Update 2022-06-29: Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Troupville 2022-06-25.
Third time’s the charm! Let’s start downstream and go up, to get some more of the deadfalls blocking the Withlacoochee River between Langdale Park Boat Ramp and Troupville Boat Ramp. We know there are logjams between the GA 133 Withlacoochee River Bridge and the Little River Confluence. Phil is scouting out which ones to try first. Gather at Troupville Boat Ramp.
Continue readingUpdate 2022-05-14: Mayor, Council, volunteers, helped WWALS clean up Sugar Creek and Withlacoochee River 2022-05-07.
We’re changing this Saturday’s paddle to an on-land cleanup below the Salty Snapper parking lot, walking down Sugar Creek to the Withlacoochee River and the railroad bridge.
Because it’s now completely a cleanup, this outing is free! Also, no boat required. Bring mud boots, sturdy clothes, gloves, and any trash pickers you may have. We will supply trash bags. And for the Mayor, a Sawzall.
This reroute is because Continue reading
2022-05-05: Reroute: Langdale Park becomes Withlacoochee River and Sugar Creek Cleanup 2022-05-07.
Leisurely paddle promoting ecotourism on the Withlacoochee River, from Langdale Park to Troupville Boat Ramp, stopping halfway for lunch at the Salty Snapper. Each participant will be responsible for purchasing their own lunch.
Water levels may change rapidly. We will keep you updated.
We will gather at Langdale Park at 9am and perform a team shuttle at 9:30 returning to Langdale and launching at 10:00 am. We will arrive at the Salty Snapper (3 miles) for lunch/beverages around 11:30 shortly after they open. Lunch should wrap up around 12:30 and paddle on down to Troupville Boat Ramp (4 miles) arriving and finishing up around 2:30pm.
Along the way, we will see where the Mayor of Valdosta proposes building a boardwalk along the last thousand feet of cypress knees on a strip of land Lowndes County owns from Gornto Road down to the river, just downstream from Sugar Creek, the railroad, and the YMCA.
If we’re lucky, Valdosta will have cleaned up its trash problem by then.
And we will bring saws in case we encounter more deadfalls (trees across the river) than usual. There may be a few brief portages over deadfalls, but don’t worry: everyone will help.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 3 PM, Saturday, May 7, 2022
Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602. I-75 Exit 22, east on North Valdosta Road, cross the Withlacoochee River, turn right on Hyta Mederer Drive, continue to the boat ramp.
GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395
Lunch: The Salty Snapper, 1405 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602.
Take Out: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602. I-75 exit 18, west on GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) away from the Valdosta Mall, at the traffic light for Val Tech Road, turn left down to the boat ramp.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. Mosquitoes can be bad at dusk so come prepared.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
![[Around the bend, 10:26:40, 30.8867740, -83.3239680]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-05-15--langdale-park-sugar-creek-salty-snapper/20210515_102640.jpg)
Around the bend, 10:26:40, 30.8867740, -83.3239680, 2021-05-15.
Plenty of water, and the water temperature is up to 58 degrees! The latest weather prediction is sunny with a high of 64 tomorrow.
Come on down tomorrow (Saturday) morning to Troupville Boat Ramp for the third annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle on the Withlacoochee River to Spook Bridge!
![[Troupville Boat Ramp, lunch stop, US 84 rapids, Spook Bridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-02-18--withlacoochee-river/many.jpg)
Troupville Boat Ramp, lunch stop, US 84 rapids, Spook Bridge
Take St. Augustine Road west past the Mall, cross I-75, and at the light for Val Tech Road turn left down to Troupville Boat Ramp.
Drop off your boat, sign in, and join the shuttle convoy to Spook Bridge.
The Hahira Gauge (Little River @ GA 122, Folsom Bridge) reads Continue reading
Update 2022-02-15: We’re go for this Saturday, February 19, 2022, for the Third Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. Saturday is going to be the coolest day of the week, but that’s low 39, high 64, much warmer than last month, and the water temperature at US 84 is currently 51F, much higher than the mid-40s last time. Dress warmly in layers and bring a dry change of clothes in a waterproof bag just in case. And come on down to Troupville Boat Ramp this Saturday!
