2015: Year In Review

2015 had a lot of high water and a lot of floating opportunities. There were the usual floods of spring, and then another dose in June & July, and now it’s flooding again in December! This year I only posted floats that are new to the blog. So out of about 30 float trips, 16 of them were new stretches of river, which is a pretty good amount. This year brought new whitewater adventures, a rotator cuff injury for me, and lots of planning, scouting and paddling to prepare for the National Speleological Society convention in July.

During the week-long convention we met cavers from all over the US and took many of them floating on some of our favorite Missouri rivers. We did 7 float trips in 6 days with an average of about 30 people each trip. It was a great experience and we were stoked that we got to introduce so many new people to the awesome paddling Missouri has to offer.

After the convention we slowed down a bit and spent some recreational time on our favorite rivers (most of those trips were not new). This year was also the first floating year for our dog, Ocoee. He was a very nervous float dog at the beginning of the year, but by the fall he was jumping out of the boat and swimming on his own.

Here’s a look back at 2015.

Float Stats

Number of trips in 2015: 31 (16 of them new trips posted to the blog)

Number of rivers floated: 14

Miles paddled: 342 (184 new river miles)

Best critter sighting: Elk on the Buffalo River in Arkansas

Best Photos

My favorite photo from each trip on the blog this year.

Ocoee on the Meramec River

Ocoee rides the back of my boat on the Osage Fork

Ice on the Osage Fork

Elk on the Buffalo River

Ponca bridge on the Buffalo River

Jake paddling on the Mulberry River

Stopping for lunch on the Mulberry River

Dramatic skies on the Missouri River

Falling Springs shoals on the Gasconade

Flooded waters on the Gasconade

A beautiful day on the Gasconade

The cornfields are drowning on Roubidoux Creek

Citra Ass Down on the Mississippi River

A perfect day on the Big Piney River

Congress Bridge on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, TX

Choppy waters on the Mississippi River

Float #131: Mississippi River

Kimmswick to Truman Access

Mississippi River
Jefferson County, Missouri
Saturday, November 14
18 Miles

This past weekend was quite warm with highs in the upper 60s. DW and I wanted to go floating, since it would be our only chance to get on the water in November. However it was also opening weekend of firearms deer season, so we didn’t want to go anywhere too close to hunting areas. That eliminated most waterways close to our house. So we decided to knock out another section of the Mississippi. We didn’t have anyone going with us, so we drove two vehicles and ran our own shuttle. After dropping one car at Truman Access, we drove up to Kimmswick to put on the river. There is a small public parking area right next to a creek that runs through town and spills into the Mississippi. Normally, this is where you put in to access the river, but the creek was very low so we drove closer to the river and walked our boats down the bank to the water.

Putting on at Kimmswick

Choppy waters

There was a fair number of barges going upriver that day, as well as a variable wind that kicked up some small waves. I enjoy the Mississippi when it is more calm and flat water, but DW likes it choppy. There are quite a few houses on this section of the river, many more than I am used to seeing and most of them quite large. We paddled for about five miles and then took a break on a sandbar to eat some food.

Remnants of an old wooden rick rack

The next few miles were pretty uneventful. There aren’t many sandbars that looked worth exploring and no gravelbars (where the more interesting stuff usually is). Eventually some hills and bluffs appeared on the Missouri side with some interesting rock formations. There is a large quarry right on the river near Crystal City. It is loud and spews a lot of dust, so you can’t miss it. We also got to see a train roll through. We waved and the conductor blew his horn. Trains are one of the things I’ve never grown out of from childhood (another is poop jokes)!

A train passes by

The quarry

Nearing our take out at Truman Access

Just after the quarry a tugboat was stacking up barges in preparation for moving them upstream. I think that is the first time I’ve seen a tugboat stacking barges. Not long after the quarry we could see the smokestack of Rush Island powerplant in the distance. As we neared our destination another barge pushed upriver. Of course, it threw up some waves, which made turning into the access a bit tricky. You want to face the waves head-on with the nose of your boat pointing into them. Otherwise you risk getting swamped. The combination of a rick rack, barge waves and making a turn into the boat dock was a little dicey. I had to point downriver into the waves, and then make a quick turn and paddle hard to reach the boat ramp before the next set of waves hit me sideways.

