Georgia Wilderness Society
Adventures on the Tallapossa River
April 28 - May 1, 2022
ast week of April, 2022, eight Georgia Wilderness Society members gathered near Heflin, Alabama to spend three days paddling the Tallapoosa River and Terrapin Creek. Most of us camped Thursday to Sunday at Coleman Lake Recreation Area, in the Talladega National Forest. This is a nice forest service camp with showers, hookups, and small lake with swimming area.
n Friday, the 29th, we put-in on the Tallapoosa at CR 72, and paddled about 7 miles down to CR 448/Dryden's Mill. On Saturday, we put-in at Dryden's Mill and paddled about 14 miles to AL 46. Both sections are flat water, with only an occasional riffle or small ledge. An easy beginner river in this area, it's also lined with many bluffs, (slate I believe), and lots of blooming mountain laurel, some native azalea, fringe trees, crossvine, wild roses, and lots more. A few critters were also seen, such as a deer, snake, turtles, and one or more unidentified otter/beaver/muskrat sightings. The weather was perfect and all found the river very enjoyable.
n Sunday, we chose to paddle a 7 mile section of Terrapin Creek, near Piedmont, Alabama. After making a special trip to the outfitter (our take-out) to sign their waiver and pay the parking fee, we began the paddle in the rain. But I guess we were living right, because the rain ended after maybe 20 minutes, and we paddled the latter part of the trip with clear, blue skies. The river was of the pool and drop nature. We had long pools of slow water, followed by easy class I drops. There weren't many bluffs on this river, but it was still scenic, and the water was clear, with quite a bit of vegetation streaming on the river bottom.
had a great trip and hope all did as well. We had a nice campfire each night. Thanks to Irene for the chocolate chip cookies, Terry for buying us drinks after Saturday's paddle, Joe for picking up our parking fees, and everyone else for all the contributions that make these trips so enjoyable. I look forward to our next get-together.
articipants were: Curt & Irene Cole, Allen Free, Debi Fordham, Jane Giddings, Joe Mangum, Terry Ross, and Jeff Sorensen.
Water levels:
Tallapoosa near US 78, 310 cfs/2.42'; near Heflin, 555 cfs/4.2'. Plentiful water.
Terrapin near Ellisville; 257 cfs. Adequate level. I never hung up. 200 cfs may be near minimum to avoid hanging.
Paddling Alabama
Trip Leader Curt Cole
L
O
I
P
O
