Two weeks ago I embarked on a two night / two day Chipola River canoe and camping adventure. I had hooked up with Chris Matthews, who is an avid paddler and outdoorsman. He, like many of us, have a passion for spending time on the Ole Chipola. I had hooked up with Chris because I haven’t traveled on the Chipola River much south of Johnny Boy’s Landing. So he served as my tour guide, and did an excellent job.
The adventure began with a Friday night rendezvous at Chris’s river property at Turtle Bend. After unloading our canoes and gear we spent the evening watching the river roll by on his riverside dock. We shared some good fellowship with Mike Hale, Greg and Madison Lambe, who came down for a few hours. A grilled steak and baked potato where on the menu and they were mighty fine. After supper, and with a big day ahead of us, our visitors departed and it was lights out at 9 pm.
Rising early the next morning, we dine on deer sausage and bacon before shoving off on our journey. The day was first warm, and then hot. But the Ole Chipola’s cool waters were the perfect remedy for chasing away the heat. Lunch was had at Tater Hill and we then continued our long day of paddling. We paddled 18 miles that first day and made camp at Lamb Eddy boat landing. A gentle breeze blew up our way, running off most of the mosquitoes and making for a nice evening of tent camping along the riverbank. The only little hitch in the night came at about 2 am when the party crowd showed up at the boat landing. They weren’t too considerate of the tent campers with the loud music and all, but they finally left and we were able to get back to sleep.
The next morning we got a visit from Newell Cheesborough, who we had seen on the river the day before. Newell, a Marianna native, retired a couple of years ago from Birmingham and now lives down on the river near Lamb Eddy with his wife. We had an enjoyable visit with him and then it was back on the river. Seven miles later we made it to our take out point at the Highway 20 Bridge. Chris’s wife Debra met us and we loaded up the canoes and gear and headed home.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing about some of the sites we visited and explored. But I’ll tell you now that the Ole Chipola was absolutely beautiful. We canoed, swam, explored, camped and had some great fellowship all along the way. Simply Put, it was a trip to remember.
From the front porch: Coach said every problem is an opportunity in disguise.
The adventure began with a Friday night rendezvous at Chris’s river property at Turtle Bend. After unloading our canoes and gear we spent the evening watching the river roll by on his riverside dock. We shared some good fellowship with Mike Hale, Greg and Madison Lambe, who came down for a few hours. A grilled steak and baked potato where on the menu and they were mighty fine. After supper, and with a big day ahead of us, our visitors departed and it was lights out at 9 pm.
Rising early the next morning, we dine on deer sausage and bacon before shoving off on our journey. The day was first warm, and then hot. But the Ole Chipola’s cool waters were the perfect remedy for chasing away the heat. Lunch was had at Tater Hill and we then continued our long day of paddling. We paddled 18 miles that first day and made camp at Lamb Eddy boat landing. A gentle breeze blew up our way, running off most of the mosquitoes and making for a nice evening of tent camping along the riverbank. The only little hitch in the night came at about 2 am when the party crowd showed up at the boat landing. They weren’t too considerate of the tent campers with the loud music and all, but they finally left and we were able to get back to sleep.
The next morning we got a visit from Newell Cheesborough, who we had seen on the river the day before. Newell, a Marianna native, retired a couple of years ago from Birmingham and now lives down on the river near Lamb Eddy with his wife. We had an enjoyable visit with him and then it was back on the river. Seven miles later we made it to our take out point at the Highway 20 Bridge. Chris’s wife Debra met us and we loaded up the canoes and gear and headed home.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing about some of the sites we visited and explored. But I’ll tell you now that the Ole Chipola was absolutely beautiful. We canoed, swam, explored, camped and had some great fellowship all along the way. Simply Put, it was a trip to remember.
From the front porch: Coach said every problem is an opportunity in disguise.
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