![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b8\/Claude_Monet_-_Le_Bassin_des_Nympheas_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg\/1024px-Claude_Monet_-_Le_Bassin_des_Nympheas_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As noted in Part II<\/a><\/em>, \u201cwater lilies<\/em><\/a>\u201d are lovely to look at but a pain<\/strong> to paddle through\u2026 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n This is the final installment of Operation Pogo \u2013 \u201cInto the Okefenokee<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Another note: \u00a0This is the \u201cshort version.\u201d \u00a0For the long<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0version – in the manner of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 see the notes below.<\/p>\n And one more “by the way:” You’ll probably want to read the first two installments first.<\/p>\n Part II<\/a> ended with me thinking this, as I paddled through the swamp in the dark:\u00a0 “That Monet<\/a>\u00a0guy can take his stinkin’\u00a0water lilies<\/a>\u00a0and ‘stick \u2018em where the sun don\u2019t shine<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.'”<\/p>\n But we digress!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To make another long story short, my two days’ paddling-MPH<\/a>\u00a0turned out to be a lot slower.\u00a0 (A mile in 36 minutes, not 18 minutes.<\/em>) \u00a0So Friday afternoon I turned back early…<\/p>\n I was<\/em> able to get back after closing. \u00a0And get my rubber raft from the car, blow it up and pack it, then<\/em> set off \u201cinto the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n (On the\u00a0Suwanee Canal<\/a>, to get a photograph of a beautiful sunset.)<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t get to the shelter until 8:30 or so, well after sunset.\u00a0 Which brings up again that the \u201ccanoe only\u201d trail from Suwanee Canal to Cedar Hammock is loaded<\/em> with water lilies\u2026<\/p>\n That’s when I discovered a nasty thing about water lilies. \u00a0They\u2019re hard enough to paddle through during the day, when you can see what you\u2019re doing\u2026<\/p>\n I found out when you paddle through water lilies in a kayak \u2013 in the dark and in a hurry \u2013 your paddle tends to grab a great wad of swamp weed. \u00a0Then the paddle tosses the soggy lily-entrails \u2013 wet and cold \u2013 all about your head and shoulders.<\/p>\n But there were<\/em> moments of beauty.<\/p>\n I had been after an adventure all my life, a pure dispassionate adventure, such as befell early and heroic voyagers<\/strong> \u2026 not knowing north from south, as strange to my surroundings as the first man upon the earth\u2026 \u00a0(E.A.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I eventually did<\/em> make the Cedar Hammock shelter. \u00a0(Seen at left in the daylight.) \u00a0But\u00a0I didn\u2019t bring my tent because there was no place on the platform to put in stakes. \u00a0And<\/em><\/strong> because I was in a hurry to pack. \u00a0And<\/em> <\/strong>the forecast was for no rain. \u00a0 And<\/em><\/strong> because I thought it’d be nice to camp \u201cunder the stars.\u201d \u00a0I didn\u2019t bring any bug spray because there hadn\u2019t been any mosquitoes any of the times I\u2019d been at or around there before.<\/p>\n Fortunately I ended up getting some<\/em> sleep that night.\u00a0 Mostly by covering myself completely with the sleeping bag.\u00a0 And even though a week later I was still scratching mosquito bites, mostly on my ankles.\u00a0 (Which was strange because they’d been covered by socks.) All the while I took some small pride in being in a place other people weren’t<\/em>, and where few “normal” people dared tread. \u00a0(As the saying goes,\u00a0Why Be Normal<\/a>?)<\/em><\/p>\n Next morning – Saturday – I took my time getting going. \u00a0(In part because of the late night paddling, and<\/em> I thought I had plenty of time.)\u00a0Then I set off for the\u00a0Canal Run shelter. \u00a0(See Part II<\/a>, including the Permits<\/a>\u00a0link.) \u00a0On the way I found a rare spot to actually get out and stretch me legs. \u00a0(And give other body parts a break as well.) That’s where I took the tagalong picture above, on a rare stretch of rather squishy-underfoot hammock along the Suwanee Canal.<\/p>\n From there I set out for the Coffee Bay day shelter. \u00a0 (Which according to the dots on the map is three miles further west.)<\/p>\n The problem was that when I first got there, it was occupied. \u00a0By a raucous group of adult men and teen boys, out for a day-cruise. \u00a0So I set off for Mile Marker 6, got there and turned back.<\/p>\n My hope was that they’d be gone by the time I got back. \u00a0Which worked, up to a point.