Can You Canoe?

My husband and I recently spent a peaceful evening outdoors with our twin 12-year-old daughters on a guided canoe adventure with the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

The three-mile tours on the ’Hooch are led by two guides who help even the newest of canoers get paddling. Every participant, regardless of previous experience, wears a life vest. While we stayed on dry land, our guides taught our group the parts of the canoe, how to properly get in and out of the boat and how to hold the paddle. We learned to push the paddle blade into the water using the strength in our top hand, and then pull the blade back using our bottom hand. We spent some time learning steering, as the person in the stern (back) position paddles on the opposite side of the direction you want to go. It takes some practice!
Using our newly learned skills in the water was much easier than I thought it would be. I found myself relaxing from the day’s hectic pace as I noticed the glassy surface of the water reflecting the sky and the smell of fragrant honeysuckle surrounding us. “Hey look! It’s a Bald Eagle,” our guide, Joe, called out to us. Sure enough, we looked up in time to see the majestic bird soar over the treetops.
About a half mile downstream, we “gunwaled up,” which is canoe-speak for joining our canoes together, as the other guide, Jenny, explained the surroundings. She shared that, at an average temperature of 48 degrees, the Chattahoochee is the coldest southernmost river in the U.S. As we came upon a blue heron and a group of swallows along the bank, she explained that this river can’t change course because it is “locked in” by the Brevard Fault Zone – the same fault line that caused the mild tremors in metro Atlanta this February.
As dusk approached, the guides led us through a wetlands area and instructed us to whisper in order to best experience the sights and sounds around us. Birds chirped in the air. A fish jumped in the water. We glimpsed a beaver mound on the bank. Everyone became quiet, soaking in the atmosphere, including the group of boisterous middle-school boys on the trip.
Both my daughters enjoyed canoeing, and one of my girls commented that she felt powerful steering the canoe from the stern position while practicing the “J” stroke that Joe showed her. My husband and I appreciated the three hours we spent interacting with our children without competing electronics.
A radiant sunset welcomed us on the return journey upstream. Amazing! Who could imagine that we were still in the heart of metro Atlanta?

– Rebecca R. Leffler