The Monsters of The Sill

A travel journal from our canoeing up The Sill Recreation Area in the Okefenokee Swamp on March 5, 2017:

Sunday, 12:45 PM – ​Compared to the challenging navigation through The Narrows (brown trail), the paddling through Mixon’s Hammock became much easier. The strong current caused by the low water levels carried us quickly into the area named “The Sill.”

The Suwannee River Sill Recreation Area is a man-made canal built in 1960 with dams to control the water levels. The purpose was to maintain water levels during drought and thereby reduce the chance of wildfires. However, the project failed in that goal, for it had no real effect on the water levels throughout the swamp. However, The Sill is a popular recreation area, primarily for fishing.

Because the man-made canal was wide and straight, cutting through a treeless prairie, it was also somewhat less interesting. However, on The Sill, we saw some of the largest alligators we had seen in the entire swamp.

All along the canal, the shores were occupied by “The Monsters of The Sill.” The boring Sill had redeemed itself by presenting us with the spectacle of some really big gators; a few of which made dramatic, tidal-wave producing dives into the water as we passed by.

iNaturalist observations:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33042821
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33041833
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32855400