We paddle for about an hour upstream, attempting to stay quiet so that we can see all there is to see. We will then gather around to ask any questions and share our findings with the group, then turn back and paddle downstream to the boat launch.
This is a flat water, out and back trip which means that we won’t be dealing with (or benefitting from) any current and that we will put in and take out at the same location. It is a fairly easy paddle, and we will also set the pace so that no one gets burned out from the onset. In all, we will spend about two hours on the water. Generally, there is about an hour of set up and break down, so I expect the trip to last about 3 hours in total.

Average water levels for this time of year allow us to paddle a little more than a mile down to the top of Hargrove Shoals, the largest known shoals of lilies left in the world, and back upstream. The special geology that provides the lilies their habitat actually helps us in this case. The riverbed changes between limestone and sandstone, remnants of ancient rising and falling sea levels. Where the riverbed is limestone you will see the shallow shoals that the lilies call home. Where the riverbed is sandstone, there are deep pools where water slows. It is these deep pools of slow moving water that allow us to paddle back upstream and to take out at the same place we put it. We advertise this as one of our more physically demanding trips because at each shoal “step” we have to drag our boats to the next pool. The shoals create obstacles on our way back to the boat launch. Boats will become stuck on rocks across the shoals both headed downstream and back up. Be careful as you step out of your boats to pull across the shoals: the rocks are slippery! The walks across the shoals are why we wear close-toed shoes.

Average water levels for this time of year allow us to paddle a little more than a mile down to the top of Hargrove Shoals, the largest known shoals of lilies left in the world, and back upstream. The special geology that provides the lilies their habitat actually helps us in this case. The riverbed changes between limestone and sandstone, remnants of ancient rising and falling sea levels. Where the riverbed is limestone you will see the shallow shoals that the lilies call home. Where the riverbed is sandstone, there are deep pools where water slows. It is these deep pools of slow moving water that allow us to paddle back upstream and to take out at the same place we put it. We advertise this as one of our more physically demanding trips because at each shoal “step” we have to drag our boats to the next pool. The shoals create obstacles on our way back to the boat launch. Boats will become stuck on rocks across the shoals both headed downstream and back up. Be careful as you step out of your boats to pull across the shoals: the rocks are slippery! The walks across the shoals are why we wear close-toed shoes.

Average water levels for this time of year allow us to paddle a little more than a mile down to the top of Hargrove Shoals, the largest known shoals of lilies left in the world, and back upstream. The special geology that provides the lilies their habitat actually helps us in this case. The riverbed changes between limestone and sandstone, remnants of ancient rising and falling sea levels. Where the riverbed is limestone you will see the shallow shoals that the lilies call home. Where the riverbed is sandstone, there are deep pools where water slows. It is these deep pools of slow moving water that allow us to paddle back upstream and to take out at the same place we put it. We advertise this as one of our more physically demanding trips because at each shoal “step” we have to drag our boats to the next pool. The shoals create obstacles on our way back to the boat launch. Boats will become stuck on rocks across the shoals both headed downstream and back up. Be careful as you step out of your boats to pull across the shoals: the rocks are slippery! The walks across the shoals are why we wear close-toed shoes.