On Saturday, May 17, 2014, four GWS members paddled the beautiful Toccoa River, near Blue Ridge, GA. We camped at the Chattahoochee National Forest's Deep Hole campground. This was also where we put-in. The approximately 9 mile paddle to the roadside take-out at Dial took us about three hours. Water flow was 2.01' & 490 cfs, which was a great level.
This river is either exhilarating or intimidating, depending on your experience level. A little more challenging than the upper Towaliga, it has lots of class I-II rapids and shoals.
The trip leader, Curt, took the first capsize after dragging over a log and getting back in his boat in calm water. The only other capsize occurred to one of our kayakers when he flipped in the second rapid below the swinging bridge. No harm done and experience gained.
The cool rain took away a bit from the beauty of the river and caused us to cancel Sunday's trip, which was planned to be from Sandy Bottoms, a Forest Service access point, to Persimmon Creek on Lake Blue Ridge. But we enjoyed the paddle, the blooming mountain laurel, and the campfire.
Participants were Franke Christian and his four-legged bow bunny Westbury, Basil Youman, Greg Bates and Curt Cole.
