This is one of my favorite urban paddles that starts from the topside of the dam at Porterdale, GA. I dropped in at a grassy park along the Yellow river next to a Mill ruin. I wanted to walk the ruin but it was too overgrown. However I did walk it last Winter – click here for the post.

The Yellow river was full to the brim, looking pretty sexy, and much wider than usual with plenty of woods on both sides to keep out the humans and dumb down the sound of traffic. The current was mild. A couple of miles in I pulled over to let Dawson run and a large tree came crashing down in front of me. What are the odds? At 3.5 miles there’s a single sandbank that’s a great chill spot. I took a break and then pushed 4 miles further until I was floating under the Interstate 20 bridge listening to the muffled sound of passing cars bounce off the concrete walls. The sound reminded me of the ocean and was soothing.

-> Click to hear the sound under the I-20 bridge <-

Just past the bridge is a beautiful old, but still active, train bridge that’s pretty awesome as it extends high into the sky. I parked the boat beside it’s massive pylons and walked up into the woods from the right bank. I discovered on a hillside a line of tall oaks bordering what once was a farmed field. It was a mystic moment even though the sound of interstate traffic echoed through the forest. I walked to the side of the highway and watched through the brush as the rest of the world went by. On the paddle back to Porterdale a storm kicked up. I made it out just in time to avoid the downpour.