Okefenokee Swamp , GA

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Okefenokee_Canoe_Map.gif



The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000 acre (1,770 km²), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida border in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. The Okefenokee is one of the largest swamps in all of North America.

The name comes from the Hitchiti okifanô:ki, meaning "bubbling water",[1] or alternatively "trembling earth" [2], a reference to its spongy bogs. The swamp was formed over the past 6,500 years by the accumulation of peat in a shallow basin on the edge of an ancient Atlantic coastal terrace, the geological relic of a Pleistocene estuary.

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-649


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sherpaguides.com/georgia/okefenokee_swamp/wildnotes/76COTTON.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/okefenokee_swamp/wildnotes/index.html&h=167&w=250&sz=10&hl=en&start=107&sig2=s_TLjwmow8UNQRRJnxN0mQ&um=1&usg=__R9bCz-afJ3978RKY2PwFH23HSa8=&tbnid=rT5QtU0ulkon7M:&tbnh=74&tbnw=111&ei=EDjsSI2iB5eOuQXJ5ez9Cg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dokefenokee%2Bprairie%26start%3D105%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN


http://www.fws.gov/okefenokee/Okefenokee%20at%20a%20Glance%20webpage.pdf

THE TRIP ......


Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 trip. This is Thanksgiving weekend. We would drive down Thanksgiving day and come back Monday Dec. 1st. This will have to be flexible till we get a permit. Trying to get a permit for three nights of platform camping in the swamp, on a loop to and from the same place.
We are limited to eight people to stay on the platforms. Having read some trip reports from other groups that had ten or more people and had trouble getting all the tents up.

Hey Everyone,
Have been talking with the people at the swamp a lot the past week about trails and how hard they are. The water is up so the trails are easy to paddle. With that they have a trail open when we want it. Two nights in the swamp on platforms.
I have 10 days to get the info to them,
Number of people. Number of boats. Number of cars. Money!
With that I need to know what boats you are taking.
and I need $40 from each of you.
Craig Smith

What we have so far;
Boats;
Canoe- Camille, Leslie
Canoe- Eva, Thomas
Canoe- Sophie, Craig
Kayak- Sara
Kayak- Robin
Breakfast;
Sophie
Camille
Leslie
Dinner;
Eva
Sara
Craig
Robin


Speed Queen
Sounds good to me. That is exactly what I will get. I kinda like Eva's suggestion that Thomas will swim to Burger King...LOL Hey Eva and Thomas, I have heard alot of good things about you two. I think I met you 'kinda' once waaaay back in the spring. Sara, I have heard about you too...all good of course. I can't wait to have fun with you all in the swamp. Yippie-I-O

Sara

Ok, for breakfast one morning, I was going to do pancakes with syrup or I can do english muffins with cheese and ham, which would everyone perfer. On a side note, I was thinking about the tents on the platform. Because there is no way to stake, I have come up way to secure a tent. There are weights for coastal fishing that are small, but are heavy enough to hold the rain fly of my REI tent in place, on my concrete patio. I just thought I would share this info.


Craig
Assistant Organizer
Sara, I thought you were going to catch fish for dinner one night. You only need to do one meal.

Camille Marie

Swiss Army Kayaker
Useful information to have in the swamp :)) According to this WildFlorida EcoTravel Guide, the muscles that open an alligator's jaws are so weak they can be held closed with a thick rubber band. (Look near the end of the 4th paragraph.) http://www.wildflorida.com/...Just make sure you always have that rubber band handy ;)))

Posted Nov 10, 2008 10:19 PM
sophie
Speed Queen
Snakes, I was reading that you need some kind of thing to grab them with should they drop into your canoe. They also stated you should practice grabbing a piece of rubber hose and throwing it out of your boat. Craig...have you been practicing? OMG I don't want to flip that canoe over and get eaten by a gator or worse yet, have you get eaten by a gator. LOL

Posted Nov 11, 2008 7:26 AM
Craig
Assistant Organizer
SNAKES!!! their are no snakes in a swamp, they get eaten by the gators

Posted Nov 11, 2008 10:04 PM
Robin
Assistant Organizer
This link ibelow is a nice guide to all the fauna/flora we'll be seeing. And thank you Craig for the assurance that the gators eat all the snakes-I feel soooo much better! http://www.sherpaguides.com.../

Posted Nov 13, 2008 9:35 PM
Robin
Assistant Organizer
Okay, Since we'll be spending a few days together I may as well get personal from the get go. I'm feeling a bit anxious about the bathroom aspect of this trip. I've conferred with Dawn and peeing in a kayak is a pretty tricky feat to do successfully. I've emailed Sara as she's the other kayaker, but haven't heard back. Does anyone have another email address for her as I've tried twice. With the alligators and snakes I'm assuming getting out on land to pee in a container is a no no.

Posted Nov 15, 2008 2:30 PM
just eva
Built In GPS Girl
Paddle float outriggers work for both. When padding with a group, have someone you trust (very important!) hold your boat while you stand, kneel, squat or whatever. In his North Sea Crossing presentation, Derek Hutchinson talks about laying several paddles across the aft deck of two boats and sitting on them. He also mentioned the frigid "bidet" effect of cold, rough North Sea water, but when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:18 PM
Leslie
I'd like to bring a chocolate pecan pie for our Thanksgiving dinner Thursday. How about whipped cream too? Is anyone allergic to nuts? Brandy or rum? I WILL be bringing my own tent. I have to confess, I am someone who usually needs a fair amount of 'alone' time. So..I will be on my best behaviour, but if I ever seem crabby please don't take it personally! (Just feed me to the gators if I get out of line!)

Posted Nov 21, 2008 10:11 PM
sophie
Speed Queen
Well, I would share a tent but I don't think we have many takers. I grit my teeth, toss and turn, I might snore if you all exhaust me and fart if I have beans to eat but other than that...I am okay to sleep with. LOL I would be willing to share with someone if we need the space. I guess if we ride in the canoe together and have to go to the bathroom in front of each other...I could maybe share a tent with you Craig on those nights so we don't have to pay more. Really, I don't care.

Posted Nov 22, 2008 6:21 PM
Craig
Assistant Organizer
Dark from 5pm till 7am, that just gives me more time to grit my teeth, toss and turn, and fart. Let's have beans every night! Farts get your sleeping bag warm.

Posted Nov 26, 2008 7:07 AM
Craig
Assistant Organizer
Why do I feel like I am going down there to Freeze my @$$ off! Does anyone else feel the same way?

Posted Nov 26, 2008 3:48 PM
Camille Marie
Swiss Army Kayaker
I'm preparing to be cold, but hoping not to be. According to Weather.com, http://www.weather.com/weat... for Folkston, GA the night time lows are Thurs - 48 deg, Fri - 55 deg, Sat - 48 deg, and Sun 43 deg, with daytime highs of Fri - 71 deg, Sat - 65 deg and Sun - 65 deg. Doesn't sound too bad. However, Fri has a 60% chance of afternoon showers, 30% chance on Saturday and 40% chance on Sunday. If we can stay dry we should be okay.

The Okefenokee's version of Big Foot. http://www.bigfootforums.com/lofiversion/index.php/t2541.html

Okefenokee Pastimes Information


http://www.okefenokee.com/okefenokee_news_blog.html