Went out to the Okefenokee Swamp with the canoe club last weekend. We did three days and two nights on the red trail from Kingfisher landing near Homing Georgia to Steven Foster State Park, Fargo GA, 32 miles +/-. It was hot till the cold front came through around 4 am Monday. Then it got cooler and comfortable. The first part of the trip day 1 was the longest at 12 miles but followed three hours of shuttle placement. A long day. Then too the first trail was the hardest since it went through swamp plains where it looks like grass or lilies but its the water you paddle through. Later it became narrow bush lined sidewalk sized channels. The second day was a mix of choked water and “big” water leading to nice trails in the big trees. The third day was lakes, big trees and winding streams of moving water. Nice changing scenery and conditions.
If you go visit the refuge web site, get reservations, and a good map. Day trips are advised for the less adventuresome. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/okefenokee/
the chickies are nice with composting toilets. I suggest the National Geographic, Okefenokee National Wild Life Refuge map. It has the mile markers and camp sites well marked on the map. Distances between mile markers and my GPS varied. But not much.
Skeeters……….yes lots.
Water level was going down. By August you won’t be able to get through some of the upper trail due to vegetation growth. Water level is important. Dragging the boat through muck is not fun. Will post a report later.
