by Georgia Ackerman
January 26, 2020–When we arrived at Hopkins Park in Chattahoochee to drop off kayaks today, the foam moving swiftly downstream reminded me of snow from a distance. It was cold enough for hats and gloves, but certainly not cold enough for a snow-covered Apalachicola River. In fact, the cold had understandably deterred a few people from joining the trip. Foam is naturally occurring from river tannins. Water rushing out Woodruff Dam from Lake Seminole churns it up. Here’s an article on foam in nature. 
Outings leaders Doug Alderson and Michael Mendez both commented on safety precautions that we’d take given the river’s velocity and the cold temperatures. We all agreed the 11-mile paddle would be faster than usual. The USGS flow gauge at Chattahoochee indicated around 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) when I checked it early this morning. This is a sharp contrast to 2019’s drier autumn months of “flash droughts” and low flows of 5,000-8,000 cfs.
Ken stayed with the dropped kayaks, Doug, Michael, Ryan and I shuttled the cars to the take-out at Ocheesee, where we picked up Mike, a paddler coming in from St. George Island. Rachel met us back at Hopkins and after introductions and a safety talk, we launched the kayaks from the bank and sailed smoothly downstream.
Bald eagles, double-crested cormorants, pileated woodpeckers and belted kingfishers were spotted during our excursion. We stopped at Aspalaga Landing about halfway through our trip for lunch. Mike shared the blueway map with the group, showing our route. Doug provided some history tidbits on the region. It was apparent that the river had been higher earlier in the week with watermarks on trees and pools of water in the floodplain. Winter brings wetter time to the Apalachicola region.
As we passed the Torreya State Park’s Gregory House high above the river, we knew we were closing in on Ocheesee Landing, where the river a quick bend. 
Thank you Explore Northwest Florida for being an Eco-Outings partner.
