Land of Trembling Earth - Canoeing Okefenokee Swamp

[@Saltfly]

I can’t believe how good this was.

[@timothydentalhopeforchildr32]

I canoe the Okefenokee regularly. Love the way you capture everything. I watch your video all the time. I can't stop watching. God bless.

[@JimHep]

I am glad you have enjoyed it. It is a beautiful place and I don’t think it can be more accurately represented than by the silence it provides!

[@ThomPaddler]

Thanks for the video, beautiful !!! cheers from the Netherlands.

[@robintheoutside]

Your video came up in my feed this morning and I'm glad it did. I absolutely loved this video. What a beautiful and peaceful place. I've ran into a couple of swamps during our trips and have never thought about exploring them, just wanted to get to the big lake or the rushing rivers. You've totally changed my mind! Thank you for sharing and you've made a subscriber out of me :)

[@katiesluski5187]

10/10 would watch again

[@clairasluski6792]

Agreed

[@JimHep]

Just tell your pops that the lack of dialogue in the video was not for him to add dialogue while watching it. 😂

[@TR_Swan]

Outstanding!

[@brightmooninthenight2111]

Beautiful video man. Im planning on doing my own kayak trip myself here soon. I appreciate all the effort you took to get many of these shots. Im a bit worried about this twin pines mining threat.. i love seeing videos like this that celebrates the beauty here

[@dag221]

Still enjoying this video after a year or more. Great camera work and production and the music is great. I used the Ammil tune in my own videos about the swamp. Heading out there this morning to capture some more video and hopefully some sunrise action like this.

[@srileo]

Superb film making and so very contemplative. You brought out the mood of the place. My daughter says she loved watching this video.

[@JimHep]

Hey thanks for the wonderful comments! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

[@surfer30071972]

O and greets from the Netherlands 🤙

[@FTAStaff]

A beautiful video about a beautiful place. Thank you.

[@JimHep]

Thank you! It is a beautiful place and I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@mountainpaddler2242]

Fantastic! Well done

[@Daisy_was_here-lol]

2:06 perfection

[@thebenman8657]

So relaxing. 🤩

[@shirleykokidko2100]

Beautiful video! The trail from Canal Run to Bluff Lake looks narrow & shallow. Love the canoe too.

[@JimHep]

Thank you! That was the first time I have done that particular section and it did catch me off guard! Then realized I had to paddle that again the following day. 🤦‍♂️ The canoe is amazing. Nicest boat I’ve ever owned and could not be happier with it.

[@surfer30071972]

Nice video love it.

[@JimHep]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

[@philsalvador1373]

I really enjoyed this video. It looks like a lot of work and care went into making it. So many changing camera angles! The resolution and colors looked great. The beauties of the swamp and changing weather were marvelous. It took a moment for me to get used to the lack of any narration or music (except at beginning and end), but I came around to seeing this as appropriate. As a paddler, I took interest in your choice of gear and day-to-day routine of camping and moving on. Thanks for this nice piece of work.

[@JimHep]

Thank you for the wonderful comment! I like having the music in there here and there, but try and capture the stillness of the swamp. Appreciate the great feedback and I’m glad you enjoyed them! That’s the hope. 😀

[@l214laus]

Thanks for a very beautiful tour of country you must love. That you could start the fire from the embers in the metal ring, I’d have thought it’d present a fire danger? Perhaps the wrong season for that. Not a great move from other users. cheers from Melbourne, Australia 🇦🇺

[@JimHep]

Appreciate the wonderful comment and yes it is a beautiful place to paddle for sure! I would agree that to a certain degree leaving the hot embers is not recommended. However A couple of things to note: This is a swamp and this is a wet winter this year. That small island is surrounded by hardwoods and water similar to the area that I was gathering firewood from. The Okefenokee most definitely sees fire though. Whether it is prescribed fire or a large wildfire similar to the West Mims Fx in 2017. Many of the wet prairies only have 6-10 inches of water and when a drought hits the duff layer is exposed and there is no stopping it. I know y’all are plenty familiar with that though!

[@chipperjones3142]

What a classic video! awesome cinematography, gear is all top shelf as well… love to see a video of your gear choices… any plans to do the upper Suwanee?

[@JimHep]

Hey there! Yes I would like to do the swamp from the NE across to the sill and then paddle the Suwannee to the gulf. I just put out a gear video from my last trip.

[@TreadandTrail]

Absolutely loved this video!! A real inspiration as I try to get a few days together to take my Canoe up there. Also really enjoy your channel and hope you can get more videos uploaded like this one. REAL ENTERTAINMENT!! Did you film any more of the recent trip to the Santa Fe?? Also another trip I am trying to get on the calendar. I am in Central Florida, would love to get a trip together with you sometime. Please keep up the excellent post-production work and keep em' coming!! Thank you!!

[@JimHep]

Hey thank you for the wonderful comment! I am glad you enjoyed it. Both the locations you mentioned are well worth the effort to make the trip. I have actually been out with some medical issues so I am combing through some old footage. I do have some footage of the Santa Fe in a longer video to post up next week. 🙂 If you have any questions about planning a trip feel free to reach out and I will direct you in whatever way I can. Stay safe!

[@hike-bike-paddle-and-drone]

Gorgeous! I plan on doing the same here in the Adirondacks of NY. I just purchased the Wenonah Argosy in Black Gold and wood gunwales. Looks a lot like your boat! I think you have the web seat there as well with some nice knee padding. Where did you get that?

