Sat, Apr 30 2016 - Kayak Paddle on Yahoola Creek and the Chestatee (View Original Event Details)
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We had a great group of 17 who joined us for our first spring paddle on the Yahoola Creek and Chestatee River Saturday morning. This was the club's first trip on Yahoola Creek, and it was quite the adventure! Several of our group took unexpected dips on the way down due to the narrow turns and many obstacles, but we all enjoyed the beauty and remote quiet of the trip. It was quite shallow already, and we frequently found ourselves scraping across rocks and sand, so if the water levels were to drop any further this section would not be an enjoyable paddle. We had a lot of fun with it, however, on Saturday.
After everyone successfully navigated Yahoola, we entered the Chestatee just below the outfitter's post and settled in for a more relaxed paddle, enjoying the beautiful weather as we went. The mountain laurel was starting the bloom, along with other willdflowers, and we saw lots of turtles, one red-banded water snake, a (very well camouflaged) nesting Canadian goose and various other birds. We also passed another group, this one in canoes, who were enjoying the river.
Halfway down the Chestatee we made our usual stop at Big Bend Beach, which was less of a beach due to mostly being underwater. Regardless, we enjoyed a nice break and had a snack and stretched our legs. Larry was even brave enough to lead the way in doing a float down the chute opposite, despite the chilly water!
After our stop we continued downriver, through the last couple of fun rapids. It started to cloud up a bit, but thankfully the rain held off for our entire trip. After drying off and cleaning up a few of us heading over to Dahlonega for a late lunch of Mexican food at Pueblo's before heading home. All in all, it was a really wonderful day on the river!
Many thanks to Karin for posting the pictures in the link above!
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