Update 2023-04-19: Videos: US 84 to Mayday, Alapaha River 2016-05-07
Waterfalls on the Alapaha River?
![[Movie: Waterfall (786K), 30.87078, -83.02267]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2016-05-07--us84-to-mayday-alapaha-river/KVID4839.jpg)
Movie: Waterfall (786K), 30.8707800, -83.0226700
Two weeks after the WWALS outing from US 84 to Mayday, some of us who didn’t make that one paddled the same stretch. The earlier crew had smooth sailing. We had rapids and waterfalls, because the Alapaha River was feet lower on the Statenville USGS Gauge. Continue reading
Karen and Tom Johnson travelled many a time three or four hours from Pine Mountain, Georgia, to paddle with WWALS on our outings. Some of us are planning to go to Pine Mountain this Saturday:
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!
Memorial Service/Funeral for Karen Toms Johnson:11:00 A.M., Saturday, September 22, 2018.
1st UMC Pine Mountain, Georgia.
Rev. Liza Marler, officiating pastor.
Luncheon to follow with Karen Storytelling emcee’d by T3.
Memorial Service attendees are STRONGLY encouraged to attend the luncheon.
When: Tuesday-Friday 18-21 September 2018
Where: Post your pictures online here.
Here is the obituary Tom wrote for Karen.
We would like to take with us a collage of pictures of Karen and Tom on WWALS outings (or elsewhere). Please post your pictures here (on this blog post, facebook event, etc.) or email them to wwalswatershed@gmail.com.
Here are some examples:
Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of
Tom and Karen Johnson, winners, farthest, BIG Little River Paddle Race
29 April 2017.
Update 2023-12-28: Revised version..
Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west. You do know the Ockolocoochee River as the Little River, of the Withlacoochee, of the Suwannee. Here is news from 1889 that also includes the boat that didn’t survive from Troupville to Ellaville, which was apparently not a paddlewheel steamer.
Irwin County, 1885a, GeorgiaInfo, Rand McNally Map of Georgia, 1885
Atlanta Constitution, January 29, 1889, Pg 12., quoted in Ray City History Blog, 18 October 2010, More About Troupville, GA and the Withlacoochee River,
THE WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER.
VALDOSTA, Ga., January 19. -[Special.]- Away up near the northern limit of the great wiregrass section there is a big cypress swamp. They call them bays there. From this bay emerges Continue reading
Update 2020-10-01: Signed and executed copy.
Thanks, City of Adel, for passing this resolution last Tuesday! The next BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park will be April 28, 2018, pending final approval by GA DNR. Meanwhile, come paddle with WWALS from Hagan Bridge (GA 122) to Franklinville on the Withlacoochee River, February 11, 2018.
![[Under the cypress]](/pictures/2017-04-29--blrpr-hubbard/PWHX8661.jpg)
Photo: Phil Hubbard, Under Reed Bingham State Park cypress at the 2017 BIG Little River Paddle Race.
Update 2025-10-13: replaced by a post in better image format.
Tires and trash cleaned up at Nankin Boat Ramp, swimming and diver tales at McIntyre Spring, a creek, karst, shoals, and rapids, into Florida and back to Georgia all downstream, Valdosta Railway Trestle, Madison County Four Freedoms Trail, and exotic invasive Japanese Climbing Fern, all on a fall day on the Withlacoochee River with WWALS Watershed Coalition, Suwannee Riverkeeper. Thanks to all who came to paddle from as far as two hours from Gainesville, Florida and four hours from Pine Mountain, Georgia.
The Quitman (US 84) Gauge was at about 2.6′ (86′ NAVD88).
Here are some pictures.
This post is just the first part; more pictures will follow are posted with
diving
and
landowners
at Arnold Springs,
Old Clyattville Road Bridge
Horn Bridge,
and
Mozell Spells (State Line Ramp).
and a
Google Map,
and a few videos are still to come.
These are some of our many favorite spots on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.
Watch wwals.net for more outings are they are announced, or the WWALS outings and events web page. We have outings at least once a month.
Update 2024-02-29: Now with better picture format.
We found McIntyre Spring, and Arnold Springs, too, on the WWALS Withlacoochee River Outing from Nankin Boat Ramp to Madison Highway Boat Ramp, July 9th 2016. Swimming, snorkeling, karst, shoals, an abandoned railroad trestle, more shoals, State Line Shoals, old road bridge posts, dragonflies, and Halberdleaf rosemallow (Hibiscus laevis All.), unfortunately plus Chamber bitter.
![[McIntyre Spring and State Line Shoals 2016-07-09]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2016-07-09--nankin-ga-fl-line/igmany.jpg)
McIntyre Spring and State Line Shoals 2016-07-09
Update 2017-05-13: On 2016-07-09, the US 84 Quitman gage showed about 1.75 feet (85.26 NAVD), and the Pinetta gage showed about 6.57 (53.08 NAVD). That’s a foot lower than June 22, 2013, when we thought that was already as low as you’d want to paddle.
Here are a few videos, some pictures, and a google map showing where the pictures were taken.
-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/
Here is a
playlist of WWALS videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-Qyed6eWPp4xcYNjZI-NMW-j
Continue reading
Update 2022-07-20: better picture labels and access.
A fine day, balmy, breezy, sunny, with springs and rapids and fine company,
from Sullivan Launch to Madison Blue Spring on the Withlacoochee River,
in the October WWALS Outing, October 24, 2015.
This is part of the
Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail,
and you can join the committee!
Below are some pictures. Click on any small picture to see a larger version. Pictured: many shoals and rapids. The Pinetta gage (pictured) read 6.4 feet. Any lower and more dragging boats would have been necessary. Lots of cypress, oaks, pines, and other native species.
Not pictured: a large turtle, numerous birds (heron, ibis, hawk, buzzard, others),
and fish (mullet, bass).
No gators.
Very few invasive species, except the notorious Japanese climbing fern.
Coming up next: Continue reading
WCTV’s Winnie Wright interviewed VSU’s Don Thieme,
and VSU’s Can Denizman navigated her to the
the Cherry Creek sinkhole site for part of her report about
the Withlacoochee River in Georgia Water Coalition Dirty Dozen 2014
Item 9 as threatened by the Sabal Trail pipeline.
Sabal Trail’s Andrea Grover is “disappointed” in being on the Dirty Dozen;
does she also find it “hard to believe” like Sabal Trail’s well-documented
eminent domain threats?
Winnie Wright, WCTV, 26 November 2014, Sabal Trail Pipeline Environmental Concerns Cited In Annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ Report, Continue reading
Last Friday a resolution to FERC saying the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
should avoid sensitive karst limeston regions affecting water resources
passed the Hamilton County, Florida Commission.
Joyce Marie Taylor has added the following to her article in the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline,
A special meeting was called on Friday, Aug. 22, and the board voted to pass Resolution 14-10 that expressed their concerns about the proposed pipeline route across the Withlacoochee River that forms the western boundary of Hamilton County.
A portion of the resolution states, Continue reading
Chris Mericle, local host for the
September WWALS Outing,
spoke to the Hamilton County Commission last Tuesday
about the same section of the Withlacoochee River,
where the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline is proposed to cross.
You can come float past it yourself
Sunday 21 September,
and see many local springs, sinkholes and shoals
that need to be protected from that pipeline,
continuing on to where the pipeline would cross the Suwannee River.
Joyce Marie Taylor wrote for the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline, Continue reading