Excerpts from Phillip Jordan’s River Trip. (Part 2)
Jasperite Phillip Jordan is a wildlife photographer whose photographs have been used in numerous books, magazines, maps, brochures and displays. The last few years he has concentrated on documenting life along the Altamaha River System, comprised primarily of the Ocmulgee, Oconee, Ohoopee and Altamaha rivers.
The following are excerpts from his 2016 river trip journal. This is part 2 of the series.
Wednesday, October 19
Day 6
Today is my last full day of going with the flow on the Ocmulgee.
7:40 p.m. Am camped several miles below the Little Ocmulgee River. It is almost dry. Can usually see its beautiful black water mixing with the turbid brown water of the Ocmulgee but not today.
Should be able to get to the Oconee before lunch tomorrow. Am starting to worry about the low water going up. Have not enjoyed the heat (high 80`s) so far but at least I have been going with the flow.
The day started off slow wildlife wise until several miles above Lumber City. I got good photos of turkeys and then deer standing in perfect lighting. Below Lumber City got cormorant, great blue, great egret and coyote. Got the coyote as I was about to make a turn. I turned to look up an old slough where I had gotten some raccoon photos in the past. It was just standing there watching me. Got a few shots before I had to paddle around some snags. As I glanced back it was gone.
No gators today. Low water an issue on the big water sections. Had to get through one cut that was very swift and long.
Just heard several Barred Owls and it is almost eight. I had better get to sleep so my old body can recoup from eight hours of paddling.
Thursday, October 20
Day 7
7:30 a.m. Quiet night. Barred owls in distance, no coyotes.
Well it is time to see if the Oconee is going to let me up.
6:55 p.m. The workout ended at 5:15. I have made it up the Oconee to the exact spot I marked for tonight on the river maps Miriam and I have and have marked where I think I will be each night. At the end of each day’s paddle I check the GPS and call her with my actual location. If I don`t show up she knows where to tell the authorities to start looking.
Got to the forks at 11 a.m. It was just as I had expected. The mouth of the Oconee was full of sand and shallow. It was hard mentally to pass by the Altamaha with its current going to the Atlantic. It was also hard physically. The unusual currents formed when the Ocmulgee collides with the Oconee tried to force me down the Altamaha.
The only channel up the Oconee was along the east bank. The surface did not look bad but the undercurrents tried to keep me out. Had to paddle as hard as I could to break through.
The first mile or two was strenuous. Had to get out several times and pull the canoe through shallow sections too swift to paddle. After that it just got hard. I think it is doable if I can hold out. It would help if the temperature would drop 10 degrees. It is in the upper 80s. Have to dump water on my head with the bailer to prevent heat exhaustion. It also helped cool me when I had to get out and pull.
About three miles up the river I met two men. One was pulling four 55 gallon plastic drums strapped together and a small kayak. The other was in a small aluminum boat. They told me they were swamp loggers looking for old cypress logs that had been underwater for many years. According to them some were over 1,000 years old when they were cut. They said they had retrieved lots of logs but were having a hard time finding buyers.
When asked what the barrels were for they said they used them to float the logs to the nearest landing.
One of the men had a huge round scar in his right abdominal area. It was about six inches across and one inch deep. I told him it looked like he had been impaled by a log. He said, “no it was a 410 and it got part of my hand too.” He held up his hand and showed me where a chunk was missing.
At 3 o`clock I met a solo canoeist headed downstream. He said he had put in at the Hwy. 280 bridge and was headed for the Hwy. 221 bridge on the Altamaha. A two day trip and with it he would have done all of the Oconee from Milledgeville in stages. Said his family all thought he was crazy but he had always wanted to do it and now he almost had. Told him we both might be crazy but at least we are having fun and doing what we want to do.
This going against the current is also going to be a lot of work.