<\/em><\/p>\n Then came the best part of the trip. \u00a0I sat in my camp chair and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment. \u00a0Along with the one cold beer saved from the night before. \u00a0And a hearty lunch of pre-packed chicken. \u00a0Not long after that I nodded off for a short nap, there in the afternoon warmth. And that one brief shining moment of happiness even survived\u00a0the morning after<\/a>. \u00a0Or in this case the late afternoon after<\/strong><\/em>… \u00a0(Alluding to the 1972\u00a0Maureen McGovern song<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Which is being interpreted<\/a>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n They say that\u00a0time heals all wounds<\/a>. \u00a0And looking back, a month after my voyage into the Okefenokee, that seems true. \u00a0Which is another way of saying the paddle-back after the nap was rushed<\/em><\/strong>, to say the least. \u00a0But thanks to the healing power of time, the body parts that ached so much – that long Saturday afternoon of paddling – no longer seem so important. At the time I was frustrated, mostly because of the\u00a0disconnect<\/a>\u00a0between how fast I thought<\/em> I could go, and how fast I actually could<\/em> go. But despite the discomfort that seems to got along with such efforts, it felt good to finally visit the home of Pogo Possum. \u00a0To visit – even for such a short while – the “hollow trees amidst lushly rendered backdrops of North American wetlands, bayous, lagoons and backwoods<\/em>.”<\/p>\n And maybe – just maybe – I got from the trip just a hint of growth. \u00a0(From being merely a “misanthrope<\/a> and cynic<\/a>,” to develop a sense of “prickly on the outside but with a heart of gold.”)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n As exemplified below.<\/strong> <\/em>\u00a0And in closing, note that my Utah brother has a brilliant<\/em> idea for further adventures next summer. \u00a0A 16-day, 400-plus-miles canoe trip down the\u00a0Yukon River<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n Pogo and his buddy \u201cPorky Pine,\u201d deep in the Okefenokee\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Water Lilies (Monet series) \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0“Le Bassin des Nympheas<\/strong>, 1904,\u00a0Denver Art Museum<\/a><\/em>.” \u00a0See also\u00a0Le Bassin des Nympheas (Water Lily Pond) by Claude Monet<\/a><\/em>, which added: \u00a0“Monet treated the water’s surface like a mirror, reflecting the swaying fringe of foliage and the clouds moving across the sky. \u00a0The water spans the breadth of the composition. \u00a0Only the willows and reeds that appear at the top of the canvas moor the pond to its surrounding banks.” \u00a0(But they’re still a pain in the butt to paddle through…<\/strong>)<\/em><\/p>\n Re: short and long versions. \u00a0See also In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly on iTunes<\/a><\/em>: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere was an under-three-minute single version, but clearly fans wanted the complete experience. \u00a0Flipping the record to its first side, though, is an underrated experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I took the photographs of the “tagalong” boat combo, the sunset on the Suwanee Canal, the water lilies on the way to Cedar Hammock, and the Cedar Hammock shelter itself.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The “trying to be normal” image is courtesy of:<\/em>\u00a0thecompellededucator.blogspot.com\/2014\/03 … “why be normal when you can be amazing<\/a><\/em>.” \u00a0And of course\u00a0Maya Angelou<\/a><\/em>…<\/p>\n The \u201cCoffee Bay shelter image\u201d is courtesy of orcafinntrips.blogspot.com\/2012\/04\/suwanee-river-okefenokee-canoeing-march-2012<\/em>.<\/p>\n The lower \u201cenemy is us\u201d cartoon image is courtesy of\u00a0Pogo (comic strip) \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0\u201cPogo<\/strong> daily strip from Earth Day<\/a>, 1971.\u201d\u00a0 In the alternative:\u00a0 \u201cA 1971\u00a0Earth Day<\/a> comic strip written and illustrated by Walt Kelly<\/a>, featuring Pogo<\/a> and Porkypine [sic].\u201d\u00a0 Wikipedia described Porky Pine<\/strong>:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n A porcupine<\/a>, a misanthrope<\/a> and cynic<\/a>; prickly on the outside but with a heart of gold.\u00a0 The deadpan Porky never smiles in the strip (except once, allegedly, when the lights were out).\u00a0 Pogo\u2019s best friend, equally honest, reflective and introverted, and with a keen eye both for goodness and for human foibles. \u00a0 <\/span> I wondered<\/strong> why I liked him so much\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n \u00a0And now word about the subtle difference between water lilies<\/strong> and water hyacinths<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Water hyacinths<\/strong> are formally known as\u00a0Eichhornia crassipes<\/a>, \u201can aquatic plant native to theAmazon basin<\/a>,\u201d and considered \u201ca highly problematic invasive species<\/a> outside its native range.\u201d (Fancy language for a \u201cpain in the butt<\/a>.