THOMASVILLE- Only 17 days remain to register for Georgia River Network’s Paddle Georgia Fall Float on the Flint, a two-day, 36-mile canoe and kayak journey on the Flint River set for Oct. 4-6. The registration deadline is Sept. 27. Interested parties can learn more and register at https://garivers.org/fall-float-on-the-flint/.
The journey runs from Newton to near Bainbridge and takes in some of the Flint’s most scenic portions in Southwest Georgia. Soaring limestone bluffs front the route while breathtakingly cold blue hole springs spill into the river.
“This is our eleventh year running this route each fall,” said Paddle Georgia Coordinator Joe Cook, “It’s a crowd favorite so we keep coming back year after year. It’s arguably one of the prettiest paddle routes in the state.”
The trip is much more than just a paddle trip, say organizers. It includes camping at Rocky Bend Flint River Retreat in Newton, catered meals, nightly guest speakers and on-river education opportunities as well as opportunities to become certified as a Georgia Adopt-A-Stream citizen water monitor.
Steve Golladay, a biologist with the Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway will lead participants on a freshwater mussel “hunt” and speak to the group on the evening of Oct. 4 while Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers will discuss the riverkeeper’s efforts to protect the Flint on Oct. 5. The group will also visit Jones Center property and long-leaf pine habitat as they make their way down river.
Registration fees range from $185 to $355 and include campsite, shuttle and guide services, event t-shirt or other Georgia River Network merchandise, river maps/guides and six catered meals.
The trip is suitable for novice paddlers as well as experienced paddlers. Paddlers range in age from four to 84, with many families participating.
Fall Float on the Flint is an offshoot of Georgia River Network’s annual Paddle Georgia event, a 7-day voyage that takes place on a different river each summer. Since its inception in 2005, GRN’s Paddle Georgia trips have introduced more than 7000 people to Georgia’s rivers and raised more than $800,000 for river protection projects.
Sponsors of the event include Hennessy Land Rover, Georgia Power Company, Southwire, Colonial Pipeline, RYAM, Purina, Southern Gas, Oglethorpe Power, Alston & Bird, Cedar Creek Outdoor Center, Butler Prather LLP, Isdell Family Foundation, Trader’s Hill Farm, Georgia Kayak Fishing, Baxter & Harbin LLC, Terry Pate CPA, Mill Creek Environmental, Public Lands, Troncalli Subaru, RES, Georgia Mining Association, Siegel Insurance, Auto Owners Insurance, Stream Techs, Storm Water Systems, Fruit of the Loom/Jerzees, Patagonia, REI, Adventure Keen, The Hike Inn, Southeast Adventure Outfitters, Oconee Outfitters, John & LA Spears Foundation, Wildwater, Rain Barrel Depot, Molson Coors, Georgia Canoeing Association, EVRAH3 Sparkling Water, The Canoe House, Murph’s Surf, Kayak Trips and Training, Appalachian Outfitters, Whitewater Express, Mustang Survival, Jim and Kim Butler and Tom Cofer and Café Campesino. Partners include American Canoe Association, EarthShare Georgia and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream.
Georgia River Network is a non-profit 501c3 organization with the mission to protect and connect people with Georgia’s rivers.
Those interested in participating can get more information at the Paddle Georgia website at http://www.garivers.org/paddle-georgia or by contacting Cook at 706-409-0128 or joe@garivers.org.