Roanoke River Gardner Creek

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Roanoke River Gardner Creek Trip

Trip 1 .. Trip 2 .. Trip 3 .. Trip 4

Put In - Roberson's Marina (U.S. Highway 64, Gardner's Creek Bridge, three miles west of Jamesville, NC) Roanoke River Paddle Trail Map
Distance/Time - Trip 1 : 4.6 miles/1 3/4 hours Trip 2 : 11.1 miles/4 hours Trip 3 : 2.9 miles/1 1/2 hours Trip 3 : 13 miles/6 hours
Difficulty - Hard, requires moving water, keeping track of your location, downed trees, basically paddling in a swamp. Would not advise doing without a buddy.
Trip Directions - Since we were staying the night on the Roanoke River Camping Platform at Beaver Tail, the first trip was from the marina to the platform to set up camp. A group from Chapel Hill had spent the night and they were just leaving when we arrived. Soon after we started to setup camp, we found a nice size brown water snake sunning itself on the platform below the latrine. This was a good thing to happen as it made us more aware of our surroundings for the rest of the trip. The second trip was from the camping platform down to Jamesville, NC and a visit to the Cypress Grill for some pie(we had eaten lunch at camp). At the Cypress Grill we met the Coastal Region Trails Specialist who was very knowledgeable on the area and showed us a set of scrap books detailing the history of the region. Getting back to the campsite was a little longer as this was against the river flow and we also stopped in to visit the Barred Owl Roast camping platform. Had dinner and then had a sunset paddle up Devil's Gut to mile marker 5. Night time is a hoot in this area as the owls are all over and they have some real interesting calls. We ended up having the platform all to our selves, at first we thought we might have to share as this was a group platform. The next morning we headed out for the longest paddle which was up to Devil's Gut to the Roanoke River. However, since the current was so strong we side tracked up Speller's Creek. We tried to take the lower leg of Speller's Creek back to Devil's Gut, but this was blocked, so we back tracked on the upper side of Speller's Creek(it is two forked from Devil's Gut). The trip back down Devil's Gut was very fast because of the river flow, great fun and easy paddling. Hit Gardner Creek and paddled back to the marina nice and tired and sore.
Scenery - Lots of wildlife since this is a swamp area and quite isolated. Had to deal with snakes, in the trees(falling out as we neared them). Only a few egrets, many turtles, a turkey, osprey, eagles, and vultures. I found a very large turtle shell and brought it home for display. And you cannot forget the cypress trees and their uniqueness to the area.
Hazards - moving water, downed trees and logs, snakes, and keeping track of your location. The GPS is a life saver. The canoe trail is very will marked with mile markers and signs, grab a real nice map from the Roberson's Marina as it has mile markers on it.