The trip date was set for mid-May of 2018. We borrowed and bought gear to fit in our rented canoe, fighting the urge to pack more than was necessary. At a small hotel in Hazlehurst we met our good friends and trip companions the night before hitting the water. The musty smell of our cheap hotel room couldn’t dampen our excitement to get on the water!

Contrasting the drizzly night, the early morning sky was clear on our first trip day. The morning was spent getting cars in place for our river take-outs and meeting Riverman Scott Taylor of Three River Outdoors to pick up our rented canoe. We packed into a truck with our gear and were dropped off at Bell’s Ferry Landing on the Oconee River (River Mile 139) by 10am. We were quickly on our way, full of energy and slathered in sun block.

It was a good thing that we were so energized on that first day, too—it ended up being our longest paddling day as a group. We traveled 21 miles downriver, lunching at the confluence of the Ocmulgee and Oconee that creates the Altamaha and taking quite a few lazy swimming breaks throughout the afternoon. The sun was setting as we reached our destination, Deen’s Landing. The hot and clear day had led into a windy and rainy night, so we ended up pulling our tents under the pavilion located next to the boat ramp for shelter. Only our first night camping after a long day and our buddies noticed something very important was missing from their canoe: their tent poles had been forgotten. With extra rope, we were able to jury rig the tent to stand up between a group of picnic tables. We fell asleep as the rain fell softly.