[@JimHep]

Correct it is a web seat w/ a padded cover (w/ saddles) from Cooke Custom Sewing. The kneeling pad is from Comfy Kayak. I have had both on there since I got the boat last summer. The seat cover stays on there 100% of the time. Really happy with both. 👌

[@hike-bike-paddle-and-drone]

@@JimHep that is an awesome layout! I will look into it. Did you also tilt your seat mounts a little? It kind of looked it but could have been the perspective of the camera.

[@hike-bike-paddle-and-drone]

Hey Tyler, just hooked up on CCS Facebook page and saw your questions there. Thanks for the connection. Definitely going to order a few things! Jeff

[@JimHep]

@@hike-bike-paddle-and-drone I actually raised and tilted the seat. Removed the wooden spacers and went for a paddle with the seat hung by the bolts only. Had the tools with me to adjust until I liked it and then made my cuts. You will be happy with anything from CCS. Great products. There is a Facebook Group for them as well and Dan Cooke will respond personally to any questions.

[@LastButNotLost]

I have watched literally every Okefenokee video on KZbin. This one, by far, best captures what is like to overnight in the Oke. Well done. I'm curious, which platform did you like the best? Which paddle did enjoy the most? Which was the most challenging? My wife and I have stayed at 7 of the 9 platforms. We'll be doing KF>Bluff Lake>Floyds Island>SCRA next month. We will then have completed the swamp, staying at every platform, and paddling almost every mile of trail. If I could make a suggestion for your next Oke trip, I would do KF>Maul Hammock>Big Water>Floyds Island>Mixons Hammock>SCF. You would have to shuttle to KF and back from SCF, but it is well worth it.

[@JimHep]

Thank you so much for the wonderful comment Mike! I genuinely appreciate it. My goal was to represent the area and a solo trip as accurate as possible. You know how quiet and peaceful it is out there let alone a lack of dialogue going solo. My favorite platform is Round Top for sure. The stillness and solitude there is just hard to beat let alone the 360* view. The paddle to Monkey Lake is a excellent in my opinion, but even more so is the sunset paddle I take. Sitting in that wet prairie and watching the sun go down is by far my favorite place in the entire swamp. Although that platform is not my favorite! I was caught off guard by the trail from Canal Run to Bluff Lake. In the video you will see that some portions are barely wide enough for my boat. I would not want to be in there with a double blade paddle or a kayak. I had originally planned on doing the loop from KF around the entire north side and back to KF, but was unable to because Floyds Island was booked solid. I will take you up on the suggestion for my next trip. Stay safe and enjoy your upcoming stay!

[@LastButNotLost]

@@JimHep Agreed on Round Top being our favorite, and also on the spectacular prairie sunsets at Monkey Lake. One one trip, I had an owl dive bomb me, claws out, as we watched the sun set. Thankfully it realized I wasn't food, and turned at the last second. On another trip, we stood near the end of the dock and watched two owls take advantage of the rain and groom each other for about a half hour in the trees right above us. It was magical. We did Round Top and Canal Run in early October a couple of years back. At Round Top, we awoke before sunrise to find the resident alligator sticking out the back of the platform with an egret in her mouth. She's blind in one eye, but can still hunt in the dark! We're told that she's lived at Round Top for about a decade and a half. We went north out of Round Top, and hit our roughest stretch. A peat blowout had completely blocked the path, and turning around was a long option. We had to get out and drag our kayaks about a quarter mile through the prairie. It was a slog for sure. We'll be doing that same section of narrow trail that you mentioned, but in reverse. We'll be in kayaks. This should be fun. The paddle from KF> Maul Hammock is beautiful, but 12 miles without any good stopping points makes it difficult. Maul Hammock to Big Water is a great paddle. In some sections it is curvy and narrow, with lots of low-hanging brush to make it a challenge. The water was low for us, and it might be difficult in a canoe at higher water. I think the trail from Big Water back to Billy's Lake is the most beautiful part of the swamp. Mixons Hammock is so close to SCF that you could stop and clean up on the way. If you ever make it up to Savannah, check out Ebenezer Creek. It is a beautiful blackwater creek, with a truly tragic back story. It is flanked by huge tupelo and cypress trees, said to be the oldest living things in Georgia at over 1,000 years old. Also, George L. Smith State Park in Twin City is another spectacular blackwater paddle, especially in mid-November when the cypress trees are at their peak color. Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book.

[@JimBobson-r4y]

What is your canoe? Brand. The racoons are fierce in FL and GA, I remember them chewing thru a plastic water bottle for fresh water in the Everglades. Batten down the hatches.

[@JimHep]

It is a Wenonah Wilderness in Innegra/Aramid layup. Never had and issue with them. The entire swamp is freshwater so I doubt they are wanting to go through the trouble in this area.

[@disappointmints]

26:31 Nahhh if I saw that, I’d go home. 😂😂😂

[@disappointmints]

44:36 NVM thas worse! OHHHH ... I’d start dumping anointing oil in the water praying whatever that was to leave 🤣😂

[@JimHep]

@@disappointmints lol they don’t care about you.

[@ExploreGA]

Hi! What an amazing video! We would still 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 the “collector” link in our bio. Hope to hear from you soon!

[@JimHep]

Hello! I did attempt to do this after the last request. Perhaps I’m not doing it correctly?!

[@ExploreGA]

Hi Lone Ventures - we love this this video of your time in the Okefenokee Swamp and would love to feature a few seconds of it to show others how they can safely travel to and around Georgia. If interested, you can grant us permissions and load the video through the "Collector" link in our About section or email [e-mail] with any questions. Hope to hear from you soon - safe travels!