Rapids! Traditional Cache
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Just a few miles from the junction of I-75 and I-10, and less than one mile down an easy scenic trail in Big Shoals State Park, you can find the cache and rapids on the Suwannee River. Please secure cache as found to help it survive the next flood.
You don't have to go to North Georgia to find whitewater rapids. When the Suwannee River level is right--not too high and not too low--Big Shoals turns this amazing stretch of the Suwannee into Class III whitewater rapids!
The cache is on the trail to Big Shoals. You must continue down the trail past the cache for a few more minutes to reach Big Shoals. When the rapids are at their best, you can hear them from the cache.
This cache has a long and interesting history. It is the third ammo box in this location. Number one, hidden in early 2004, was washed away by the flood from Hurricane Frances in the fall of 2004. Amazingly, a cacher found it far from the coordinates and brought it back. It lived on until a fire in 2007 swept through the area and it was never seen again. Ammo box number two went into service in 2007 after the fire and survived until probably the late summer of 2012 when the area received 30 inches of rain in a few days. Number three went into service right before Christmas 2013.
Note that there are two entrances to the park. You can reach the cache from either one, but the hike from one is much shorter than the hike from the other. Check the trail maps at each entrance before you take off down a trail.
It's fun to canoe or kayak when the river level is good--usually in the winter or spring. However, if the river level is too low, as it usually is in the summer, you’ll bang into the rocks. If the river is near flood stage, then you’ll only notice a very fast current for a couple hundred yards. You can launch near the parking lot closest to the cache. You'll find good river access points just above and just below the rapids on the east bank. The trail between them lets you go back to run the rapids over and over. Have fun, but wear a helmet and life jacket, and scout the rapids first to be safe! It’s easiest to run the rapids on the right side. I’m 0 for 2 on the left side when the rapids were good.
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