Canoeing the Okefenokee Swamp | 4 Day Canoe Camping Trip

Another incredible trip to the Okefenokee swamp. During this trip we spent 4 days exploring the westside of the swamp. We paddled from Stephen C. Foster State Park to the Big Water Shelter (11 miles) to Floyd's Island (7 miles) to the Canal Run Shelter (4 miles) and then back to Stephen C. Foster (7 miles). In total we paddled 29 miles over the 4 days.
We were also fortunate enough to celebrate Thanksgiving on Floyd's Island at the Hebard Cabin (aka Floyd's Island Cabin). Daniel Hebard of the Hebard Lumber Company built the cabin on Floyd's Island in 1925. It was originally built for use as a duck hunting cabin while the Hebard Company logged the swamp. The Hebard Lumber Company would own the cabin up until 1937 when Franklin D. Roosevelt purchased the property and created the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. This purchase by the government would be one of many over the years and today the refuge is 402,000 acres in total.
Shot in 24p with a Panasonic G85, GoPro Black HERO7 and an iPhone 11 Pro. Filmed November 2020

[@mountainsmoore3657]

We have camped at all of these sites in the Swamp and seeing your video brought back some great memories. -I too have a camera at the bottom of that swamp, but just as I was about to go in after mine, a gator swam past the front of my canoe, about 10 yards from me. SMH. The camera is still there, 12 years later. - I have picture of my buddy napping in his zero gravity chair, with a gator sitting in the water right behind him, that I took at Canal Run. Surely it isn't the same gator, before it lost its eye??? We went to the Swamp, every year for 10 years, prior to Covid, then we just never have made it back...but we have secured our permits for a trip coming up next month! Looking forward to getting back in the Swamp! Very well shot, edited, and narrated video. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks for sharing.

[@subproject43]

Thank you, I appreciate it. I wish I had an upcoming trip to the swamp. Enjoy it your latest visit!

[@pornsakpongthong1092]

I grew up in Diarrhea Shoals, on the eastern edge of the swamp. We used to own a mud shop.

[@user-wx8uj4xr2q]

Mud prices has gone up.

[@TreadandTrail]

Have to say, out of all the videos I've watched about Canoeing the Okefenokee, there were only a couple I really enjoyed...yours was one of them. Great job on this project. Someone really enjoys their post-production time on the computer and it shows!

[@subproject43]

Thank you!

[@soniadowney7427]

The music drove me away ..what the heck, it's the wild. Not a rock concert!

[@phillipwalker9010]

So friggin Good.

[@gatortim1986]

Looks like fun

[@truthmattersjesusiscoming6460]

This is a great video!!

[@subproject43]

Thanks

[@bradcochran1234]

Always a pleasure watching a Ridgeway video

[@zero22884]

Great video of your adventure!

[@danaharris5357]

Awesome video! Im trying to plan a trip and this was very helpful. Thanks for posting.

[@PADDLECAMPFISH]

Hey that was Awesome! I hoping to do this trip in 2021. You guys made it look so fun! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@GoBraves012]

Awesome stuff, man. Thanks for sharing!

[@subproject43]

Thank you, Jim.

[@iguanadreams]

Really enjoyed the thoughtful videography. Great work.

[@subproject43]

Thank you.

[@stryder7171]

Beautiful video.

[@subproject43]

Thank you

[@user-wx8uj4xr2q]

The most incredible thing is the size and age range of your group. Do you have a name like the Pirate Paddlers?

[@OutsideDog]

Well done.

[@subproject43]

Thanks

[@Unfluencer]

somebodys been feeding jogi

[@brianwade8649]

Loved the video. This is so good and I wonder if you have thought about monthly (or some period) releases. Anyway.. the editing, music, and everything were really good.

[@subproject43]

That is awesome, thanks Brian. I wish I had the time to have scheduled releases. Coincidentally I am about to upload the edit of our most recent trip to Cumberland Island. We canoed to the island, backpacked to Stafford and then rang in the New Year.

[@sher_3771]

We're there mice/rats in the cabin on Floyd's island?Island? Great quality video btw!

[@subproject43]

Hi Sherry. I am sure they were there but we didn’t see many droppings. Thanks

[@dag221]

Excellent camera work on the video. I was curious what you shot it with and was glad to see you listed the equipment you used. The high saturation shots are clearly the Iphone and it looks amazing. Good job with the compositions and steady hands.

[@subproject43]

Thanks!

[@jayblanton745]

This is crazy- we're actually leaving tomorrow to go to Stephen c foster State Park, then heading to Floyd's island to camp on Thanksgiving, EXACTLY one year to the day from when y'all stayed there! Then we're heading to canal run, then Mixon's hammock . I was the artist-in-residence for the Okefenokee in 2019, but I never did get the chance to see or stay on Floyd's Island, canal run or Mixon's hammock so this will be our first time seeing this part of the swamp. Great video, very well shot & edited though!!! Some of those trails near the island look tough... Did y'all have any issues getting through any part of it?

[@subproject43]

Thanks for the comment, you’re going to love spending Thanksgiving on Floyd’s Island. It was a very memorable trip for all of us last year. Our paddle also went very smoothly with no overly difficult sections. Very cool to hear you were the artist in residence there; I’d love to see some of your work, is it available to view online? Enjoy your trip and Happy Thanksgiving!

[@jayblanton745]

@@subproject43 That's good to hear- hopefully ours goes smooth too; it's supposed to be very nice weather. I Do have a few- this link is the photos that were displayed during the gallery show at the end of my Artist-in-residence! On the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page they posted quite a few that aren't in this gallery, so you may be able to search my name on their Facebook page and see a few more. They gave me a waiver to fly my drone during my time there- I could only fly outside the National Wilderness Area & could only fly during midday, so there were still quite a few restrictions. One of the staff at Stephen C Foster took me out on one of their boats after dark on Billy's Lake to capture a few astrophotography shots...Minnie's Lake Shelter is the closest I've ever gotten to Floyd's Island. thegeorgiaphotographyfanatic.smugmug.com/Okefenokee-Gallery/

[@ChiliDippaGolf]

Great vid Ryan! That sucks that Brandon lost his Go Pro and couldnt retrieve it. Looks like you guys had an amazing time. What a way to spend Thanksgiving! The one eyed gator was awesome! The paddle thru that tight canal seems like it would be fun! Were did u get those carts? Love the editing and Tristan is always good on the mic!

[@subproject43]

Thanks Mark! Tristan did a great job narrating and paddling, he makes me proud. The cart was at the cabin to help transport the gear over the island. You need to join us on one of the trips, it’ll be just like the old days.

[@ExploreGA]

Hi! We love this video and would love to feature a few seconds of it (with credit) to promote travel in Georgia. Your perspective is so fun! If interested, you can grant us permission through this link. Hope to hear from you soon!

[@subproject43]

I would be happy to discuss. Do you have an email where I can contact you directly?

[@suefoster8827]

The music is so distracting.