This paddle began at Knox Bridge Landing near Canton, Ga. The objective – push up Shoal creek for as far as daylight would permit. A fellow kayaker came along for the journey. We ended up doing close to 18 miles there and back. We stopped to inspect an iron-ore furnace built prior to the civil war still standing in the woods along the creek. I walked into the furnace, looked up and shot the above photo. The furnace is shaped like a pyramid with the top sheared off. It was pretty easy to climb. The top is covered in poison ivy. This spot on the creek is usually as far as you can paddle under normal conditions but since the water level is high this season we pushed a few miles further up the creek past steep granite cliffs and rock outcrops that were impressive. I hiked up a waterfall trickling down a cliff side. This far up shoal creek is very quiet and truly wild.