Valdosta, Georgia, January 26, 2021 — An unusual cold snap is expected this Saturday, too cold for novice paddlers. So we’re rescheduling three weeks later, for Saturday, February 19, 2022. Everything else is the same; only the date has changed.
Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter summed it up, “Safety should be considered above all and hypothermia is a huge issue if someone was to go in the water!”
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman added, “Water temperature was already down to 47 degrees Monday at US 84 on the Withlacoochee River, and air temperatures for this Saturday are predicted to be low of 22 and high of 42. So hypothermia is indeed a risk, however seldom seen in south Georgia. Also not many people would turn out in such cold.”
Valdosta Mayor Scott James said, “So we’re all agreed: Saturday, February 19, 2022. Come as early as 8AM to get on the shuttle!”
![[Troupville Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, WWTP clean outfall, Spook Bridge, Takeout]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-01-29--chairman-mayors-paddle/many.jpg)
Troupville Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, WWTP clean outfall, Spook Bridge, Takeout
We hope there will still be plenty of water for this annual eleven-mile river paddle, past the future site of Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, along the west side of the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, past Valdosta’s clean outfall of its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, with many creeks, oaks, cypresses, pines, fish, turtles, and maybe an alligator, down to Spook Bridge, so scary it has its own movie.
Valdosta Mayor Scott James said, “I am excited to partner once again with WWALS, plus this time with Lowndes County, to show people our fabulous blackwater rivers, Continue reading
The Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle has been rescheduled to Saturday, February 19, 2022. Everything else is as Valdosta Mayor Scott James and I discussed on his radio show last Thursday. We’ll be talking about it again this Friday, January 28, 2022, at 8AM, Talk 92.1 FM.
Thanks to The Langdale Company for access to take out at Spook Bridge, and for a mid-point lunch spot. Thanks to Georgia Power for water quality testing grants to WWALS.
Gather 9AM for the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle, at the rescheduled Saturday, February 19, 2022.
![[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle (since rescheduled to February 19, 2022)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-01-20--videos-scott-james-radio/big/mayor-chairman-paddle.jpg)
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle (since rescheduled to February 19, 2022)
We hope everybody’s favorite on-water painter, Julie Bowland, will join us.
WWALS is talking to Valdosta State University Deans and Faculty about Education and research at Troupville River River Camp and River Park. The paddle will go right by there.
On the radio, Scott James and I discussed the trash problem, coming mostly from parking lots with fast food outlets, down Sugar Creek, into the Withlacoochee River.
Arrow the talking puppy helped.
Don’t forget to tell GA-EPD no mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
WWALS has a paddle on the last stretch of the Alapaha River, US 41 to Suwannee River, Saturday, February 5, 2022.
And a paddle from Langdale Park on the Withlacoochee River, to Sugar Creek, and on to Troupville Boat Ramp, May 7, 2022: the announcement will be up soon.
The Sugar Creek trash problem was described in the 2010 Valdosta Stormwater Master Plan, which said it should be fixed immediately. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Third Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River
Valdosta, Georgia, January 19, 2021 — Looks like there will be plenty of water for this annual eleven-mile river paddle, past the future site of Troupville River Camp and Nature Park, along the west side of the most populous city in the Suwannee River Basin, past Valdosta’s clean outfall of its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, with many creeks, oaks, cypresses, pines, fish, turtles, and maybe an alligator, down to Spook Bridge, so scary it has its own movie.
Valdosta Mayor Scott James said, “I am excited to partner once again with WWALS, plus this time with Lowndes County, to show people our fabulous blackwater rivers, only a few miles from City Hall and VSU. Valdosta is proud to hardly ever have a sewage spill anymore, and now we’re working on eliminating trash from the river. We remain committed to preventing any issues that may impact our Withlacoochee River. I invite everyone to come out and join us for a day of fellowship on the river!”