The forecast calls for cooling tomorrow with lows in the forties and highs in the seventies. I sure hope so. Ate one of my fried cherry pies in celebration of being this far up the Oconee. I have four more left. Got them for the extra energy (500 calories each) I will need going upstream and they sure taste good!
Have heard the barred owls so I better get to sleep. My back sure is tight. Hope 10 hours sleep will cure it.
Saw no gators today. Saw the regulars plus a bald eagle on the Oconee as well as yellowlegs that I got good pictures of. Also saw spotted sandpipers for the first time this trip.
Friday, October 21
Day 8
Quiet night. First full day of going against the flow. Hope to get above Hwy. 280 today.
12 noon Well, I am wind bound. The first time since Miriam, Anna, Wiley and I were wind bound for two days on Lobster Lake, Maine in 1988. Paddled for three hours until the wind got so strong I was making no progress going against it and the current.
Have put up the tent to let it dry. It is soaking wet every morning when taken down because of the high humidity along the river. The wind is doing a job on it. Have it anchored with the sand stakes and boat paddle as extra reinforcement because the wind keeps knocking it flat. Have the canoe and food box holding down the sand stakes. Gear still in canoe so it won’t blow away. It should hold up tonight.
Have used the time to wash and dry all of my clothes, even my kayak boots. It will be nice in the morning to put on dry socks, boots and pants for the first time in eight days. They will be wet again as soon as I launch the canoe but at least I get to eat breakfast in dry clothes.
Did not do anything to deserve it but just ate another fried cherry pie. It was good and will probably help me sleep on such a windy night.
As I sit here the setting sun is turning the river golden. It sure looks swift. Think it is an illusion because the wind is ruffling the surface. At least I hope so.
Have everything battened down for the night. To block the wind have the doors closed on the land side and half closed on the river side. This is the first they have been closed on the trip. Like them open so I can see all around and feel more like being part of the outdoors rather than cooped up. Hope the wind is gone by morning and leaves cooler temperatures. Don`t know if I can paddle to Milledgeville against the current in 90 degree weather. Will take that over the wind though.
Today before getting wind bound saw a flock of turkeys fly across. Also killdeers, great egret, great blue heron, spotted sandpipers, osprey and kingfisher. The kingfisher was fishing. Was impressed that it could even fly in this wind. The osprey dove three times with no luck.
Just heard a gun shot in the distance. A surprise since hunting is usually hard in wind like this.
Believe herons are roosting in the trees across the river. Hear a lot of squawking.
Saw no people today. The first time since the rainy days on last year’s Oconee/Altamaha trip.
Saturday, October 22
Day 9
7:20 a.m. Quiet night. The wind calmed down around one o’clock. The barred owls tuned up about then. They are welcoming the morning now. Heard a gun shot around two a.m.
Temperature in the forties but at least everything is dry. Boots, socks and pants will be wet again as soon as I launch the canoe. I will have to drag it out to water deep enough to float it. When I leave this bar would have been on it for 21 hours.
5 p.m. Stopped for the night at 4 p.m.. Usually paddle until 5:00 but this against the current and the wind had me beat earlier than usual. Made good progress although the wind blew all day. Not as bad as yesterday. Don’t understand, the river twists and turns but the wind always blows directly at me.
Am camped on a large sandbar about half way between Hwy. 280 and Hwy. 46. Am on the upper end. Always like to see the whole bar to make sure there are no roads to it or four wheeler tracks on it.
Nice day even with the wind. An otter popped its head up about 20 feet from me. It quickly went back under and came back up even closer. Also saw turkeys, kingfishers, great blue herons, snowy egret,wood ducks and osprey.
Down from where I am camped saw an adult eagle and a juvenile. The adult would chase away the juvenile whenever it landed. The wind was too hard for me to stop paddling and take a picture so I just enjoyed watching. Did get a picture of an anhinga. I noticed it as it flew up from the water and landed on a limb to dry.
Had to line the canoe up the rapid above the Hwy. 280 bridge. It was too deep to wade and to swift to paddle.