\u201d)\u00a0 Water lilies<\/strong> on the other hand are formally known as\u00a0nymphaeaceae<\/a>,\u00a0a \u201cfamily of flowering plants<\/a>\u201d living as\u00a0\u201crhizomatous<\/a> aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates<\/a> around the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n And finally, the “long version,” in the manner of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Picking up with, “This is the third and last installment…”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This is the third and last installment of a tale that began with\u00a0Operation Pogo \u2013 \u201cInto the Okefenokee<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s an account of my overnight camping trip, \u201cdeep\u201d into the swamp. \u00a0(Last October 23-24.) \u00a0It included 11 hours of paddling over two days, lots<\/em> <\/strong>of slithering alligators, and a \u201cnight operation.\u201d \u00a0(Paddling to the Cedar Hammock shelter in the dark of night.)<\/p>\n On Friday afternoon, October 23, I paddled about half-way to Monkey Lake. \u00a0(Then turned back to Headquarters<\/em>\u00a0to pack my camping gear.)<\/p>\n Saturday afternoon I got as far as Mile Marker 6, just west of the Coffee Bay shelter. \u00a0And by the way, each black dot on the \u201ctrails\u201d represents a mile. \u00a0(That and other factors mean the\u00a0Canoe Map<\/a>\u00a0is \u201cextremely<\/em><\/strong> small scale<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n Part II<\/a> of this venture<\/a> <\/em>ended with me \u201con the cusp<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n On the cusp<\/em> of paddling a canoe-trail deep in the Okefenokee, in the dark, through a\u00a0slough<\/a><\/em>\u00a0of water lilies. \u00a0(The \u201centrails<\/a>\u201d of which blapped<\/a> me; noted below.) \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n That’s<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0what made me think this thought, paddling in the dark:\u00a0 \u201cThat Monet<\/a>\u00a0guy can take his stinkin\u2019\u00a0water lilies<\/a>\u00a0and \u2018stick \u2018em where the sun don\u2019t shine<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.’\u201d<\/p>\n But we digress!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s more on that later, but first let\u2019s review that first morning in the swamp.\u00a0 (After driving down from Cordele<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n I left my camping supplies behind at the main (east) entrance, to be picked up later.\u00a0 Then I made a quick 3-mile\u00a0preliminary paddle \u2013 sans<\/em> rubber raft \u2013 to the Cedar Hammock Shelter.<\/p>\n Then<\/em> I started out on the canoe trail to\u00a0Monkey Lake<\/a>. \u00a0That\u2019s where I ran across the\u00a0big bull gator \u2013 almost<\/em> literally \u2013 as noted in Part I<\/a>:<\/p>\n As I paddled over over the water where the gator had<\/em> been, I could swear he came up and nudged the bottom of my kayak.\u00a0 I figured it was an accident.\u00a0 (But the second time?) \u00a0<\/em>That<\/em><\/strong>added some spice to the trip.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I figured I could make Monkey Lake easily that first day in the swamp. \u00a0For one thing, a helpful sign along the way said it was only 5.5 miles or so. \u00a0At the time I figured I could make that in a couple hours. \u00a0But that\u2019s also<\/em> when I found out that my paddling-MPH<\/a>\u00a0on an all-day trip was a lot different than\u00a0my speed on\u00a0a two-hour\u00a0jaunt<\/a>.<\/p>\n Again to make a long story short, that day and the next my\u00a0paddling-MPH<\/a>\u00a0turned out to be a lot slower.\u00a0 (A mile every 36 minutes, not every 18 minutes.<\/em>)\u00a0 The result was that Friday afternoon I had to turn back early from the paddle to Monkey Lake, and paddled back to the put-in place.<\/p>\n I was<\/em> able to get back after closing. \u00a0(Per my sneaky<\/em> plan.) \u00a0And I did get my rubber raft from the car, blow it up and pack it, then<\/em> set off literally \u201cinto the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t get to the shelter until 8:30 or so, well after sunset.\u00a0 Which brings up again that the \u201ccanoe only\u201d trail from Suwanee Canal to Cedar Hammock is loaded<\/em> with water lilies\u2026<\/p>\n When I left the east entrance put-in, I thought I had plenty of time.\u00a0 (Laboring under the delusion that I could make three miles in 54 minutes; 18 minutes per mile.)\u00a0\u00a0 Sunset was supposed to be about 7:00 p.m., and \u201clast light\u201d about 7:30. \u00a0But it took a tad longer than I expected. \u00a0One<\/em><\/strong> of the reasons was those stinkin\u2019 water lilies\u2026<\/p>\n That is, in this venture<\/a>\u00a0I discovered a very nasty thing about water lilies. \u00a0They\u2019re hard enough to paddle through during the day, when you can see what you\u2019re doing\u2026<\/p>\n Then too, the strange thing is that while I was paddling on the way back from Monkey Lake, I\u00a0visualized<\/a>\u00a0how much fun<\/em> it might be to \u201cconduct a night operation<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0(To paddle through the beautiful Okefenokee at night.