The trips, hosted by the Georgia Canoe Association, are ideal for people who would like to try canoeing or kayaking for the first time, said William Gatling, one of the trip's organizers...
Three paddling trips on three Georgia rivers - no experience required.
That's the idea of the Georgia River Explorer series, with the first trip scheduled for March 29.
The trips, hosted by the Georgia Canoe Association, are ideal for people who would like to try canoeing or kayaking for the first time, said William Gatling, one of the trip's organizers. "The main purpose is to get people out on the water that want to go but don't really know how to go about starting, as a bit of an introduction to them."
There are three planned trips. They are the Ocmulgee River near Jackson on March 29, the Hudson near Athens on April 12 and the Etowah near Cumming on April 26.
Each river is designed to be a different kind of river experience.
The Alcovy, South, and Yellow Rivers merge in Lake Jackson to form the Ocmulgee. If you have ever seen the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”, you have seen the Ocmulgee in Juliette. It is a wide deep river with long winding curves.
The Hudson River is one of the tributaries to the Broad River near Athens. It is a more lively river with many rippling shoals to make the experience memorable, but still suitable for the whole family.
Throughout the trips, participants will have the help of leaders if they need it. We are encouraging people to paddle with the coordinator or leaders as long as they want to -- they're not going to leave you. But those who would rather spread out and experience a little solitude on the river may do so as well.
Last but not least is the Etowah as it leaves the mountains of Dalonega and winds its way to Lake Allatoona and farther on to Rome. The section we will be paddling through the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area.
While participants will need to bring their own boats, they can find out where to rent them from the Georgia River Explorer Website.
On the Website there are several outfitters listed that will provide various levels of service. Some will drop the boat off at the starting point and pick it up at the takeout; others will have a larger selection but you have to go and pick it up.
Two of the basic categories are canoes and kayak. Both canoes and kayaks have sub-categories of specialty types of boats that are designed for different types of rivers and paddlers. Longer boats tend to be faster, while short boats turn better. Wider boats are more stable, but narrow boats are faster.
One of the advantages of a trip like this is the chance to see and try out other people's boats -- they are almost always happy to oblige.
Besides the fun of paddling, Georgia River Explorer trips have a larger purpose, to raise money that will help maintain and secure more access to Georgia's rivers.
Many stretches of river in the state are inaccessible. Private property covers most river access. In other areas, public property does not help, because there is simply no physical access to the river.
Through fund raising activities like this trip, the Georgia Canoe Association hopes to be able to make more sections of river accessible to paddlers.
Registration for all three trips costs $100 and include free registration for one child per adult. If three paddling trips is just more fun than you are ready for, single trips are available for just $50.
Registration information is available at www.georgiariverexplorer.org or call 770-529-7103.