We both pulled in safely around 4 hours after we had put on the river. We made pretty good time, but we only took one short break. I still think the section from Truman Access to Ste. Genevieve is the prettiest we’ve done so far on the Mississippi, but it was good to get another section finished. It’s not likely we’ll find time to float in December, but I will be back before the end of the year to do the “year in review” post!

Critter Count: Ducks

 

Float #130: Lady Bird Lake

Lady Bird Lake

Lady Bird Lake
Austin, Texas
Wednesday, October 14
6 Miles

Last month we went down to Texas for a caving event and spent a short 24 hours in Austin. While we were there we made sure to get out on the water. We rented a tandem sit-on-top from one of the waterfront outfitters and paddled Lady Bird Lake along through downtown to the lower dam and back. It was a nice paddle on a bright, warm day. We thought about renting SUP’s, but they were pretty pricey and the two of us could rent one tandem for less than the cost of one SUP! DW and I have never been in a tandem kayak before and I doubt we will make a habit of it. We much prefer to paddle separately!

The waterfront seems like an area that gets a lot of use from Austin residents. There is a nice walking/biking path all along the lake and several pedestrian bridges across. We saw several people fishing along the bank or in kayaks as well as many people using the trails. There were a couple of access points where people let their dogs swim and play. It was fun to watch the pooches having such a good time! There was one area of the lake that was thick with aquatic weeds that spanned the width of the lake, but it was only a few yards long, and not too difficult to paddle through.

Congress Bridge

The boardwalk

The dam

We saw great views of downtown Austin from the lake. The south side of the lake has a bunch of (I presume) expensive condos that look across the lake to downtown. Many of these condos had boat storage along the boardwalk and it looks like the perfect living area for the urban kayaker. We paddled under Congress Bridge, which is home to one of the largest urban bat colonies in the US. We didn’t see any bats (as it was midday), but we sure could smell them! As we approached our turnaround point we circumnavigated a small island and then paddled up near the dam and then turned around to head back to the outfitter’s dock.

Bridge art

Our way back was filled with more excellent views of downtown and a surprise piece of artwork under the bridge! We spent about 3 hours on the water and it was a good bit of exercise and an enjoyable morning. Afterward, we went into the city and ate some tacos before heading out to our caving event.

Critter Count: Turtles, Herons, Egrets, Pigeons, Dogs

Float #129: Big Piney River

Mineral Springs to Boiling Spring

Big Piney River
Texas County, Missouri
Saturday, September 5
11 Miles

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend we met up with a few of our caving friends, our friend Rob and his kids to do a new section on the upper Big Piney River. This section is much smaller than below Boiling Spring and has a more creek-like feel to it. DW, Rob and I headed down on Saturday morning and they dropped me and the kids off at Mineral Springs while they ran shuttle and met up with the rest of our group. I spent some time hanging out at the access with the kids and trying to keep them from getting too bored. When everyone finally arrived we loaded the rest of our gear and hit the water. It was a warm, sunny day with the very earliest signs of fall approaching.

Mineral Springs Access

Rob, his boys and Ocoee

The water was a little low for my liking at this time of year. We didn’t scrape too much but we would have made a much faster pace with a couple more inches of water. I think this section is probably a lot of fun in the spring when the water is higher. There are many tight bends and scenic creek landscapes. The shallow sections are occasionally broken up by deep pools that appear to be good fishing spots. I didn’t get a chance to try my luck, as DW forgot to pack our fishing poles!

DW coaches Rob’s daughter on kayaking technique

DW spent most of the trip coaching Rob’s daughter on her paddling and water reading skills. She is 11 or 12, a perfect age to get into paddling longer distances on her own. She did a great job and really rocked it! DW is an excellent teacher as well. Lord knows I don’t have the patience or the skills to translate techniques into words!

There are a few bluffs on this trip, but not as many as you will see on the lower stretches of the Big Piney. We did get to stop at a rope swing and play around there for a while. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, including a deer, the usual assortment of birds, one otter and a pack of hunting beagles.

