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Morgan Falls-Paces Mill (8 miles)

Posted by on October 22, 2013

Wow another terrific kayak tour on the river.  I want to send out a thank you to our new guests (Susannah, Gurmeet, and Aaron) as well as our repeat kayakers (Sarah and Ang).  They made this tour a ton of fun and proved to be great kayakers.

This tour took place Saturday June 8th at 8:30 AM. We started below the Morgan Falls hydro dam in Sandy Springs.  It is a great place to easily access the river from the boat ramp (200 Morgan Falls Road Sandy Springs) and the dam provides an awesome man-made backdrop.

We started with some coffee and donuts to get the morning started right. I cannot start a day without coffee so it was necessary to take action.  I did a short kayaker briefing as the fog slowly rolled off the Chattahoochee.  If we had started 30 minutes sooner, navigation would have been tough with the thick fog.  It is a pretty amazing sight to see.

We got boats in the water by 9aM and the weather was awesome.  It was cloud covered and humid but the temperature was in the 70’s.  There was a cool air coming off the water which actually made it feel cooler than it really was. And as promised, we got to see plenty of wildlife and did our best stealth tactics to get some good pictures.  Almost on cue, the river otters, turtles, herons, and other birds made their appearance.

The first 5 miles were very calm waters.  We enjoyed the mellow times but I could see some of our guests wanted a little more excitement.  They showed their skills with the small shoals (small rapids) at Powers Island. At this point we wanted to stop and stretch our legs so we stopped on the Cochran Shoals side of the river.

Here we got a good chance to laugh at the already drunken tubers.  (amazing how early they start drinking) Anyway, at this point I gave our kayakers an option.  Finish our trip here, or continue on into the rougher waters below the I-285 bridge.  I had a feeling they would want to continue and that is what they decided.

This stretch from Cochran Shoals to Paces Mill (3 miles) is lots of fun.  It is a bit more technical and requires some navigation skills since there are some legit rapids in this area. There is also a nice area here to do some cliff jumping if you are adventurous enough to try it. We did not on this trip because the water was cold, but if we do it again I think we may take the leap.

There were a few close calls but we all made it through without going into the water.  One rock in our path in particular proved challenging. It took a nice brace technique by Susannah to keep from getting flipped.  Well done!
We wrapped up our trip at Paces Mill inside the perimeter. I loved it and I hope everyone else did.  Either way, leave your feedback on your experience.

This trip was actually a bit more technical. This lower stretch would be recommended for previous paddlers. The upper stretch is perfect for all skill levels as it is very calm and peaceful.

Thanks again to the crew and cheers from Kayak Guy Atlanta. If you want to join us for a trip like this, call (678-920-3944) or email (Scott@KayakGuyAtlanta.com).

Gurmeet looking like a pro!

Gurmeet looking like a pro!

Sandy Springs

Sandy Springs

A view of our crew.

A view of our crew.

Sarah approves of Kayak Guy Atlanta

Sarah approves of Kayak Guy Atlanta

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