3 Days Hammock Camping the Satilla River In Winter | A 200 Yard Portage

In short: A southern gentleman at the ramp warned us about downed trees three miles in on the Satilla. He was right. We hit two big pines bank to bank, then more past that, and ended up hauling the whole outfit 200 yards through the woods in six or seven trips. The next day meant getting in cold water to drag the canoe through and lifting it up and over trunks. It was the roughest day we have had since we started. We still had a blast.

Local intel you do not ignore

Thursday about 4:30 we rolled into the ramp and started unloading. A gentleman who had been fishing gave us the word: downed trees about three miles in. Out here you do not ignore local intel. A local knows things the map will never show you, and this one saved us from being surprised. Before we knew it we were at the trees he told us about, two big pines bank to bank. I tied off and walked the bank about a hundred yards looking for a way around, found another tree down past that, and came back to Tina. Sometimes the river just tells you where you are camping.

Hauling everything through the woods

We could not slip that stretch, so we portaged. A portage is when you carry the boat and gear overland around what you cannot paddle. You unload first, then move the gear in loads and the canoe separate. Our worst stretch ran about 200 yards, and it took six or seven trips to haul every piece over, reload, and push off. We set the system at camp the way we always do, hammocks up, tarps up, because routine is the armor. I walked the woods for fat lighter while the light faded, and we got a fire going with the Uberleben Modern Firecraft. The steaks were frozen solid that first night, so we ate peanut butter and jelly and honestly, best sandwiches we ever made.

Getting wet to earn the miles

The Satilla was not done. A mile down there were two more big pines, one with lily pads growing off the end, and we got hung up trying to slip through. I took my shoes off, got in the cold water, and cleared the path, then pulled Tina and the canoe through. Fifteen or twenty minutes of that. Thirty yards later, another pine across the river, and since we were already wet we lifted the canoe and gear up and over. The river makes you earn every mile. After three more miles we found the right sandbar, and that night the steaks finally cooked the way they were supposed to. Steak and potatoes while the sun went down, what a way to end a hard day. Tina put it plain: she would rather sleep with alligators than run this one again until it is cleaned up. We did it, it is in the books, and we are better for it.

Questions about the Satilla and portaging

Why listen to local intel before a trip?

Locals see the river every day, and they know things a map or a trip report never will. When we rolled into the ramp on the Satilla around 4:30, a gentleman who had been out fishing stopped us and said there were downed trees about three miles in. We had no way to check that ourselves before we were on the water, so we took him at his word. Sure enough, right about where he said, we came up on two big pines lying bank to bank, no way around by boat. Because he had warned us, we were not caught flat footed, we already knew something was coming and could start figuring out our options instead of being surprised in the moment. That warning did not stop the trees from being there, but it changed how we handled them. Out here you do not brush off a local's word, it can save you real time.

How do you get past a tree blocking the whole river?

It depends on what kind of tree you are dealing with. Some you can slip under just by getting low in the boat. Some you push off of and swing the canoe around to find a gap on the other side. Some you have to lift the canoe and gear straight up and over the trunk. On the Satilla we hit a spot with two more big pines, one with lily pads growing off the end, and we could not slip through it clean, so I took my shoes off, got into the cold water, and cleared a path before pulling Tina and the canoe through, about fifteen or twenty minutes of work. Thirty yards later another pine crossed the river, and since we were already wet from the first one, we just lifted the canoe and gear up and over it. When a tree runs truly bank to bank with no gap anywhere, you stop trying to force it and portage everything around on foot.

Is the Satilla good for canoe camping?

The Satilla itself is beautiful water, but the stretch we ran was choked with pines the last hurricane had knocked down, and it turned into the hardest day we have had since we started doing this. Between the local's warning about downed trees three miles in, the two big pines bank to bank that sent us on a 200-yard portage, and more trees past that where we had to wade into cold water to clear a path, it was one obstacle after another all day long. Tina summed it up best, she said she would rather sleep with alligators than run that stretch again until somebody clears it out. We had a great time and do not regret running it, but a river can change a lot after a storm, and what looks fine on a map is not always what you find on the water. Scout the current conditions before you commit to a section, and be ready to portage if the river tells you no.