Boiling Spring

We arrived a Boiling Spring around 4:30 in the afternoon and spent a while jumping into the cold waters. The spring hole is not very large, but it is enough for a few people to stand in together. DW and I took several dips into the refreshing water and I threw the boys in for their own good. The access for Boiling Spring is just around the corner from the spring itself. We packed up our gear and headed home that evening after another enjoyable day on the river.

Critter Count: 1 Deer, 1 Otter, Hawks, Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Turtles, 4 Hunting Beagles

Float #128: Mississippi River

Ste. Genevieve to Chester

Mississippi River
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri and Randolph County, Illinois
Saturday, August 29
14 Miles

It’s been about two months since DW and I have paddled any new stretches of river, and thus two months since my last post. This year I decided that I would stop blogging floats that we do on a regular basis, just so things don’t get repetitive. Since my last post in June we’ve done a couple floats on the Eleven Point, some stuff on the Meramec and a whole week of floats for our National Speleological Society convention, but all of them were sections of rivers that I had posted previously. During the NSS convention DW, Jake and I led seven float trips in six days. We brought all of our canoes and kayaks and borrowed a few from DW’s dad. Every day we for a week we took 15 – 30 of our fellow cavers on a float trip, some of whom had never floated before and many who had never been to Missouri. DW and I learned a lot about what it takes to be a river guide (we even got to use our throw ropes for a couple of rescues) while having a lot of fun and making new friends in the process.

This particular weekend DW and I took his dad, Dan on a birthday float trip on the Mississippi. We were joined by a few of DW and Dan’s old caving friends who live in southern MO & IL. Last year we took Dan on his first Mississippi trip and he liked it so much he wanted to do it again this year. Since we did the section from Rush Island down to Ste. Genevieve previously, we decided to put in at Ste. Genevieve and float down to the next access at Chester, IL. We met up at the Ste. Genevieve/Modoc ferry access at 10am to unload our gear. DW’s mom, Rosie was kind enough to pick us up in Chester so we did not have to run shuttle. The day was overcast, but not rainy and the weather was warm, but not overly hot. There was a slight wind of about 10mph that kicked up a few small ripples on the river. All in all it was a very pleasant day on the big Mississippi.

The ferry boat at Ste. Genevieve

Exploring the sandbar across from the former Ste. Genevieve Marina

Sediment layers

A peaceful campsite

Our first stop was a very large sandbar on the Illinois side, across from the former Ste. Genevieve marina. This sandbar is popular with motorboats and can be full of people on a nice day, but we were the only ones there at the time. We walked around for a while, looking for stuff that washed up, but we didn’t find anything of interest here. However, there is a beautiful camp spot in the cottonwoods that has a great view of the river. It was so peaceful with the wind whispering through the trees that I could have sat down and taken a nap right there. After we finished exploring we hopped back in our boats and saw our first barge traffic of the day as well as a coast guard tug boat doing buoy maintenance. DW took this opportunity to play in the barge waves in the 17′ long kayak.

Exploring the sandbar across from the Kaskaskia River confluence

A few miles later we stopped at another sandbar to explore. This sandbar is near Kaskaskia, IL across from the Kaskasia River confluence. For those that don’t know, Kaskaskia is on the Missouri side of the river, but it is in the state of Illinois. This is because the Mississippi River shifted east during a flood in the 1880s, but the state boundary remained at the old river channel. This sandbar is a good place to look for interesting rocks and old glass and ceramic. We found a lot of pretty pieces of colored glass and rocks. DW and I stomped around in the woods on the sandbar and found a buoy that had washed into the trees and became entangled. There was also a fairly new outhouse that had been washed up and buried deep in the sand. After exploring we ate our lunch of Oberle’s sandwiches (if you are ever in Ste. Genevieve you have to visit Oberle Meat Market, it’s the best) and relaxed while looking out over the river.

A stranded buoy

A buried outhouse

Kaskaskia is about halfway into our trip, but as we rounded the next bend we could already see the bridge at Chester in the distance. It took almost two hours to reach it, though we didn’t paddle much. Before Chester there is a penitentiary on the Illinois side, which is very obvious with all the big lights and fences. So, that’s probably not a good place to pull over and hang out! It seems strange to have a penitentiary right next to a major river and railroad.

