You probably know I love paddling my little blue kayak. This summer I'll be paddling it along with 350 others on the Altamaha River, a broad, slow river in South Georgia. We've been promised strainers, alligators, Spanish moss dripping from tupelo and cypress trees, ospreys, Mississippi kites, anhingas, cooters, and snakes of many persuasions. The flotilla will paddle 108 miles in a geologically and biologically unique river segment, from Reidsville along the Ohoopee River, to Darien where the Altamaha empties into the Atlantic. At night we'll camp out in high school gyms.

Paddle Georgia is always an adventure, always a workout, and always slobberin' good fun. Yet not everyone wants to spend a week slathered in sunscreen by day and sleeping on a gym floor by night. You don't have to love this sort of insanity to be part of it. You can be involved by contributing to Georgia River Network and Altamaha Riverkeeper. With the competing demands of population growth, industry, agriculture, recreation, infrastructure, energy, and the water needs of neighboring states, the voice of rivers and the lands they traverse can get lost in the shouting matches. Organizations like GRN and Altamaha Riverkeeper monitor water quality, work with industries and landholders to keep rivers clean and flowing, educate the public about rivers, meet with legislators, and generally pay close attention to the health of rivers. BTW, amazingly, the Altamaha is such an immense watershed that even South DeKalb's Ocmulgee River in is included in the work of the Altamaha Riverkeeper.

Water is a BIG DEAL in Georgia. With the population density of the Atlanta metro area, the irreplaceable forests of north Georgia, the agriculture of central and south Georgia, and the ports, marshes and islands of the coast, all Georgians are stakeholders in the health of our waterways.

Kayaking for a week makes it obvious that eventually EVERYTHING ends up the water.  Paddling has changed the way I see the natural and human-touched world. Even after a lifetime of hiking and backpacking, spending a week or a day on a river opens up a new level of intimacy with our world. Please consider contributing any amount, even a micro-donation, to protect Georgia's rivers.

Please join me in supporting Paddle Georgia 2012. Donations modest and grand are welcome! Georgia's rivers thank you, as do I.

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!!