Hotchkiss Road to Mayday, Alapaha River

Put in: Hotchkiss Road (http://www.wwals.net/maps/alapaha-water-trail/arwt-map/map-2015-04-26/access-2015-04-26/#Hotchkiss-Road) in Lanier County,30.93669, -83.0406 (https://www.google.com/maps/place/30%C2%B056'12.1%22N+83%C2%B002'26.2%22W/@30.93669,-83.0427887,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0)

Take out: Mayday (http://www.wwals.net/maps/alapaha-water-trail/arwt-map/map-2015-04-26/access-2015-04-26/#Mayday) in Echols County, 30.82827, -83.017179 (https://www.google.com/maps/place/30%C2%B049'41.8%22N+83%C2%B001'01.8%22W/@30.82827,-83.0193677,665m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0)

Distance: 12.7 miles

Duration: about 6 hours

Bring: Boat, paddle, personal flotation device, snacks, drinking water. If you don’t have a boat, let us know, and we can probably rustle one up for you.

This outing is Free! But we encourage you to join WWALS today to support our fun outings and important work: http://www.wwals.net/donations/ . See our newsletters (http://www.wwals.net/about/newsletters/), and the press Releases and news (http://www.wwals.net/about/news/). And consider joining the Alapaha River Water Trail Committee (http://www.wwals.net/about/committees/#wwals-art).

The picture is from the WWALS outing from Lakeland to Hotchkiss Road last July (http://www.wwals.net/2015/11/08/pictures-lakeland-to-hotchkiss-road-wwals-outing-gretchen-quarterman/), which was in the middle of the dry season, and the water was about as low as we’d want to go. April is usually in the rainy season, so we’ll probably need to watch whether the water on theStatenville gauge (http://www.wwals.net/2014/11/03/alapaha-river-water-levels/#Statenville) is not higher than 6-9 feet, so as to avoid having to duck under trees like those pictured.

Backup in case of low or high water:

Where: Banks Lake (http://www.wwals.net/maps/alapaha-water-trail/arwt-map/map-2015-04-26/points-2015-04-26/#Banks-Lake-Boat-Ramp), 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635 (https://www.google.com/maps?channel=fs&q=31.035097,+-83.097045&oe=utf-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIld3N8sHvyAIVTEAmCh1EoQcE), Lanier County

Directions: 18 miles east of Hahira (I-75 exit 29), 2 miles west of Lakeland, south side of GA 122