A glimpse of the Chester bridge

The day continued to be cloudy as we finished our trip, which made for some nice skies, but rather dull photos. The boat ramp at Chester has a little bit of current, but as long as you don’t come in too fast and dock your boat from the side instead of the nose, you’ll be fine. Rosie was waiting for us when we arrived, so we loaded the boats into her truck and made the drive back to Ste. Genevieve for a delicious BBQ dinner.

Late afternoon on the river

Under the Chester bridge

The boat ramp at Chester

I think this stretch of river was a good float, but not as pretty as the stretch we did from Rush Island to Ste. Genevieve. The sandbar at Kaskaskia was definitely worth a stop though. We enjoyed this float and plan to do the next section down from here next time we’re in the area.

Float #127: Roubidoux Creek

Roubidoux Spring to Hwy. 17 Bridge

Roubidoux Creek
Pulaski County, Missouri
Saturday, June 20
3 Miles

Another flood float! Seems like this year has been nothing but flood floats. This is a very short float on the Roubidoux, a creek that runs through Waynesville, MO and usually looks pretty inviting. This day it was very high, but nothing dangerous, as the creek is wide enough below the spring to prevent any strainers or blockages. There are many more miles of the Roubidoux above the spring that are floatable, but there are no accesses. Unless you know someone who owns land on the creek, there is little chance you can float it without getting your vehicle towed or ticketed for trespassing. However, these three miles from the spring to the confluence with the Gasconade are mostly through town and there is public parking on either end. It would make a nice short float with children or a good tubing float. This day DW and I were joined by our friend Richard. We met up at the city park to scout the water level and then went up to the spring to put our boats in the water. Roubidoux Spring is also in a city park, but due to flooding the park was closed that day. We parked our vehicles across the street, hopped the yellow caution tape and carried our boats down to the parking lot (which was underwater). I guess we weren’t quick enough because a city police officer pulled into the park to tell us it was closed. Fortunately, he was very accommodating and let us put our boats on the water provided we didn’t linger too long in the area. After he left we paddled up the flooded banks to the spring, where DW played in the massive boil for a few minutes. Then we turned and headed downstream on the muddy waters.

Nice day for a picnic at Roubidoux Spring

The first two miles of the trip the water was moving quickly and not yet backed up from the Gasconade. We didn’t really do any paddling, just steering. There are a couple of nice bluffs along the way and you can’t really see much of the town or road, even though it is very near the creek. By now, I am getting very tired of the smell of flood mud and I long for the clear, cool streams I am used to! However, it doesn’t look like any respite from this rain is in our foreseeable future for this summer.

The cornfields are drowning

We saw a few herons and hawks along the creek, but there wasn’t much else in the way of wildlife out and about on the water. As we approached the Gasconade the water slowed down a bit. There were many small eddys, boils and whirpools on the edge of the stream where the water washed over submerged debris. This is pretty common on flooded streams and is yet another reason why only paddlers with lots of experience should attempt these trips!

Confluence with the Gasconade

Hwy. 17 Bridge access is mostly underwater

After less than an hour of floating we arrived at our take-out. The access is usually under the Hwy. 17 bridge at the Gasconade river, but that day the entire parking area was underwater and the Roubidoux flowed right up to the access road. I kept tight to the edge of the Roubidoux as I maneuvered to the access. The Gasconade was very high and rising, so I didn’t want to get pulled into that! There were many large logs, trees and debris flying down the stream as it ripped by at quite a speed for what is usually a slow river. We pulled our boats up to the car and drove the couple of miles back to Richard’s vehicle at the springs. Afterward we ate lunch in town and did some more scouting along the flooded Big Piney. Later that evening Richard told us that the Gasconade had risen nearly to the edge of the bridge, many feet above where it was that afternoon!

