Broad River Trip

Today's trip was on the between the US 29 Bridge and the GA 281 Bridge. This is a trip of about 5 miles. My trip, mostly nonstop, lasted from 2:45 - 5:45 PM at which time the USGS Carlton gauge was about 0.85 feet; this may be compared to 1.2 feet for the Broad River Trip, July 30, 2008 on the lower section which ran from from GA 281 to Broad River Outpost's (BRO) takeout about 1/2 below GA 172. The BRO did not allow its rentals on the lower section at 1.2 but did on the upper section both on July 30 and at the 0.85 feet level on August 4, so the upper section seemed to be a wiser choice today.

Along the way three canoes in a group, each with a young couple who appeared to be college students, were passed; they were having a great time aided, as was evident from overhearing them, by cold beers. About 1/2 mile farther, another young couple with sit-on-top kayaks were passed; they were "swimming" in one of the relatively deep places at this very low level (about 3-4 feet deep "gauged" with my paddle). Much later, two older men and a young teen age boy, each with a sit-on-top kayak were passed. A girl about seven and and a boy about 3 appeared to be riding on back of "grandpa's" kayak. Grandpa, who appeared to be tired, asked if I knew how far it was to the bridge. I said it had been a long time since I had paddled this section and did not remember but that I thought it was close; it turned out to be about 1/2 mile. This rendezvous occurred at one of the small rapids (maybe class I) and the teenager came wading back to assist grandpa and kids through the rapid.

Overall, the river was paddle-able, but it was necessary to get out and drag the canoe three times due to grounding on sand in too shallow water. Possibly, if I had "read" the water better, I might have avoided grounding, but my attention was often elsewhere and the sun's reflection often made such "reading" difficult. Anyway, it was a nice and less tiring trip than a week ago despite being almost exactly the same amount of paddling time on the river.

Only one Great Egret was seen compared to nine on the lower section a week ago, and the only other birds seen today were one sparrow and one cardinal near the end of the trip. Many baitfish and several fish about nine inches long that appeared to be catfish were seen.

Paddlers or other visitors to any of the landmark sites in the photographs are strongly urged to be mindful that most, even when in the river, are on private property and should not be disturbed. Visiting landmarks off the water may constitute unlawful trespassing and should not be done without the owner's permission. In any case, such historical landmarks should be protected for future generations.

This is the confluence of the Hudson River on the left and the Middle Fork of the Broad River on the right; the North Fork merges with the Middle Fork several miles above this photograph. BRO's shuttle services and their launch site which is on the Hudson River at the US 29 bridge about 1/2 mile above this photo were used.

Weir, downriver right (left photo) and downriver left (right photo) for a fish trap.

Closer photo on sluice in weir downriver left. Since both American Indians (Cherokees, most likely in this area) and early pre- and post-Colonial residents of this area constructed fish traps, one can only speculate who might have constructed this one. Compare this one to the weir with timber-constructed spillway photographed during last week's trip, Broad River, July 30, 2008.

For a history of the Broad River, including many efforts to regulate fish traps to insure that boats always had a channel to float goods up and down the river, see E. M. Coulter's (1965) Old Petersburg and the Broad River Valley of Georgia: Their rise and decline. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

My guess is that this bridge pier is about 15-20 feet high. I wondered whether this was on an older road between Danielsville and Royston that was replaced by GA 281 and its bridge which is about 1 - 1.5 miles down river. There is no corresponding pier on the opposite side, but there is a bluff about as high as this pier and a clearing at that location.

The evident caves and rocky cliff in the left photo is downriver river right about 300 yards below the bridge pier above and about a mile above the GA 281 bridge. The rocky cliff in the right photo appears downriver left about a 1/2 mile farther. It has less evident caves from the river view but nevertheless has a large cave associated with the "Devil's Pulpit" discussed in Reece Turrentine's article.

Turrentine, Reece (1977). "Everyman's river. Expert canoeist or novice, the Broad's got something for you. Brown's Guide to Georgia, volume 5, pages 46-52.

Turrentine wrote several river trip guide articles for Brown's Guide To Georgia magazine between 1972 and 1982. The article here focused on the section of the Broad River between the GA 281 and the GA 172 bridges and is one of the most informative trip guides for that section that I have read.

Turrentine described the Devil's Pulpit as being upriver from the GA 281 bridge, and being a Methodist minister he was curious about its name. He interviewed an old timer in the area who said:

"It's just been a place where strange things went on. Folks have always been leery of it....Once a band of escaped slaves hid out there. Then a Civil War deserter holed up in the cave with the slaves. He became a shoemaker, selling his shoes to the local residents and using the slaves as his salesmen. Nobody ever saw him, but they bought his shoes. They say he was mean and evil, and would shoot any intruder on the spot." (p. 47)

To read Reece Turrentine's article click HERE.

The author thanks Fred Brown, founder of the Brown's Guide to Georgia magazine, for permission to include this article here.

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Known...as a mackerel sky for its resemblance to the scales of its namesake fish species, this cloud formation is composed of cirrostratus or altocumulus clouds. A mackerel sky can be indicative of an approaching storm system, hence the old weather proverb:

Mackeral skys and mares tails
Make lofty ships carry low sails.

These appear to resemble the Spanish Mackerel as opposed to the King Mackerel as may be seen by using "the scales of its namesake fish species" link above. Examples of both Spanish and King Mackerel fish and skies may be seen.