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Which brings up the old saying: \u00a0\u201cBe careful what you wish for<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Which is being interpreted<\/a>:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0I found out that if you\u2019re both in a hurry \u2013 as I was \u2013 and<\/em><\/strong> can\u2019t see what you\u2019re doing, your paddle tends to gouge out great tendrils of \u201cswamp weed.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what I call the stuff that grows down under the lilies. \u00a0(As opposed to \u201csea weed.\u201d)<\/p>\n I found out that when you try to paddle through water lilies in a kayak \u2013 in the dark and in a hurry \u2013 your paddle tends to grab a great wad of swamp weed and toss it \u2013 soggy and cold \u2013 all about your head and shoulders. \u00a0(Not always.\u00a0 Just enough to keep you off balance\u2026<\/em>)<\/p>\n Which made for a long hour of paddling, with the last mile or so \u00a0through a never-ending sea<\/em><\/strong> of water lilies. \u00a0But there were<\/em> moments of beauty. \u00a0Every once in a while along the way I\u2019d stop paddling. \u00a0(I am\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>retired after all.) \u00a0Partly to rest my arms and shoulders. \u00a0Partly to get a break from being\u00a0blapped<\/a>\u00a0by water-lily entrails. \u00a0But a big part of it was simply to stop and appreciate the\u00a0ambience<\/a>. \u00a0It really was<\/em> beautiful, in the middle of the Okefenokee in the moonlight:<\/p>\n I had been after an adventure all my life, a pure dispassionate adventure, such as befell early and heroic voyagers<\/strong> \u2026 not knowing north from south, as strange to my surroundings as the first man upon the earth\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"1444146412784\"](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/14441464127841-198x300.jpg\")
<\/a>For an overview, see\u00a0Canoe Map<\/a>. \u00a0I started from Refuge Headquarters<\/em>, southwest of Folkston. \u00a0At Mile Marker 2 there’s a “Porta-potty.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/5\/5c\/Inagaddadavida-single.jpeg\/220px-Inagaddadavida-single.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"1445698042386\"](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/1445698042386-183x300.jpg\")
I found myself paddling through the swamp late Friday night because my timing was off. \u00a0It was off because I thought my “tagalong combo” – at right – might get me charged twice. \u00a0So I tried to be sneaky, and ended up paddling in the dark…<\/p>\n![\"oke](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/oke-066-300x198.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"oke](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/oke-055-300x198.jpg\")
(The image at right is a picture I took of the canoe-only water trail to the Cedar Hammock shelter, during the day…<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n
![\"oke](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/oke-057-300x198.jpg\")
That\u2019s Robert Louis Stevenson<\/a>\u00a0by the way, so I\u2019m not the only one with such thoughts\u2026 \u00a0(See 12 miles offshore<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"oke](\"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/oke-038-300x198.jpg\")
That was on the way to the “fork in the canal,” shown at left. \u00a0See also the Canoe Map<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Pogo](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/4\/49\/Pogo_-_Earth_Day_1971_poster.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a>For an overview, see\u00a0Canoe Map<\/a>. \u00a0I started from Refuge Headquarters<\/em>, southwest of Folkston. \u00a0The Cedar Hammock shelter-image is just below Mizell<\/em> Prairie<\/em>. \u00a0The image just below that<\/em> is the \u201cporta-potty\u201d at Mile Marker 2, on the Suwanee Canal. \u00a0(Seen at right.)<\/p>\nAnother note: \u00a0This is the long<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0version of this tome<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 in some ways not unlike the long version of\u00a0In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida<\/a>. \u00a0And one more \u201cby the way:\u201d You\u2019ll probably want to read the first two installments first.<\/p>\nI found myself paddling through the swamp late Friday night because my timing was off.\u00a0 My timing was off because I thought my \u201ctagalong combo\u201d \u2013 seen at right \u2013 might get me charged twice, for two \u201cboats.\u201d\u00a0 So I tried to be sneaky, andthat\u2019s<\/em> how I ended up paddling in the dark\u2026<\/p>\n(Along the\u00a0Suwanee Canal<\/a>\u00a0entrance to the Refuge itself.) \u00a0And in the process I got to photograph a really beautiful sunset, seen at left.\u00a0 But again, either my timing or my paddling was off.<\/p>\n(The image at right is a picture I took of the canoe-only water trail to the Cedar Hammock shelter, during the day\u2026<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n