Environment Sports Features Headlines Florida

Kayak Trip from St George GA to Traders Hill Which Completed the 130 Miles of the St Marys River

October 1, 2025

124

Feature

By Bryan Simpkins, 9-27-25

It’s not a quick paddle, this segment, completed Friday, September 19, 2025. I mean we paddled for as long as most people work in a day. We (and by “we” I mean my friend George Miller joined me for this final leg) didn’t get any assistance from the speed of the river either… but, this is why we do it.

Started at St George, GA and headed about 29+ miles mostly north to Traders Hill campsite near Bologne and Folkston, GA

This was my 7th and final leg of the 130 mile St Marys River- a guesstimated 29.5 miles on the black water beauty. Launching from the St George boat ramp off SR 2 and ending at the amazing Traders Hill boat ramp. Completed now, I paddled the entirety of the river, from the Okefenokee swamp to the Atlantic Ocean. 130 miles.

To review the prior legs: Okefenokee to Maccleny. Maccleny to St George. St Marys River Fish camp to Traders Hill and back. St Marys River Fish camp to Kings Ferry. Kings Ferry to I-95 and I-95 to the Atlantic Ocean and my hometown of Amelia Island (Yulee). The majority of the trip was solo.

Tuesday, Sept 16, it got real. My friend and Publisher of the Citizens Journal Florida, said he would like to do this final leg with me. He arranged for an early morning pickup and ride to the launch spot. All I needed to do was arrange a pick up at the finish… and my friend Kent, who has been a massive help on my other legs, offered to fill that spot. So it was set.

Trip Leader Bryan Simpkins (L) and George Miller just before launch early morning of 9-19-25

It was very dark as we loaded and left my house. After 45 minutes we arrived at the unlit, dirt entrance to the boat ramp. We launched in the dark, headed north and paddled under the State Road 2 bridge. Those first strokes are full of potential and promise. They were also slow as we had to let our eyes adjust to the dark.

After early morning launch, headed north

Soon we were dodging downed trees and avoiding snags and sandbars. While this was nothing like the Okefenokee to St George paddle it was still gonna slow our average speed way down. I had guesstimated between 6-8 hours of water travel…. That will be important to note later.

Black water and white sand became visible as the first light and sunrise started lighting up the trees. The river began to smoke and the silence was only broken by the occasional sound of the blade breaking the water.

Those early hours are magical. Too soon for reptiles to be out but the deer came to the edge to say hello. We even saw multiple Bald Eagles, something I hadn’t seen on any other segment.

The people that keep the river clear of debris had done a nice job but the recent tree falls made planning your route, scouting ahead, very important. Although the flow of the river was slow, you didn’t want to get caught sideways at a log and get pushed under. There were plenty of new trees down that had not been cut up for safer passage.

There came a time during the paddle, around the 6 hour mark that George said “the romance of the river is gone!” It was noticeable. The narrower beginning, where the flow of the river was noticeable, had given way to stillness. Of course we knew there was a flow but it didn’t assist us. George’s 18’ kayak weighed 46 pounds empty. Loaded it was probably 60 pounds? My kayak with basic supplies was 96 pounds and once I added the food and drink it went to 125.

Multiple sand bars caused us to either bottom out or the drag pulled our speed down. This happened often enough that at one point, when George had cell service, we called the guy who was gonna pick us up and asked him to come 1 1/2 hours later. These sand bars had no rhyme or reason to where they popped up. Some were near the banks, others were dead center. The pattern we fell into was this: watch for the black water to turn red and then turn hard to port or starboard! If you delayed, you’d run right upon it. Then, if you’re lucky, the wave would raise you up enough that you could slide off… but usually you would have to step out of the kayak and pull it to the darker water.

Saw this stand of cypress trees along the way

At one point, during a break to stretch and get a drink, I explored a side creek and slipped in some mud, on a steep bank, and slid 5 feet down to the waters edge. Things go bad quickly. I just envisioned a big bull alligator smirking just inches under the water. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I just hyperextended my hip and knee. Be smarter Bryan.

