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!

Sandy Springs

A view of our crew.

Sarah approves of Kayak Guy Atlanta

Island cut through

This is a very calm and very scenic trip with lots to see.  This kayak trip started out early in the morning and we had some amazing morning fog.  It was a sight to see, and our guests were in awe of the density of the fog.  We also had a chance to chat with some heavy headed inner tubers who spent the night on the river camping. They obviously had a bit to drink so we joked with them before starting our trip.

Our out of town guests (Vermont and Chicago)really got a nice day. The sun was hidden and the temperature didn’t get too high. The start of the trip was slow going as our guests wanted to take pictures and just take it all in. This section is all flatwater with no shoals and faster water until you reach the end at Jones Bridge.  I think we all enjoyed the peaceful early morning and a few times I lost our guests in the thick fog. This was one of the selling points to get everyone to wake up early enough to get on the river.

Again, thanks to our new guests and our old friends for making the tour a ton of fun.  We had our first four legged friend, aptly named Georgia. I was so impressed how well the dog did riding on the front of a kayak. Too bad my dog weighs 94lbs. He would have loved kayaking with us this weekend.

We even had a brave Chicago guest who decided he wanted to jump in.  I think he expected waters that were a bit warmer but he said it was exhilarating none-the-less.  I debated jumping in but saw his face and decided to pass on that idea. Damn cold waters!

This trip is perfectly suited for beginners and sight see-ers. You can see some beautiful homes along the way and the biggest of them all the Tyler Perry mansion.  This trip took around 3 hrs mostly due to the slow waters.

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).

Thanks to all our terrific guests, this weekend tour was a great success by all standards for Kayak Guy Atlanta. It was our inaugural tour and it turned out to be an awesome trip down the Chattahoochee River. We has some amazing first time kayakers, some seasoned kayakers, and some in between. I was very impressed because they all handled the Chattahoochee River like professionals.

As planned we started in Suwanee at the Settlers Bridge Park. The morning was perfect….with a cool, crisp start to our journey.  My Ford Explorer (affectionately named Betty) was loaded down with 8 kayaks, by far the most it has ever carried. But we arrived and our guests were ready to get started, most of whom told me they were first time kayakers but I question that because they turned out to be surprisingly strong paddlers.

Since they were “first timers” I gave my best attempt at a paddlers brief.  (I will work on that) But it must have been sufficient because as we put each kayak in the water, they pulled away like kayak ninjas and I was left to catch up. The group was off, all 9 of us……Angali, Sarah, Neha, Maria, Claudia, 7 year old Sophia, Robert, Gonzalo, and Kayak Guy Scott.

I love the morning for kayaking. And this morning was no different. It was quiet and cool and the birds provided a nice backdrop of noise.  It was a great sound also to hear our 8 kayaks quietly cutting through the water.  It gave me a huge smile after going through a lot of work to get these boats and turn my passion into a small business. Ahhhh

The trip distance is 7-8 miles total and took 4 hours.  Even though that seems long for the first trip, I thought it to be perfect. Our guests were Cross Fit/ Beach Body pros so I wasn’t worried about their stamina too much. But for reference to future guests, this trip is mildly strenuous.

It was a truly enjoyable trip and we had a few stops along the way to stretch our legs and get some food. Minor navigation was required where we hit some of the river shoals and light rapids. Overall I would say this is a good tour for strong beginners as we had.

 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). 

Amazing Kayak Crew!