Georgia Wilderness Society
Etowah River 2021
Etowah River trip report
by trip leader Curt Cole
We were granted great weather for this trip, although the temperature hit 90 or better on Sunday, causing the paddlers to make use of shade when practical. Everett enjoyed cooling off by wading up to his chest, and I think I saw Ben sit down in the river for a spell. The rest of us settled for cooling our shins.
Most of the group arrived at McKaskey Creek Campground, beside Lake Allatoona, on Friday, May 21, 2021. All gathered at the Cole camp at 8:00 p.m. to catch up on the latest news. The Lanes provided firewood, but we never got around to building a fire either night.
We headed out at 8:30 Saturday morning and 12 people launched boats at the GA 113/61 landing on the downstream side of Cartersville, GA. The water was pretty clear both days. The Lake Allatoona dam catches the sediment and releases clear, cold water from below the lake's surface. The water level routinely rises 8'-10' at this point, but they generally don't generate on summer weekends, so we had a level of about 5.3'/630 cfs (GA 61 near Cartersville) on both days. A good level, it allowed us to appreciate the many Native American fish weirs and the two rock gardens on Saturday, plus many more weirs and some shoals on Sunday. The Payne's 20' Wenona Minnesota 3, a four seater, hung up a few times, but otherwise the water level was plentiful. 15 year old Tommie paddled bow in their ocean liner, and did a good job of finding the deep channels (when they existed) needed for this boat. Everett also did very well paddling bow with his dad, keeping up a good pace most of both days, putting down his paddle long enough to catch a few turtles.
We had plenty of company on the river. At our lunch break Saturday, we helped gather flotsam as a few people flipped just upstream of us. The shoals we encountered each day were enough to add interest to a flatwater trip, but not enough to cause any capsizes in our group. The total distance paddled was about 16-17 miles Saturday, and 16 miles Sunday, taking about 6 and 5 hours paddling, respectively, plus half hour lunch breaks. Takeout Saturday was US 411, Neels Landing.
For the Sunday paddle, we put-in at US 411, and took out at Grizzard Park on the outskirts of Rome. Most of us agreed the Sunday section was a bit more enjoyable than Saturday's, due to fewer homes and boaters (and their boom boxes). Both sections though are worth doing again. Since this is dam controlled, it could make for a pretty fall trip.
Wildlife seen was a bald eagle and a few otters. Basil, myself & Irene saw three young otters who stood on a rock studying us untill we had almost passed them, 10'-15' away. They were really cute. I believe someone else also saw one or more otters. Some young wood ducks were also spotted.
The entertainment highlight was Ben, doing some mighty fine moves to some loud urban music coming from a paddler's boat, and he also impressed us with his rapping skills.
Participants were: Curt & Irene Cole, Allen Free, Gus & Jo (a non-paddler) Lane, Joe Mangum, Grant & Everett Mangum, Tom & Holly Payne, Tommie Payne, Jeff Sorensen, Ben Thompson, and Basil Youman.
A special thanks to Ben for helping out with the shuttles, and to Gus for bringing the firewood.
