Bret Wagenhorst for organizing this annual cleanup. Special thanks to the three members of Valdosta State’s Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) for joining in, and a student from UGA Tifton!

This outing was also part of the Great Suwannee River Cleanup, and we’ll have some more of those this year. This particular cleanup was at Berrien Beach Landing in Berrien County on the Alapaha River Water Trail. Thanks to Al Browning and the landowner for access to the sands of Berrien Beach in Lanier County.

See also the Video: #NoDAPL #NoSabalTrail —WWALS 2016-09-10.

More WWALS outings:

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WWALS Outings, Rivers, and Pipeline on Chris Beckham drive-time radio WVGA 105.9 FM 8:00 7:30 AM 2016-09-02

8AM Friday morning WWALS will be on Chris Beckham’s drive-time radio show. WWALS president John S. Quarterman will be talking about Saturday morning’s Suwannee River paddle outing and other outings upcoming on the Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers, along with other developments on the Alapaha River Water Trail and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, along with many other things WWALS does. Plus what you can do about the FERC rubberstamp of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline drilling under the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers.

When: 8:00 7:30AM Friday September 2nd 2016

Where: Continue reading →

Drowning at Pafford’s Landing on the Alapaha River 2016-05-07

One version of the Saturday drowning on the Alapaha River near Lakeland is being carried all over the country, Lanier Parks, Inc. Parcel 030 0038B from Richmond to Texas, and there is another version.

Terry Richards, valdosta Daily Times, 9 May 2016, UPDATE: Father dies saving Lanier child from drowning,

A small child wandered away from a group of adults and into the Alapaha River at Pafford’s Landing, he said. When the father noticed what had happened he jumped in, swam to his daughter who was struggling to keep her head above water and held her up until someone took her from him, Norton said. The father never resurfaced.

Pafford’s Landing is at Continue reading →

A wonderful Paddle on the Alapaha 2016-04-23

HWY 84 to Mayday.

What a great day for a paddle! The current was moving us along nicely, about 12 miles in just under 4 hours. It is a very beautiful stretch of river, very wild, many birds could be heard in the forest canopy.

cjm

This was the Hotchkiss Road to Mayday Outing.

More from Chris’s details in the Outings spreadsheet:

Hotchkiss road was washed out, put in at Naylor park property. Cut about .5 mile off of the trip.

Water level 85 on the Statenville gage. Was in the banks and moving quick. Would not recommend paddling at levels much higher than this.

Features: canopy over much of the river.

Flora: Tupelo, birch, oaks, pine, wild azalea. No invasive species seen.

Fauna: wood ducks, great egrets, kingfisher, heard- barred owls, hooded warblers, and many other birds.

Assessment: Very nice paddle. Very beautiful stretch of river

And a bit more from Chris:

Water level was high, much higher would not be recommended. Looking at the water level in comparison with the Safe Water Level criteria, Item 3 stood out. It became very apparent why it is important that you should be able to paddle against the current for a short distance. One of our paddlers needed a rescue and the only way to reach her was to paddle upstream.

-jsq

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Hotchkiss Road to Mayday, Alapaha River 2016-04-23

See the beautiful blackwater Alapaha River while it’s high, in the middle of the Alapaha River Water Trail, from Hotchkiss Road in Lanier County to Mayday in Echols County.

Events: facebook or meetup.

When: 8AM Saturday 23 April 2016

Put in: Hotchkiss Road in Lanier County, 30.93669, -83.0406

Take out: Mayday in Echols County, 30.82827, -83.017179

Distance: 12.7 miles

Duration: about 6 hours

Directions: Continue reading →