“Come on down to where I used to fish as a child, and with my children!” said Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter. “I’ve spoken at this paddle every year, and this year I hope you will paddle.”
“Welcome to this one of our many paddles,” said WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman. “We have at least one daytime river paddle a month, in Florida or Georgia, plus an evening Full Moon paddle at Banks Lake, near Lakeland, GA. We’ll be testing temperatures with an infrared thermometer as people arrive. If you’re ill in any way, please stay home.” Continue reading
Years in the making by VLPRA, received in response to a WWALS open records request, this new Parks & Rec. Master Plan adds to the traditional team sports strategy new strategies including “STRATEGY 6: IMPROVE ACCESS AND AMENITIES TO THE COUNTY’S RIVERS,” involving land acquisition and for not just one but for a chain of river camps.
They incorporated all of WWALS Vision for water quality and access in Lowndes County, Georgia 2021-03-01. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-26: Rescheduled: Third Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River 2022-02-19.
Join us for a leisurely paddle on the Withlacoochee River past the clean outfall of the Valdosta Withlacoochee Wastewater Plant, which has not spilled in years. See turtles, fish, birds, cypress, pines, oaks, palmetto, and maybe otters. Probably no alligators, although you could be lucky. You will see the signs where the notorious Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline leaked drilling fluid into the river.
Previously called the Mayor’s Paddle, this third annual is the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle, as in the Chairman of Lowndes County and the Mayor of Valdosta, who are working to purchase land you will see at the Little River Confluence for a future Troupville River Park and Troupville River Camp. The route also runs along Brooks County, and is upstream of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Florida: y’all come.
When: Gather 8 AM, launch 10 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, January 29, 2022
Put In: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602: on GA 133 off I-75 exit 18. Lowndes County. Go west across I-75 on St. Augustine Road (GA 133), turn left at the light for Val Tech Road.
GPS: 30.652536, -83.34586
Take Out: Spook Bridge. Park outside the gate at the corner of Old Quitman Highway and Martin Lane. Do not drive onto the private property; we will have shuttle golf carts and such for the last half mile up from the river. Thanks to The Langdale Company for access for the lunch spot and the takeout below Spook Bridge.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
You can pay the $10 at the outing, or online:
https://wwals.net/outings
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join
Troupville Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River, WWTP clean outfall, Spook Bridge, Takeout;
Photos: John S. Quarterman
on the previous Mayor’s Paddle 2021-03-27
Third scheduled time was the charm for the Second Annual Mayor’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River, Troupville Boat Ramp to Spook Bridge. In addition to the nice writeup in the Valdosta Daily Times, here are some pictures. Only two or three people capsized, nobody was mad, and everybody had a good time.
The 2022 version will be the Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle,
coming up Saturday, January 29, 2021 2022.
Stay tuned. Update 2021-10-28: Chairman and Mayor’s Paddle: Troupville to Spook Bridge, Withlacoochee River, 2022-01-29.
Thanks to The Langdale Company for access at the lunch spot and at Spook Bridge. Thanks to the Boys and Girls Club for shuttling. Thanks to Steve Miller for his ATV for shuttling people up from the river at Spook Bridge to the road. Thanks to Bobby McKenzie for leading the outing.
We found some landmarks, such as where the Valdosta, Moultrie, and Western (VMW) Railroad used to cross the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading
![[Movie: Electric chainsaw, 30.8630861, -83.3232384 (30M)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-06-05--chainsaw-withlacoochee-pictures/20220605_112557.jpg)
![[Trash and log jams]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-05-07--langdale-park-sugar-creek-reroute/many.jpg)
![[Collage]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-08-31--vlpra-master-plan-full/many.jpg)
![[Troupville Boat Ramp, WWTP Outfall, Spring Branch, Lunch banners, Spook Bridge Landing, VSU CORE, Ride]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2021-03-27--mayors-paddle-pictures/many.jpg)