Sweep-the-Hooch 2017! Please Give Back by registering for a Riverbank Walking or Paddling Cleanup of your Choice!

IN A NUTSHELL:  We're proud of our fine Club for providing hundreds of volunteers over the years for this huge "give-back-to-the-Chattahoochee" project, and always have had lots of fun pitching in!  Our "partner organization" friends who manage it each April are the National Park Service (CRNRA), the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK),and Trout Unlimited.  We thank them for again inviting the AOC to join them for their 7th annual "Sweep the Hooch" on Saturday April 8th.  They're recruiting volunteers to spend a few hours helping them clean up the river corridor while walking its banks or paddling. Each participant is asked register for a particular river section between Lake Lanier and Chattahoochee Bend State Park near Newnan, GA - see details in next paragraph. Volunteers will be awarded a commemorative "Sweep the Hooch 2017" T-Shirt - also Water and Snacks are provided at each venue, and Parking Fees are Waived for everyone.

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION DETAILS!  AOC members who wish to participate in this worthy cause should CLICK HERE ASAP to reach the www.SweepTheHooch.org website.  Then click "Register Here" and formally register as a volunteer for the river-cleanup section of your choice.  WALKING VOLUNTEERS are needed for most sections so No Problem If you CANNOT bring your own boat and participate as a Paddling Volunteer! There' are a specific limited number of volunteer spots available for each section, and some fill up quickly, so register soon if you'd like your first choice.
  Please sign up ALSO at the base of this article to put yourself on our informal AOC "participation roster," esp. if you'd like to receive AOC "credit" for pitching in.  Please indicate in your "Notes" the specific Sweep the Hooch option you succeeded in formally registering for.

COMPLETE DETAILS & DIRECTIONS for your chosen section WILL BE EMAILED to you by "Chattahoochee.org" if you succeed in formally registering as emphasized above.  They'll specify the meetup time, driving directions, gear and supplies that they'll provide and suggested items for you to wear and bring, etc.  In the past they've usually given each of us volunteers free parking, a commemorative T-shirt, some snack items & refreshments, etc.   By the way, Sweep the Hooch is considered to be a "Rain-or-Shine" Event, and our hosts/organizers of SweepTheHooch.org intend to go ahead with it unless some severely life-threatening weather situation, etc. forces its cancellation.

EXAMPLES of local ATLANTA SECTIONS recommended for AOC PADDLERS:
1. AZALEA PARK Flatwater Section: Trip Leader Bobby Marie as usual is recruiting an AOC "Water Wing" team of Paddling Volunteers to register for cleaning up the "Azalea Park" flatwater section of the Hooch just south of Roswell.  For more info about that option click this link and follow the the instructions in Bobby's special AOC webpage: http://www.atlantaoutdoorclub.com/events/details.asp?eventid=13502
  Azalea Park is the ~4-mile-long flatwater section just upstream of Morgan Falls Dam - a.k.a "Bull Sluice Lake.".  A plus here is that NO BOAT SHUTTLE is required.   From the convenient launch area and parking lot in the Park on Azalea Drive, our cleanup volunteers paddle out and back to that same launch site.  Twenty Azalea Park paddling spots remained available as of Fri Feb 24th.
2. POWERS ISLAND Class I Whitewater Section:  If you're an experienced AOC whitewater paddler and can bring your own kayak or canoe you might enjoy the 2-mile Chattahoochee River corridor in NW Atlanta between I-285 through the "Palisades" to Northside Pkwy. This section can be selected via the above-linked Registration website by clicking "Powers Island to Paces Mill."  Several of us AOC paddlers have pitched in there for the past few years - see Directions below.  It has only "Class I" and smaller rapids, but a few of these can exceed Class I at high water levels,  On Feb 22nd when I (Charlie) personally registered for this section there were 11 Powers Island spots remaining.  They'll likely all soon be filled, so if you prefer this section, register ASAP!

DIRECTIONS for AOC VOLUNTEERS who FORMALLY REGISTER for the "POWERS ISLAND" PADDLING OPTION:
AOC volunteers for this option will meet our Sweep the Hooch hosts in the CRNRA Powers Island Parking Lot. It's in northwest metro Atlanta just upstream of the I-285 bridge over the river and directly across the river from the "Cochran Shoals" parking area that is so popular among joggers & dog walkers.  For a zoomable map or satellite view of this usual Powers Island meetup spot click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.
GPS and GOOGLE.com/Maps USERS:  Feel free to augment the written directions below by entering the following Lat/Lon coordinates of the parking lot as your destination address: 33.90372,-84.44202

IF DRIVING EASTWARD ON I-285 FROM THE I-75 INTERCHANGE in NW ATLANTA:
1. Get off I-285 at Exit #22, “Northside Drive, New Northside Drive, Powers Ferry Road.”
2. Continue straight ahead for about 0.2 mile to the light at New Northside Drive.
3. Turn Left onto New Northside Drive and go about 0.5 mile to the second traffic light (crossing the I-285 bridge and then curving leftward).
4. Continue straight ahead another 0.7 mile on Interstate North Parkway.
5. Turn Right into the CRNRA "Powers Island" parking lot just BEFORE you cross the river.

IF DRIVING WESTWARD ON I-285 FROM SANDY SPRINGS, SPAGHETTI JCN, etc:
1. Get off I-285 at Exit #22 “New Northside Drive/ Powers Ferry Rd.”
2. Turn Right onto New Northside Drive and go about 0.2 mile to the next light.
3. Now continue straight ahead FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS # 4 and #5 above to the parking lot.

No Charge – Free event, with only the usual $3 CRNRA self-serve Parking Fee (good at multiple CRNRA lots in case you pay in one lot but park also in another on the same day).