It was surprising to occasionally see white sand beaches along the way.

We were a good 7 hours into the black water before we saw our first human. When we asked how far it was to the boat ramp (small talk as we passed each other) the guys response was, “7 or 8 miles.” We didn’t want to hear that. After all, the sun was blazing and I had an unexpected experience with arm pump. Our 14 minute miles had increased to 16.5. I had also stopped to put leg coverings and socks on. The sun was slowly roasting me. Only comforted by my hoodie which was now catching the increasing headwind and circulating air around my head. While George went with the 50 spf, I opted for light clothing. George could gain speed easily and I would often find him waiting on me (getting a brief rest) until I caught up and then he was gone again. No short rests for me unless they were planned. And what was crazy was that we needed the pace at that level or we would’ve spent much more time on the water. At least I was off Monday.

The look of glass on the water was gone hours ago and had been replaced by wind chop. The sun was beating down, so we tried our best to hug the shoreline and take advantage of the shade. We made another phone call to our pick up to inform him we needed to add another 30 minutes to our arrival time. It seemed like no matter how hard we paddled we just kept losing time.

Stroke, stroke, grind, beg, moan…. it wasn’t that bad, but there was a period of time where it was just “count out a hundred strokes….then count out another hundred” just to keep your mind off of the monotony of it.

Blue and grey herons were our companions the last leg of the trip. I knew there were a lot of Lilly pads near Traders Hill. so I got excited when we started encountering them just south of our destination.

We rounded a bend and I saw the beautiful aluminum boat dock and let out a yell! When we began, I had a guesstimation of 6-8 hours to complete the trip, but by the time we beached, we had been on the water for 8 hours and 55 minutes.

At the finish- Traders Hill campground/launch ramp

Water with propel and Himalayan sea salt, protein shakes, Gatorade, V8 energy and a Coke were my liquids. Uncrustables, avocado, oranges and granola were my food.

It was bittersweet to land. What began as just an idea, back in June, had now been completed. 130 miles, from the Okefenokee swamp to the Atlantic Ocean, in 7 legs. 42 hours of paddle time. I guess that equals out to about 3.09 mph? Ugh.

I started this journey due to the strong ocean winds that forced me to delay my solo circumnavigations of local barrier islands. I have extremely enjoyed the calm waters and multiple scenery changes of the St Marys River. From cypress knees and knee deep water to the ripping outgoing tides and sawgrass at the historic downtown St Marys, it has been an adventure!

Thanks to The St Marys River Keeper, George Miller (who not only paddled the last leg with me but helped get me to the drop point of 2 legs, as well as posted all my writings in his paper / the Citizens Journal Florida), to Kent Fidler who has been involved in almost every trip I’ve been on, especially for the prayers, John Fournier for education in nutrition and multiple pick ups (especially the 3 hours I was overdue that day), to Mark Grimes who has been my kayak adventure friend for years, he also helped me scout launch and pick ups points and kayaked a leg with me, and his daughter Brandy Grimes who dropped us off on one leg. And finally John Sauer and Carl Robinson who also dropped me off on legs. Without you guys I couldn’t have done it. You are part of my experience.

So what did I learn? God’s creation is massive and harbors “abundant life” His promises is just outside your front door. So go. Start somewhere and so something! I have learned to push myself and grow. You can’t do that in front of the TV. Also…. Those who can’t do these things live vicariously through your experiences. So go!

Walking in the light,

Bryan Simpkins

All photos by Bryan Simpkins or George Miller

Some trip pics/videos on Facebook:

Bryan’s excellent photo/video essay on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/bryan.simpkins.33/videos/1488080652336124/

Some other Bryan Simpkins kayak trips:

Bryan Simpkins: Cumberland Island Kayak Solo Circumnavigation

May 27, 2024

Feature By Bryan Simpkins, 5-27-24 Someone called it the trifecta, I don’t know about that? I like the Barrier Slam. I am talking about solo circumnavigating Amelia,…