Alligators?

On February 16 we will strap our canoe to the top of our Crosstrek, load our gear in the back, drive to Georgia, and paddle five days in the Okefenokee Swamp. I know it’s February, but I’m planning on the weather in the Okefenokee Swamp being much warmer than in Indiana.

Some have cringed when I told them our plan to paddle in a swamp. Their first question was, “Aren’t you scared of the alligators?” 

They estimate there are approximately15,000 alligators living in the Okefenokee Swamp, so chances are we will encounter at least one. It’s a great story if they keep their distance. You need stories!

At first, I struggled with remembering and pronouncing the name of the swamp. It doesn’t roll off the tongue. O-Kee-Fen-O-Kee. Now that I have mastered the pronunciation, I am trying to grasp what to expect.

In my mind a swamp has grass and lily pads growing in water shallow enough to wade in. No banks. It melds into the surrounding land. How does one paddle in a swamp? How much current is there, if any? Will it be easy to get lost? Where will I pee?

According to Merriam Webster, a swamp is defined as “a wetland often partially or intermittently covered with water.” Not only is the Okefenokee a swamp, but it is also described as one of the world’s largest peatlands, along with Canada’s Hudson Bay Lowlands, Russia’s Great Vasyugan Mire, and the Mayo Boglands. Wikipedia describes peat as an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation. Now I know what a swamp is.

But will the temperature be cold enough for the alligators to be less active?

The Okefenokee provides a habitat for threatened and endangered species. Maybe we’ll spot a red-cockaded woodpecker, indigo snake, or wood stork. Some more likely sightings may be of swallow-tailed kites, sandhill cranes, Bachman’s sparrows, prothonotary warblers, red-shouldered hawks, barred owls, gopher tortoise, timber rattlesnakes, Florida softshell turtles, and many species of water snakes. 

I keep telling myself, It is winter. The alligators may move more slowly.

We will camp on platforms in the middle of the swamp. There are around 120 miles of water trails, seven overnight camping platforms and two interior island campsites. To preserve the area they issue only one permit per platform per night. This also means they allow only one group to launch per day. We probably won’t interact with anyone else for five days.

We will paddle with our friends Gary and Linda Dekock. The swamp is the last leg of their Suwannee River Voyage. The first part of their adventure begins at the source of the Suwanee River and ends at the Gulf of Mexico. This is convenient because the Suwannee (and St. Marys) River originates at the Okefenokee. Gary and Linda are paddling to raise funds for and awareness of Water for People. This nonprofit organization focuses on the global water crisis and equips communities with access to clean water and sanitation services in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. To donate visit: https://fundraise.waterforpeople.org/site/TR/RippleEffect/General?px=1002941&pg=personal&fr_id=1060

Alligators tend to stop feeding when the ambient temperature is below 70. Here’s to 69 degrees.

Will we see any alligators? Follow the trip on @separateboats on Instagram.o credit:

photo credit: https://fws.gov/media/camping-okefenokee-refuge