High water, swift current, sunshine, rain and mild temperatures punctuated this year’s 95 mile trip from White Springs to Branford.

The group of six, Leigh Willard, Mike Prater, Rory Gleadhill, Curt Leitz (Curt traveled from Duluth, MN), Pam Gowdy and Ben Quaintance got underway at noon on Tuesday from the White Springs HWY41 ramp paddling 2 fishing kayaks, 2 solo canoes and one tandem canoe. The river was 10 feet above the level that we have paddled in the past. The sun was shinning and the current was fast. Our moving average pace was 4.5 mph. The landing platform at our first camp, Wood’s Ferry, was flooded up into the catwalk. We had to land and secure the boats single file on the catwalk. That evening at Woods Ferry we met Bob and Tom, retired high school teachers from Ohio.
They too were paddling to Branford. We met them at every camp along the whole trip.

Wednesday’s weather forecast called for rain, thunderstorms and wind. Our 18-mile paddle got underway at 7:45 and moved quickly down river. We stopped at the Suwannee Springs historical site and then pushed on to the Holton Creek river camp. By 11:00 the rain started and within an hour there was some thunder and lightning. Rory, Pam and I push ahead quickly and were off the water by 1:00. Leigh, Mike and Curt got in at about 1:30. Again the landing platform was flooded and the take out was a bit challenging.
Thursday we headed to the Suwannee River State Park campground under dark skies and light to moderate rain. The state park boat ramp was wide open and an easy landing. Rory and Curt found a picnic shelter for cooking and Mike and Leigh located the camp washer and dryer. The dryer was well used for wet clothes and rain gear. Tents went up in a light rain.

Friday we headed to Dowling Park under sunny skies. The shoals at Ellaville were totally flooded, just a few boils indicated their presence. We made a stop at Anderson Springs for a short walk around and then pushed on to the Dowling Park 7th Day Adventist retirement community for ice cream. The dock and catwalk at Dowling Park were in disrepair so we bushwhacked up the bluff. Pam headed to the thrift store and the rest of us to the community store. We found out that the Dowling Park river camp was closed, no bathroom water. The Community manager offered us an opportunity to camp at their group campground.

Curt and Rory found the local café and warm homemade potato chips. We paddled 100 yards down river to the community campground and were greeted by Brent and Viki Windsor from Clinton Maine. Brent and Viki paddled the Suwannee with our group in 2018. We all headed to the café and had a very enjoyable evening.

Saturday we headed to the Peacock Slough Canoe camp under sunny skies. We stopped at both Charles Springs and Lafayette Springs, but both were totally flooded out by the high water. The group had an easy landing at Peacock Slough. The high water allowed us to paddle up into the slough for a soft landing and a short walk to the platforms. The camp host at Peacock Slough had the area immaculate. There were even cut flowers in the women’s bathroom.

Sunday we headed to the Adams Tract Canoe camp via Grandma Susie’s Kitchen at Suwannee Rendezvous campground and Convict Springs. The spring was flooded so we were able to paddle to within 100 feet of Grandma Susie’s Kitchen. Bob and Tom (from Ohio) joined us for a lazy, filling lunch of burgers, fries and ice cream while watching a 4 foot 3 legged alligator float in the spring. We all arrived at Adams Tract Canoe camp by mid afternoon. The water was up and slightly over the first landing platform. The stairs to the river were totally flooded. This made the landing slightly less challenging than it has been in the past at Adam’s Tract.

Monday we headed to Branford under sunny skies for a noon take out. We stopped at Troy Springs and Little River Springs but they were totally flooded. We arrived at the Branford ramp at 11:30. We had the boat ramp to ourselves. The high water allowed us to paddle right up to the grassy areas along the upper ramp. We were able to unload everything and clean and dry our gear before the shuttle picked us up at 1:00.

This year’s Suwannee Trip was very different from past trips. The high water flooded out the limestone shoreline ledges and springs, but the current was swift and the paddling was easy.