Upper Ouachita River - Sims to Dragover
July 14, 2023
by Kent Walters

 

We met at 10:00 am at the Dragover takeout, did a little bit of reconnoitering of the two take-out alternatives (the second one had a nasty access after the recent rains), shuffled a boat, and drove to the Chambers Lane put-in just off of Hwy 298.  We got on the water just before 11:00.

 

Kent, Calvin, and Duane – ready to go.

 

We paddled and drifted down the beautiful pool-and-drop segments within this reach.  Since the water was low, we saw more rocks than usual (and we usually see a LOT of rocks). 

 

Duane, in the middle of a shallow rock garden, faces a solid green wall

 

We stopped for lunch on a gravel shore

 

Just after lunch, at about 12:45, the solid cloud cover came apart and became partial for a half-hour, and then pretty much full sun for the rest of the way.

 

Duane enjoying a relatively rock-free section of the river

 

A log appeared to block the entire width of the river, but there was enough water behind the roots to get through.

 

A few minutes after the log, we encountered a rock shelf that Calvin and Duane negotiated successfully, but I chose poorly and ended up high centered on a rock about 3 feet above where I should have been.  I managed to gracefully exit my kayak (did not slip on the wet, moss-covered boulders under the swiftly flowing water), lined my kayak down through a sieve (painters were in place and ready to use), positioned it right below me, climbed down and got back in without further incident.  Since I was the trip photographer, and Harmon was not there to capture it for posterity, there is no visual record of this experience.

 

During our travels, we saw great blue heron, little blue heron, turkey vultures, and we think a bald eagle (it was a large bird with a white head and white tail way ahead of us).  We saw fish under us that were bigger than pan size.  I don’t remember seeing any turtles.

 

The takeout at Dragover was unique and worked as designed.  It was much easier to pull the kayaks up the rollers than it would have been to muscle them up the stairs.  I used my throw bag, tying my rope to the front of the kayak and walking the rope from the top of the ramp across the parking area while Calvin guided the kayak on the rollers.  Removing the ramp and stairs, increasing the slope angle and adding water to make mud, it would have been halfway to a Bruce-worthy takeout.

 

Duane and Calvin at the “roller ramp” at Dragover 1 (first take-out before the 3-mile loop)

 

 

 

 

 

FYI: The red circle shows the 3.5-mile “dragover” loop that makes this so attractive.

The road to it was too muddy to make it work for us on this trip.

 

INTERESTING NOTE: 

The next day, 24 hours later, the gage was at 10.88’ – 8 feet higher than when we paddled this segment.  The huge rocks we went around (photos in album) were all under water, including the one at our lunch site.

 

There was an Arkansas Canoe Club social during that time, and it was observed that many of the people who would normally have been with us were at the Cossatot River, 2 hours away, to take advantage of this rare gift of summer water.

 

LESSONS LEARNED:

 

OLD LESSONS relearned (maybe):

 

Pay attention to where stuff ends up at the end of a trip (sandals, helmets, PFDs, etc.).

Affix painters at the beginning of the trip

 

 

Please see photo album here.

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The author, Kent Walters