5 & 6: 441/Pot Leaf Shoals to Lake Oconee

## Section 5, 441 to Trimble Bridge Road: Shortly below 441 is Pot Leaf Shoals, a long rapid that wasa great park and play spot until all roads leading to it were gated. In theoryone could put-in at 441, float down to Pot Leaf Shoals, then paddle backupstream. Depending on the flows, Pot Leaf is class III-IV+. Continuing downstream, the river de-evolves into swamps. The first swamp is less than half a mile long and is early warning for what is to come. The river recombines into a single channel and you feel relieved but not for long. The 2nd swamp is 2-3 miles long, depending on the level and how lost you become. The river splits and recombines with abandon, creating a maze that has befuddled many a crew. Channels disappear into massive root strainers, forcing one to get out onto 'islands' and scout for the nearest navigable channel. See below for some of the accounts of past expeditions.  To navigate the swamps the following advice is offered: go when vegetation is minimal (winter or earlyspring), go when the level is >1500 cfs at Bostwick, bring a GPS and a healthy sense of adventure. The 2nd swamp ends, with the river recombining into a single channel, right at Trimble Bridge Road. As of April 2022, if the 'Experience' of the art piece on the railway bridge piling is half-way under water or more, beware, Pot Leaf Shoals is a solid 4+ with a large recirculating keeper midstream in the last drop, making it really a 5. Get out early river left to scout, though this is private property. It may be possible to set safety above and below the keeper. Otherwise scout/portage river right. River right does have an open channel but there may be piton and pinning hazards. ## Section 6, Trimble Bridge Rd to Hwy 278. Continuing on to section 6, or putting in at Trimble Bridge,the river does flow quickly but with no shoals or swamps.  Do be aware of strainers. This section isabundant with wildlife and is bordered on river left by forest land and onriver right by a conservation easement. ## From GCA The Eddy Line, July 2003, is a historical accountof trips through the swamps, assembled by Dick Hurd: “In the May issue of The Eddy Line I offered a scoutingreport on the above river suggesting that there might be an interesting runfrom Hwy 441 to Lake Oconee. I had been scouting the river for canoe/camping suitability,and had approached every bridge crossing I could find, but had to rely heavilyon old data from Sehlinger and Otey. Shortly after this report was published, Igot some feedback from members who had tried this trip in the past and viewedit as a canoe trip from Hell! Both Doug Massey and Jeff Engel describe a riverthat becomes a swamp before reconstituting as a river just above Lake Oconee. Two thoughts come to mind: There is nothing new under thesun, and those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. I can only hopenobody took my advice! I have researched my Eddy Line archives, and discoveredthree reports of ill fated trips on the Apalachee. Jim Patsios reported aterrible experience from a trip on 11-19-1989, and Jay Palmer did likewise for atrip on 6-25- 1989. Both trips ended in the dark, long beyond their anticipatedfinish times. Dan Roper reported a similar cautionary tale in October, 1993. So, by all accounts the rapids below 441 are a fun activity,but below that, only masochists need apply. Dan questioned whether S&O had reallypaddled that section, and Jay advised that S&O’s writing “merits the samedegree of scrutiny as a contract from a used car dealer.” Be forewarned yourself.Within our club there is a lot of collective paddling experience, butdistribution of that knowledge is a problem. There is no Eddy Line archive assuch, but maybe there could and should be — the old issues contain a wealth ofpaddling and scouting reports. By Dick Hurd From The Eddy Line July 2003” Some notes to add to the GCA Eddy Line account: Looking athistorical flows for the Nov 1989 and 1993 trips, levels were at 500 cfs orlower. There is no flow data on the USGS site for the third trip (6/25/89). In January 2016 , the Apalachee rose to 1500 cfs and waspaddled from Hwy 86 to Lake Oconee (https://youtu.be/ua5DqYBnlLA). Both swampswere readily navigated, following a channel until it was blocked,  getting out and transitioning to the closestchannel with water. The lack of vegetation helped to scout and navigate theswamp. From Will Van de Berg about Pot Leaf Shoals: The gauge youare looking for is the Apalachee near Bostwick gauge and between 200-400 cfsfor optimal play. Can definitely play it at both lower (absolute minimum isaround 100 cfs) and higher levels, I have played there at around 3000 cfs andbeyond, but it gets way more intense and is a huge, kind of flood stage feelingto it. The line to the right of the island opens up then and it has a GNARLYhole on river right that will keep you in it for a long while (I found this outmyself one day) as well as some entrapment potential on the river left of it--stay center for best results. At high flows, the wave mid rapid goes from beinga small wave to a nice hole to, at really high flows, a great 6-7' surf wave.At higher flows, the blasting hole gets pretty unfun as the current shoves youinto the rock on river left, making it more difficult to play in and at reallyhigh flows, this feature completely disappears. At between 200-400 cfs, thepark and play spot is a blast, with surfing waves, a great blasting hole, adeep eddy line for flatwater moves, several splat spots, and other featuresthat make it worthwhile to hit when in Athens. Not a destination boatinglocation, but a great training spot for Athens area boaters.