Critter Count: Herons, Ducks, Hawks

Float #126: Gasconade River

Hazelgreen to Hwy. 133

Gasconade River
Pulaski County, Missouri
Saturday, June 13
9 Miles

This was another Gasconade float trip, scouting in preparation for the NSS Convention. I am finally back to kayaking after my long recovery from a shoulder injury in April. I was a little nervous that I would get too tired or wouldn’t have the strength in my shoulder to maneuver well, but I ended up doing just fine. This was a very pleasant day for a float trip, that started and ended with sunny skies and a few small rain showers in between. We met with our friend Richard at the Hwy. 133 access. The access is at the site of the old Hwy. 133 bridge, which is no longer there. Heading North on Hwy. 133, cross over the Gasconade River and Bear Creek. Immediately after Bear Creek is a small road on the right. Head down that road and it will eventually dead-end at the river. This is not an official access, but is a popular spot for locals and fishermen. There is limited parking on the edges of the road.

Richard loaded his boat onto our car and we left his truck there and drove up to our put-in at Hazelgreen Access. This is an official conservation access at the old Route 66 bridge. I paddled upstream a little bit to get my bearings. Two months off from kayaking seems like a long time when you’re used to paddling most weekends!

Hazelgreen Access

I-44 bridge

This section of the Gasconade ended up being much faster than most of the other sections we’ve done. The water flowed quite nicely and there were a few ripples. The river was still up a little bit from all the rain we keep getting, but the water was not muddy at all. We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip. There were the usual turtles and assortment of birds, as well as a Bald Eagle and a couple of deer.

A heron hunts for fish

Toward the middle of our trip we got a little wet from some rain showers. It was very spotty, and you could see the rain coming and then paddle out from under that particular cloud and be dry again. Thankfully, it was a warm rain on a warm day, so I just got wet and didn’t even bother with my kayak skirt or rain jacket. We eventually stopped for lunch and a swim and checked our progress. We realized we were knocking out the miles pretty quickly so we slowed down a little bit for the last hour or so of our paddle.

A venue of vultures

Hwy. 133 bridge

Approaching Hwy. 133 access

Sooner than we expected, the Hwy. 133 bridge could be viewed just around the bend. Since it was only about 2pm, we stopped at a gravel bar and swam for a bit. The water felt nice and refreshing, but not too cold. I saw several fish jumping, but I didn’t bring my fishing pole. It would have been a good day for it and we certainly had the time to kill! After about half an hour we returned to our boats and paddled the last half mile to our take out. Now that the sun was out again, there were several families at the access swimming and having a good time. We loaded up our boats into Richard’s truck and drove back to Hazelgreen to pick up our car. The next float trip we did was after yet another round of flooding with high water on rivers everywhere. We did a quick, muddy float on the Roubidoux, which I will post here soon!

Critter Count: Turtles, Kingfishers, Herons, Hawks, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 deer

Float #125: Gasconade River

Mitschele  to Schlicht Springs

Gasconade River
Pulaski County, Missouri
Sunday, May 31
14 Miles

We’ve been doing numerous floats on the Gasconade River in preparation for the upcoming NSS (National Speleological Society) Convention being held in Pulaski County in July. DW and I are leading various float trips throughout the convention, and we’ve been trying to find the best section of Gasconade to float that is close to camp. This was one of my first floats since my shoulder injury in April, though I wasn’t ready to kayak yet so we took the canoe. Turns out it was a very flooded trip! It had been raining most of the week, but it looked like we would get a break on that Sunday, so we headed out to Waynesville and camped at Schlicht Springs Conservation Access on Saturday night with our friend Rob and his daughter. There are two primitive campsites near the parking lot and the only amenity is a pit toilet. A lot of people swing through the access in the evening to look at the river, so this isn’t necessarily a quiet spot, but it is convenient.

Sunday morning our friend Richard met us at the campground and we loaded everything onto our Subaru and headed up to Mitschele Access. This conservation access is under Hwy. 7 bridge. There is a narrow gravel road that looks like it leads to a commercial campground, but just keep going toward the river and you will find yourself there. We unloaded everything under cloudy skies while looking at the swollen river. Just as we were about to pull out into the water we saw several large rafts of debris and large dead trees float downstream. We thought perhaps an upstream creek suddenly broke through, or the river water flushed out a rarely used channel. There was no more debris following that bunch, so we figured it was probably a fluke (fingers crossed).

