If all goes according to plan I'll be awakening in the morning on the banks of the Altamaha, provided I'm not eaten by skeeters or gators prior to awakening. I'll be accompanied by my 12 year old son & he would probably be more to a gators liking. This will be the first trip on Altamaha in 2003 because it has been out of the banks & is still a little high but low enough to find a good sandbar to camp on. It has dropped rapidly the past week or so & though the fall rate has slowed I'm not sure how the fishing will be. I am sure we'll enjoy the time on the river & camping regardless.
May be a bit crowded being a long weekend & that won't help the fishing either. I'm sure lots of other folks have been waiting for a chance to get on the river as much as I have, hopefully we can all be courteous & respectful of each other & all have a good time.
Unfortunately I won't be paddling but will use this trip to scout for future float trips. I anticipate far too much traffic on the river to make our first attempt at camping from kayaks so I'll rely on the jon boat & fossil fuel to transport us to an oasis where we can temporarily escape the structure of the daily grind. Ah yes a setting that allows a man to determine his own pace and not be pressed to meet deadlines. A time & place where you can be content with who, what & & where you are instead of looking ahead wondering what needs to be done next to avoid being overtaken by the ambitious younger fella's who mistakenly think they are entitled to your position in life. If they only knew how gladly I'd give it all to them but alas I had those same ambitions years ago & now find myself stuck in a rut that seems endless. I thank God above for places like the Altamaha where I can still find a trace of the more primitive simpler man that I was meant to be & not the human rat I've become.
As you might have guessed from my rambling this trip is long overdue.
May be a bit crowded being a long weekend & that won't help the fishing either. I'm sure lots of other folks have been waiting for a chance to get on the river as much as I have, hopefully we can all be courteous & respectful of each other & all have a good time.
Unfortunately I won't be paddling but will use this trip to scout for future float trips. I anticipate far too much traffic on the river to make our first attempt at camping from kayaks so I'll rely on the jon boat & fossil fuel to transport us to an oasis where we can temporarily escape the structure of the daily grind. Ah yes a setting that allows a man to determine his own pace and not be pressed to meet deadlines. A time & place where you can be content with who, what & & where you are instead of looking ahead wondering what needs to be done next to avoid being overtaken by the ambitious younger fella's who mistakenly think they are entitled to your position in life. If they only knew how gladly I'd give it all to them but alas I had those same ambitions years ago & now find myself stuck in a rut that seems endless. I thank God above for places like the Altamaha where I can still find a trace of the more primitive simpler man that I was meant to be & not the human rat I've become.
As you might have guessed from my rambling this trip is long overdue.