We paddled over more small shoals than expected,
and both Chitty Bend East Swallet and Sullivan Slough were acting as springs, not sinks,
on our paddle down the Withlacoochee River between Hamilton and Madison Counties, Florida.
Between
Sullivan Ramp and Madison Boat Ramp we stopped at
Hardee (Rossetter Spring) and Madison Blue Spring.
Pot Spring was a bit crowded and there is not much place to park a kayak.
Paddle 12.5 miles from Sullivan Launch to Madison Boat Ramp,
between Hamilton and Madison Counties, Florida.
There will be springs to swim in and shoals to paddle through, also several other interesting features along the river.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, June 8, 2024
Put In:
Sullivan Launch, aka CR 150 Bridge Launch (FDEP).
From Pinetta, Madison County, FL, travel east on CR 150; turn right at the bridge and follow road to the launch south of the river bridge.
Join us for a 14.55-mile paddle from sandy-slope Mayday to fancy-ramp Statenville on the Alapaha River, both in Echols County, Georgia.
Water levels should be just right!
When: Gather 8 AM, launch 9 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, May 11, 2024
Put In:
Mayday Landing,
749 Howell Road, Stockton, GA 31649. left bank, east side of the Alapaha River, south of Howell Road, north of the railroad bridge, in Echols County, Georgia.
Phil Hubbard, longtime WWALS paddle outings leader, on March 11, 2024, told us why he started a series of chainsaw cleanups two years ago.
He and his son paddled down the Withlacoochee River
and encountered more than 20 deadfalls they had to portage.
That was Father’s Day, June 19, 2016.
He didn’t even know Langdale Park existed before then.
They got to Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River after dark.
He joined WWALS to find a way to deal with the deadfalls.
We have done 21 chainsaw cleanups on the Withlacoochee River,
including during the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle this year.
Phil thinks with a few more at low water, it will be good.
The stretch from Langdale Park down past Sugar Creek,
around the Little River Confluence and up to Troupville Boat Ramp
will be a nice paddle that anybody can do.
Shawn O’Connor and I tried out the 25hp Mercury outboard motor,
paid for by a generous grant by Wild Green Future (WGF).
Works great! Electric start: push the button and it starts.
Doesn’t even have a manual choke.
Electric trim, i.e., tilt.
Very useful for adjusting trim for going fast,
as well as raising up in low water.
We also chainsawed some limbs that were obstructing passage downstream
on the Withlacoochee River and upstream on the Little River.
Shawn used my EGO 16″ electric chainsaw, but in case of larger limbs
we had with us the 24″ Husqvarna chainsaw paid for by WGF.
Also just in case, the 86lb thrust trolling motor and lithium batteries paid for by WGF.
Thanks, WGF!
Fast: Shawn’s GPS speedometer clocked it at 23 mph going upriver,
against a 3-5 mph current.
Not clear when we need to go that fast, but we can if we have to. Continue reading →
Have we finally accomplished the initial goals after 17 or 18 chainsaw cleanups?
Have they all been on two stretches of the Withlacoochee River?
Nope, also downstream on the Withlacoochee and on the Suwannee River.
Where to chainsaw cleanup next: maybe on the Santa Fe River in Florida,
or the Alapaha River or the Little River.
This webinar will be by zoom, noon-1 PM, Thursday, April 11, 2024.
Successful boat trials at Action Stage on the Little River!
Videos by John S. Quarterman and Russell Allen McBride for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS).
Thanks to Laura D’Alisera for transfering the new WWALS 9.9hp Mercury fourstroke 20-inch shaft electric start outboard motor ten miles from West Marine in Jacksonville Beach to a shipping location, where Phil Hubbard received it Saturday.
Thanks to Wild Green Future (WGF) for the generous grant that bought it.
Sunday evening, Russell Allen McBride, Shawn O’Connor, Bobby McKenzie, and I
unboxed it, connected it to its fuel supply, and tried it out.
Thanks to Flint Riverkeeper for the jon boat.
With that outboard, the jon boat will indeed go upriver easily under these conditions.
It took only ten minutes to haul Russell in his kayak up the third of a mile from the Little River Confluence to Troupville Boat Ramp.
Also due to WGF, we received an 85lb-thrust Goplus 8 Speed, 36 inch shaft, trolling motor, two
Power Queen LiFePO4 12.8V 100Ah, lithium-iron-phosphate batteries,
and a Power Queen 14.6V 10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger.
Those we put on the WWALS bass fisher chainsawing boat,
plus the old WWALS 40lb-thrust mounted on the front.
Shawn and I demonstrated that the new motor alone will push that boat upstream
in these conditions, and both motors will troll it upstream at a walking pace.
Which is all we need to get back to the ramp from the Confluence during chainsaw cleanups.
We are awaiting a couple more items via the WGF grant. Stay tuned.
This is more preparation for the
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Saturday, March 2, 2024,
starting at Langdale Park.
One hopes that the water level will be well below Sunday’s 148′ NAVD 1988 level, or we may have to reschedule for later.
And also preparation for more chainsaw cleanups on other stretches of this and other rivers.
Next: 9AM Sunday, February 25, 2024, we will take the jon boat from Troupville Boat Ramp
down around the Confluence and up the Withlacoochee River to Langdale Park,
chainsawing any remaining paddle obstacles along the way.
That one will be a bit hard to participate in by paddling.
Three of us cleared boating passage between the Sugar Creek WaterGoat
on the Withlacoochee River
behind the Valdosta YMCA and Wood Valley,
around the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp,
past the Little River Confluence, then upstream on the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp.
Thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading, and his Stihl chainsaw and electric chainsaw,
to Shawn O’Connor for using his polesaw.
I brought the new Husqvarna 460 Rancher 24-inch chainsaw,
paid for through a generous grant by Wild Green Future.
That grant also paid for some other things you will see in the near future.
Today at Troupville Boat Ramp, at 4:30 PM, we will be trying out some of those things.
The big deadfall between GA 133 and I-75 was underwater,
but there were plenty more to work on.
Phil Royce drove an hour from Live Oak, Florida,
and Gary Koch drove two hours from Ocala, Florida,
saying it was better to stop trash upstream.
In addition to regulars Russell Allen McBride and Bobby McKenzie,
Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson came to see us off; he’s second from left in the banner picture.
More on that in a later post.
These pictures are by Phil Royce.
Phil had to leave early, so his portage pictures are before we came along and sawed a river passage.