DW mans the canoe

Once we were on the water it didn’t feel as fast or high as it looked from the bank. DW, Rob’s daughter, Ocoee (our dog) and I were in the canoe and Rob and Richard were in kayaks. The Gasconade is kind of a wider river to begin with and the flood waters increased its breadth, so there is plenty of room to avoid brush and trees. There is supposed to be a low-water bridge about 4 miles down from the access, but the water was so high we didn’t really notice we had floated over it.

Hwy T bridge

It turned out to be a very cold day for the end of May. The temperature was stuck in the mid 60s, which was much cooler than forecast, and there was a persistent heavy mist that wasn’t quite rain but was very damp nonetheless. The river was moving pretty quickly, even if it didn’t feel all that fast. We soon reached the Hwy. T bridge, which is a little over halfway into the trip. There is a primitive access at Hwy. T under the bridge, but you couldn’t really tell since the water was so high. As we approached our take out there were several small bluffs. We saw a few small springs gushing from openings in the rocks. There wasn’t much wildlife out since it was such a dismal, cold day. We did see a few birds of the usual type, kingfishers, hawks and herons.

We soon reached our take out at Schlicht Spring Access around 2:30. DW had tied a red flag to a tree at the boat ramp, and it was a good thing he did as the ramp was hard to see in the high water. 14 miles of river in just over 3 hours makes for a quick trip! The river had risen about a foot in the time we were paddling. I stayed at the take out with Rob while Richard and DW ran the shuttle. While we waited many people drove down to look at the high water. A couple of local guys stopped and asked us about our float. I told them where we put in and they asked how long the trip took. When I told them it was about 3 hours one of them said to the other, “See, I told you. Let’s get on the river!”

Critter Count: Kingfishers, Hawks, Herons

Float #124: Gasconade River

Schlicht Springs to Hwy. 17 Bridge

Gasconade River
Pulaski County, Missouri
Tuesday, May 5
10 Miles

Guest post by DW. This is another float DW did without me, as my shoulder was still injured.

I met up with our friend Richard at his home in between the put in and take out about lunch time. As we were loading up we found one of the shuttle vehicles had a very leaky tire. So we quickly detoured to a service shop to get that issue addressed and then were off to drop a vehicle at the Highway 17 bridge, which also marks the confluence of the Roubidoux with the Gasconade. Then we headed to the put in which was about a 10 minute drive north on 17 and then a left on Riverside Road.

We prepared the boats and opted to paddle upstream to see if we could find the Schlicht Spring. I found the non-assuming spring branch after passing it up and going another .1 to .2 miles upstream. I hiked it for a short way and quickly determined this is probably better accessed from the road than hiking up, as it was fairly choked with debris. So we turned our boats downstream and continued our journey. This time of year the pollen has been released from various flora and deposited on the surface of the water, giving an illusion of scummy water. The Gasconade River is known for being a slow paddle with very little dominant current which allows for large areas of the water to be pollen covered. The wind was a good 8-12 miles per hour for a lot of the trip, so some stretches of the river were easier to paddle while others pushed us backwards if we were not paddling. The first few couple miles were easy paddling with some bluffs on river left and pastures on the right. This easy paddling continued until we turned the bend to head south. The first 4-5 miles were mainly long slow pools. I spotted a coyote who seemed startled by our presence. He scurried down the gravel bar and out of sight before the gravel bar terminated into the river.

Putting in at Schlicht Springs access

Not far after the coyote disappeared from sight we noticed some heavy machinery on the left clearing a lot of ground. Maybe they are putting in a campground or perhaps just cleaning up the property’s river front. After we passed this construction activity an owl flew down from a tree. With only my cell phone for a camera I was unable to get a good shot or zoom in enough to determine which type of owl it may have been.