When I got to this end of the bar an osprey dove into the water near where I landed. Did not catch anything. Came back over several times. It has its eyes on something. Have bathed, shaved and located my camp on GPS. As expected I am almost a full day behind. No problem, I will get there when I get there. Have eight days of food left.
Time to start cooking supper. Looks like freeze dried rice and chicken is on the menu for tonight. Yum.
6 p.m. The barred owls have already started across the river. Love them. Great company.
Sunday, October 23
Day 10
Got cold last night. First put the bivy sack over the sleeping bag. Waked up again by cold around two a.m. Put on my down vest and gor-tex parka and pulled the hood up over my stocking cap. Then slept toasty the rest of the night. Not looking forward to putting on wet socks, boots and paddling clothes. A lot of wading yesterday and probably some today.
A barred owl called very close by in the middle of the night. It gave the Hooo call several times, then flew away giving the call as it stopped further and further down the river. Wonder if it uses the call to startle prey into moving. In this temperature that would be small mammals and birds.
Lots of coyotes last night.
Frost on the canoe. No wonder I got cold. Think I will have hot Tang instead of cold with my oatmeal.
5:15 p.m. 46 bridge is now 10 miles downstream. Stopped later than planned, every sandbar looked at had four wheeler tracks on it or a road leading to it. Like to camp on small sandbars that no one can get to by land.
After stopping heard talking up the river. Figured they were not boaters. Have seen none since the first day on the Oconee. The water is too low for power boats and almost too low for my canoe.
Just heard a truck upstream and now there is no talking. Must have been people spending Sunday at the river.
Saw eagles and osprey on the big stretch below Berryhill Bluff. Got a picture of a 6 or 8 point buck drinking water around 10 this morning. So peaceful. Hope he doesn’t get shot tonight. It is deer season and they seem to hunt at night here. That is the only time I hear shots.
Also got a picture of a large, at least four feet long, whitish fish swimming slowly upstream. Did not look like a sturgeon so it must be some type of carp to be that large. No telling how old it is.
Well it is time to fix supper. Believe I will have freeze dried beef stroganoff with noodles. Have already had a fruit cup for an appetizer.
The paddle tomorrow will not be as long as usual. Have to stop before I-16. The island I camped on last year is the next safe place to camp and is 10 miles above I-16, a little below the new bridge construction.
It was a nice day’s paddle with no wind, just a gentle breeze.
Have already heard the owls and coyotes so it is bedtime.
Monday, October 24
Day 11
Was awakened around 2 a.m. by a blowing sound like the one a deer gives when alarmed. It usually flees soon after giving the alarm. The blowing was done several times and then I heard the foot stomping they also do when alarmed. It would do it pause and do it again. It dawned on me that it was probably a buck in rut and was upset to find me on its sandbar. Concerned that it might attack its perceived rival I tried to spot it with the light to scare it away. The fog was so thick I could not see it. The snorting stopped and in a little while I heard it again down the bar a little.
4:15 p.m. Stopped for the night within sight of the I-16 bridge. Should make for an interesting night.
Today was an obstacle course of snags, low water and two small shoals. The shoals had two feet of water running over them. Was able to paddle up but it took some effort. Have four or five sets of shoals to get up tomorrow.
Saw lots of deer today and got a few pictures. Saw one large buck standing on the side of the river looking across. On the other side was a doe up on a high bank. Feel sure he crossed the river and climbed that bank after I got out of the way. Also saw a large flock of turkeys fly across and a red shouldered hawk with something in its talons.
The cross I first saw last year still stands on the riverbank a few miles below here. It is a memorial to an 18 year old fisherman that drowned doing what he loved. The river does not allow you to make mistakes. As I learned on last year’s trip it can even try to kill you when you are doing everything right.
The section of river tomorrow with its shoals will probably be the hardest of the trip. Must get my sleep. I got good pictures of. Also saw spotted sandpipers for the first time this trip. .
