#3 Expedition Planning : Making Arrangements.

Good Day Paddlers,

Here it is Post #3 in our expedition series! In this post I am going to cover our initial arrangements to get where we are going, who is taking us to the launch site of our journey; why we chose them(shuttle), and a brief description of our start time and place. Followed by where we hope to be by the end of the first day of our paddle! Also a brief summary at the end telling you where we hope to be each day of the trip, and the # to call to arrange your Rivercamp places to stay!

Jeff and I bounced around many thoughts & ideas on how we should get up to the Suwannee River area(about 4 hr. drive from Pinellas Cty.-our home). Originally we were going to drive separate vehicles and park 1 in Branford & 1 in White Springs so we would not have to spend money on a shuttle service. After much bickering like an OLD Married Couple we decided that we not only would spend more on gas than if we only took 1 vehicle, we would also have to worry about safe parking of 2 vehicles- not to mention thats twice the pollution-( not that we are totally green, but we try to keep our impact on the environment down as much as possible).  We agreed(not like a Married Couple) that we should price out the shuttle service and see if we could get up to White Springs from Branford(1 hr.5 min. give or take), thus only leaving 1 vehicle to worry about and saving gas/money & lessening our impact on the environment.

I made a few phone calls and we soon settled on AMERICAN CANOE ADVENTURES as our outfitter of choice for our  shuttle ride.

They are very fairly priced not to mention Mr. Wendell Hannum  the owner was very accommodating & they have a very informative website and can even do all the planning of an expedition or a day paddle for you, I also must mention that I called a couple of weeks earlier and spoke with a very nice young lady who gave me the initial price- her name Corinna (hope I spelled it right). I will be giving them half with my credit card by phone and the other half when they come get us in Branford on Dec. 27th.   Price: less than a GOOD PFD (life jacket)!   Distance:  like 40 or 50 miles!

So as it stands now we will be leaving Pinellas County at O4:00 or O5:00 hrs. “What does the “O” stand for? O my [Gosh], it’s early! (Adrian Cronauer: Good morning Vietnam)

On Dec. 27th and heading to Branford in one of our vehicles. We hope to arrive at our safe parking destination and ending point of the expedition at between 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. Mr. Wendell should arrive to pick us up around 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. , to whisk us off to the starting point of our expedition. Hopefully if all goes well we should be in White Springs at the U.S. 41 bridge within an hour or so to launch and begin the trip down the AWESOME Suwannee River, as stated on American Canoe Adventures Website- the Paddle of a LIFETIME!!

Jeff and I hope to be at the Woods Ferry Rivercamp by the end of the first day,(paddling distance 12-13 miles) remember we only have half a day to make it to camp/dinner and sleep! We will be up bright and early the next day for a full day of paddling!

Our chosen  schedule, if you want to call it that should be as follows::

• Day One-  Woods Ferry Rivercamp
• Day Two-  Holton Creek Rivercamp
• Day Three-  Dowling Park Rivercamp
• Day Four-  Peacock Slough Rivercamp
• Day Five- Adams Tract Rivercamp

All of these camps should be roughly 20 miles apart from each other, in the event we do not make it to the camps; we will be primitive camping on the side of the river bank.  To reserve the camps the # is 1-800-868-9914 or go to the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail website.  I hope you all enjoy the latest post in our series and please keep reading, YOU the Paddler/Reader are why Jeff and I write!

Excited!  -Sea Turtle Sean

Next Post in 8 Days- Expedition Planning : The Menu!