In short: This was supposed to be a peaceful three-day paddle down the legendary Suwannee, just me, my new pup River Dog, and the wild beauty of South Georgia. The Blackwater had other plans. What started as an adventure turned quick into a fight with the elements and with the river's oldest residents. I lost a camera in a tree, dodged storms, watched the water rise, and passed on camp after camp until I found ground I trusted.
We loaded up and put in at Fargo around 1:15 with clouds that did not look good. The river was higher than I anticipated, which just meant it was moving good. I was floating along without even paddling. My buddy Rocky who came to grab my truck said he came through some bad storms just south, so I knew what might be coming. Sure enough the rain came back, and going through a tree in that current I lost my camera before I could get back to it. One down. That is how the river reminds you it is in charge.
I saw a lot of pretty spots where I could have camped, little islands and sandbars, and I wanted to stay on one. But I kept thinking about the trip with Tina where the water rose on us after the rain. This river is different, but it probably rises the same way, and it was already up. I read the level off the water marks on the tree trunks, that white line showing where it last came up. With the river running fast and rising, I passed on the islands. Last thing I wanted was to wake up and not have an island under me. If the water were a lot lower I would have done it. Not this time.
The Suwannee was flat full of gators. One came off the bank at maybe eight foot, then another around four or five, then two more swimming toward the bank, one going under right in front of me. This river is loaded with them everywhere, so I kept River Dog on a short leash and out of the water. They come off the banks as you pass, but they want nothing to do with the boat. You stay calm, keep your line, and give them room. Toward evening I finally found a spot I trusted, up off the water with road access out to 441 in case I needed to walk out, and got camp set before dark. When the river is high and full of gators, the whole game is reading the water, passing on the wrong camps, and keeping an exit in your back pocket.
Reading river level, storm calls, camp selection under rising water, and staying safe solo. It is all in the All-Weather Expedition guide.
Read the All-Weather Expedition guideA rising river can take the island out from under you overnight. With the water already higher than expected, I passed on the little islands and looked for higher ground with an exit route.
You look for the marks the river already left behind. On the tree trunks along the bank there is a white line where the water last came up, and that tells you how high this river can get in a hurry. From there you watch how fast the current is moving right now and how much the level has climbed since you started. On my solo Suwannee trip I read the level off those water marks on the trunks, and with the current moving fast and the river still rising through the day, that told me everything I needed to know. Fast and rising means you look for higher ground and a way out, not a low sandbar or a pretty little island that looks tempting. Reading it right before you commit to a camp matters more than how good the spot looks, because the river will not warn you twice before it comes up.
The Suwannee on this trip was flat full of gators, one came off the bank at maybe eight foot, another around four or five, and two more were swimming toward the bank with one going right under in front of me. None of that changes what you do, though. Keep your dog on a short leash and out of the water. Do not turn the canoe over, since staying in the boat is most of the safety right there. Pick camp on solid ground up off the bank instead of right at the water's edge. Gators come off the banks as you pass by, that is just them moving out of your way, and they want nothing to do with the boat itself. Stay calm, keep paddling your line, and give them room to go where they are going. That is the entire plan for gator water, nothing fancy, just respect and distance.
On this trip I lost a camera going through a tree in the current and could not get back to it in time, it was gone. That is how the river reminds you it is in charge no matter how careful you are. The best defense is keeping everything you can leashed or tied into the boat before you get into water that might shake a bag loose, and covering your load before you hit anything rough, a tree, fast current, whatever it is. Even with all that, you have to accept going in that some things are going to get away from you on a trip like this, and no amount of planning removes that risk completely. When it happens, you do not chase it into danger. The priority the entire time is keeping yourself and the canoe right side up, because a lost camera is a bad day, but going in after it in fast water through timber could turn into something a lot worse.
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