Canoe Camping Adventure

I've been having a some wild times canoe camping on remote, out of the way rivers in Georgia. A couple years ago I canoed the Ogeechee from Ga 102 near Mitchell down to US 1 at Louisville. They call that stretch "the impassable Chaulker Swamp". Great trip, very remote. This past Feb. I canoed the Ohoopee River from Dude Sumner Road near Wrightsville to the mighty Altamaha. I made an amateurish youtube video of the trip, "Ohoopee Story". Now I'm looking for another adventure, something remote, challenging, out of the ordinary, if anyone has any ideas or interest....

Wow, I'm impressed. Most people don't even put in the Ogeechee for a river trip above US 1. I read a book once about these folks from Louisville that would go down the river in jon boats every winter. They even took a chainsaw. They put in at Louisville.
You must have went over or around a lot of logs. Now in a jon boat having a flat bottom sometimes has an advantage going over logs. Both people can get in the back and then get it over the log and both people can walk forward.

Kinda skimmed through your Ohoopee Story video. Nice job. You did go during high water. That may have helped with the deadfall. It is hard to figure out the main channel. We did this on the Edisto once. It's like "which way to go" and you only have a few seconds to decide. We even wondered if we would find a bank high enough to camp on.

I think I'd have to put in at hwy 1 on the Ohoopee. I've never canoed on that one. We did float down the Altamaha once. The park in your video was flooded. We went up the Ohoopee just a bit. It was weird coming down the brown Altamaha and seeing the black Ohoopee flowing into it.
Four days is my longest trip.

Did you do the Ohoopee by yourself or did your brother go with you? I've crossed it at 297 and it looks pretty narrow.

The water did look a little low to go through the hwy 56 dam with camping gear.

Your next adventure? My favorite is the Alapaha. It's pretty remote although you'll see people fishing. We always put in on hwy 82. I think you can go all the way to the Suwanee in the winter time. In the summer at low water it goes underground at various points below Statenville and comes back out at the banks of the Suwanee River at the Alapaha Rise.
I've only been in the summer time with Memorial day being the earliest. Later than that and you'll be dragging your canoe half the trip. Unless it rains a lot.

Found this map;
http://wwals.com/78ac3ddc958b7d153ea5e18e0d11592d-jpg-2/

I'll see what else I can think of.

When you got near the Altamaha, was the Ohoopee flowing? It looks dead. I was wondering if the Altamaha was so full that it was impeding the flow of the Ohoopee.
We took out below the Tattnall Landing. We spent the night on the sandbar directly across from Carter's Bight and took out there the next day.

Not a particularly long trip, but a challenging one is the Apalachee from High Shoals to Lake Oconee

You could do the Ochlocknee river from Thomasville to Lake Talquin,that would be a real adventure

Artfuldodger, thanks for your thoughtful reply. I appreciate the interest.

During the Ogeechee trip, I had 107 obstacles in a 50 mi. stretch that I had to get out of the canoe and negotiate. Most of those were log pull-overs. Both trips I carefully scouted bridges, Google Earth scouting and measuring, and watched the USGS hydrograph water levels carefully. The Ogeechee was above 10ft at the hwy 88 station. The Ohoopee was at 11' at hwy 297 station and I would say that was barely enough. Any trip down uncharted waters with lots of obstacles, water level is criticle. Getting stranded in a truely impassable swamp is possible, I didn't want to have to drag my loaded canoe across a swamp bottom and get rescued! During the Ohoopee trip, the obstacle count went much higher, probably 250, in only a 30 mi. stretch. I could have benefited from a few more inches of water. I did both trips by my self. Can't find anyone with the good sense to try this type of trip. My brother got stuck in the Okeefenokee once during low water, had to drag his canoe through a mile or so of peat bog. He says he just can't face unknown volumes of obstacles with a good attitude after that ordeal. As you learned in your Edisto trip, attitude and encouragement is important when you are constantly making criticle decisions about where to go, how to get through.

I read the same book about the Ogeechee trippers taking chainsaws. I regularly hunt Savannah NWR for hogs in a jon boat, pulling over logs, chainsaw on board. Must have two people in a jon boat to pull over logs. I almost got stuck in there by my self when a falling tide exposed a log, I just barely got over it in my 14'er. Those trips helped give me confidence I could overcome any obstacle.

The Ohoopee slowed to nearly still water long before I got to the Altamaha oxbow. There was a lot of variation in current throughout the trip. In the swamp, often barely wide enough for your canoe, with turns too sharp for my 16' Grumman without a lot of hard paddling. And, as I mentioned in the video, cypress knee hells were the most feared obstacle; they could be impenetrable.

I've looked at the Alapaha, I would go one bridge above 82. I'm interested, but it seems a bit well travelled to get me excited about it. My interest focuses on remote rivers not well travelled or not travelled at all.

JackSprsat, I have not looked at the Apalachee. I will do that and report my finding, thanks for the input.

fish hawk, I will also look at the Ochlocknee, good idea.

Satilla River from US 441 below Douglas to US 84/GA 38 east of Waycross. I've canoed a small portion at hwy 158 near Waresboro.

I've never heard of anyone canoeing from US 441 to hwy 158. If the water was high I might would try from hwy 158 to US 23.

It's in Brown's guide. I think if he found one person who canoed a river he put it in his guide.

https://brownsguides.com/satilla-river-kayaking/

This requires going out of state but either the Tyger or Enoree River in South Carolina is s nice remote float. Mostly thru the Sumter National Forest. You could tie into the Broad river and catch some Smallmouth or go in April after turkeys. We used to spend a couple days each year with great success for both.

Not in Georgia but you may want to check out the Four Holes Swamp in South Carolina. Not really a swamp but a river.

Thanks for the replies everyone. South Carolina has some great rivers to explore, as does Alabama. I would love to do some of them. My biggest problem is arranging a shuttle. My brother and my hunting buddy don't love me enough to come get me out of state....

Has anyone done the Canoochee? Don Otey "Canoeing Ga.." says its runable from Ga 169 all the way to the coast, through Fort Stewart. I would love to start above Ga 169, at Kennedy Bridge or maybe Ga 129.