Shortly thereafter we approached the first somewhat swift water. There was a bit of a ledge to shoot through and a lot of big rocks on the right that had at some point tumbled down from the bluff above. There was a small spring on river right just after swift water, but appeared to be on private property. We actively started to search for a bubbling spring called Creasy spring that is supposed to be just past this area, but only found Battless Mill Spring also on river right just downstream. At the time we thought Battless Mill Spring may have been Creasy spring until we didn’t find another spring down river. There is a wooden X in the tree at the confluence of Battless Mill Spring where it confluences with the river. It is important to note that most of the Gasconade flows through private property and one should generally stay within the main river channel to avoid any trespassing issues. There are specifically stricter laws on the water ways in Pulaski county than there are for the rest of the state.

Richard smokes next to a gas can

Falling Springs shoals

Battless Spring branch

So about a mile after Battless Mill Spring, we saw a 6”-8” fish jump from the water. Almost immediately after that we noticed what we initially thought to be a catfish or maybe a gar surfacing. Within a few more seconds we got a better view as what most likely was a muskrat trying to board Richard’s kayak with a clump of freshly cut grass in his mouth. I guess once he saw Richard was a human and not a log drifting downstream he spit the grass out, dove down deep and disappeared to resurface somewhere out of our view. The wind switched to our back and we completed our 10 mile journey in 5 hours without stopping for any lunch break or swim breaks.

Critter Count: 1 Coyote, 1 Hawk, 3 Herons, 1 Muskrat, 1 Owl

Float #122: Mulberry River

Turner Bend to Spirit Creek

Mulberry River
Newton County, Arkansas
Saturday, April 4
14 Miles

Saturday morning we awoke to beautiful, sunny weather for another day on the Mulberry. For our second day of floating I paddled Jake’s touring kayak, DW took my whitewater boat and Jake took DW’s whitewater boat. Since my boat had worn me out so much the first day I decided to take the easier boat for the morning. We headed down to Turner Bend to put in where we had taken out the day before. I hung out with the gear while Jake and DW ran shuttle down to Spirit Creek access. Spirit Creek is a 4WD access with space for about two cars to park by the river. Turns out you really do need 4WD and some ground clearance to make it all the way to the river. Jake’s van didn’t make it all the way down, but he was able to turn around and wait for DW to drop our Subaru at the access. There is a much better access at Campbell Cemetery, which is four miles above Spirit Creek. However, if you take out at Campbell you will miss Hell Roaring Falls, which is a nice little drop that can produce a big wave if the water is up.

The bridge at Turner Bend

DW paddles through some gnar

Below Turner Bend the river has more long pools interspersed with big drops. We didn’t see too many other people on this stretch because most people who rent do the upper section of the Mulberry. We did come across some locals who were doing their annual spring float. They talked to us for a while and gave us the scoop on all the rapids ahead of us. We also talked about the best season for floating the Mulberry, which of course is spring. They said the water is usually plentiful from October to May, so winter floats are also an option.

Stopping for lunch on a rock

We stopped for a quick lunch on a large, flat rock just below a good rapid. We finally saw a bit of wildlife on the river now that the sun was out. There were several turtles sunning themselves, and the usual assortment of birds. Shortly after lunch we pulled over and switched boats. I tried out DW’s boat while Jake took his touring kayak again. The Dagger whitewater boat is a little easier to paddle in a straight line, but I didn’t think it was quite as comfortable to sit in. It is a sort of retro design, with no bells or whistles on the seating and the thigh braces are very tight. However, I went through several rapids in it and didn’t flip over, so that’s something. Jake took my camera and got some nice shots of us paddling through. It’s nice to be in front of the camera sometimes instead of always behind it!

It’s ME!

DW shreds it

Me, DW and Jake at camp

After passing the Campbell Cemetery access we kept our eyes peeled for Hell Roaring Falls. It is a rock shelf across the river with about a 3 ft. drop. It looks like it could really rock if the water is up a little! We made it over without incident, but got fairly well splashed in the process. Eventually we came to our take-out around 4pm. We spent a little while relaxing and having a beer by the river. Paddling in rapids is hard work! After loading up our boats we made the trek back up the 4WD access road, over rocks and through one pretty big mud puddle. Back at camp we settled in to burn all the firewood we had left and eat a satisfying meal of spaghetti. It was a great weekend and we had a good time on the river. We will definitely be going back to Arkansas next spring!

Critter Count: Turtles, Hawks, Kingfishers