Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge- Day 1

Last December, my twin brother, Jonathan, and I went on a paddling trip in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, in Georgia. It's one of the natural areas in the United States that I first read about as a kid and immediately wanted to explore. Okefenokee is a 400,000 acre National Wildlife Refuge that comprises upland, but primarily a huge wetland complex with over 160 miles of canoe trails. There are floating dock platforms for camping. The refuge is over 630 square miles and is considered a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. 

We arrived on a Thursday night, and stayed the first night at the public campground immediately across from the entrance to the Refuge- Okefenokee Pastimes. The campground owners, a couple who recently bought the facility and moved down from Vermont, were very nice. It was obvious that they had recently been putting a great deal of work into improving the campground. The tent site we stayed in was surprisingly sheltered and private about trees and dwarf palmetto. 

We drove into the Refuge grounds, up to the closed gate, the first night and explored a little bit down some of the logging roads, before heading back to the campground and getting ready for the next day. 

Admittedly, we brought way too much stuff with us for a two night, three day paddle, but it can be a bit tempting when paddling to bring more than you need, it's far more luxurious than backpacking. However, we both decided next time we would be more disciplined when packing, Okefenokee is completely flat water, so the more weight, the more work on your elbows. 

My patch bag now has an Okefenokee patch on it.

This is the main section of the Suwanee Canal

 We both found it pretty neat to see the federal "Wilderness Area," sign in water along the canoe trail. These signs denote the boundary of designated Federal Wilderness, which grants an area special protections. We're both use to seeing this while hiking in National Forests and National Parks, it was pretty cool to see it along the canoe trail in a huge wetland ecosystem.

The first day we started at the Main Entrance, and paddled down the Suwanee Canal to the pink canoe trail, which leads to Monkey Lake, the shelter we reserved for the first night. 

vultures

spanish moss

An Anhinga

We saw plenty of alligators on our paddle in

Jonathan enjoying the warm weather in the high 60s F

a beautiful green heron (Butorides virescens)

Three sandhill cranes(Grus canadensis)

an American white ibis (Eudocimus albus)

We really enjoyed seeing and hearing the hundreds (probably thousands) of sandhill cranes residing in Okefenokee. I was constantly amazed at their sheer size, they're much larger than great blue herons. 

the sign right before coming upon the Monkey Lake shelter

 The Monkey Lake shelter is tucked into the edge of a wooded area, still in a wetland, but partially on semi-firm ground. The dock winds through trees to the main shelter area. It's a beautiful spot.

After arriving at Monkey Lake we unpacked our gear, stretched our legs for a bit, got a snack, and then decided to paddle past the shelter onto Buzzard Roost Lake to watch the sunset. 

[Click here for a map of Okefenokee's canoe trails]

on the way to Buzzards Roost Lake

There was a very narrow section of open water leading into Buzzards Roost Lake, and this alligator happened to be right along that narrow edge. We tried to give it as much room as possible, but we still ended up only being about 6 feet away from it at the closest. I never try or want to get so close to wildlife, especially large predators like that, but we had a great deal of forward momentum in the canoe and we didn't see this guy until the last second as we rounded a little bend. There wasn't any time to stop or turn around, we just had to go forward as quickly as possible. He slide into the water, a good indication that he was afraid of us, and disappeared.

Mile marker

We made it to Buzzards Roost just before sunset. We paddled into the center and along one edge, then headed back towards Monkey Lake. 

Jonathan likes to make stupid faces in my pictures. He excels at it. 

 The sunset on the paddle back to Monkey Lake was stunning! 

Monkey Lake shelter at night

 For dinner we made a tofu scramble with lots of olive oil, potatoes, onions, and peppers. It was quite good! Being able to cook with the coleman stove is one of the luxuries of canoe camping.

After dinner I had some fun messing around with my headlamp and long exposures on the dock at Monkey Lake. Jonathan was my patient assistant hitting the shutter button because I didn't have my remote.