I set up this trip based on the weather forecast, which showed a lot of rain in a short period of time in our area. I was nervous as I watched the discharge get to 14,000 CFS (“recommended” paddling range is 500-1500 CFS) at 10:15 the night before we were to meet, but I knew it would come down fast. And it did – down to 2020 CFS, so with the good flow, we opted for the longer option.
Our safety orientation talk focused on swift water and taking special care in evaluating potential obstructions – pulling out into eddies, back ferrying, etc.
We met at the Greenwood take-out at noon, shifted Mary’s and my kayaks into Sam’s truck, and motored on up to the Norman put-in. The water has usually been about 6” below the lip of the ramp, but today it was a couple of inches above. There was no “bathtub ring” on the shores at all.
Kent, Mary and Sam, ready to go
We launched into a fairly swift current just before 1:00 PM and enjoyed a smooth, fast assist for the first 20 minutes.
Mary and Kent in calm water
Then we encountered “the big obstacle” – a tree had fallen across the entire river on our side of a gravel bar. It looked doable, but the water was so swift and there were indications of complications (a branch sticking up in the middle of the natural line through the high point of the arch, swirling water under the arch) that it could easily turn into more than we wanted to deal with.
The big obstacle, as viewed from the edge of the gravel bar
There were no eddies – just some slower water at the shore, which was mostly inaccessible due to the extensive protruding vegetation. Sam paddled back up the shore of the gravel bar and scouted out a cross-country bypass while I paddled back up to the point of the gravel bar to take a second look at the alternate path. No current and standing water in the left channel, so I went back for a closer look at the obstruction. I was about to climb out and go over the trunk when Sam said he found a clear path across the gravel bar, so I paddled back to where he and Mary had already scooted their kayaks to the bottom of the gravel bar.
Down to the obstruction, then back up to the top of the gravel bar, back to the obstruction,
then back up to where we crossed the gravel bar, then across the gravel bar and into the water.
Sam and Mary at the exit side of the gravel bar getting ready to get back on the water
We only lost 15 or 20 minutes negotiating our route here.
The rest of the paddle was pretty clear, with lots of wave trains where the water was pouring over the usual rock gardens.
Mary and Sam coming toward me
We still managed to find our share of rocks, as the smoother water backed up behind some of them without the customary bulging. You could see a rock sticking up, but you could not see the shoulder of it from upstream. You saw what looked like the calm water of an inverted V until you were on top of the shoulder of the big rock that was just under the surface from your vantage point, but sticking up a foot or two on the downstream side. It made for some exciting moments.
It’s much easier to see the rocks from downstream
We passed under the swinging bridge at close to 2:00. The GPS showed 6.7 miles, which included all of the back and forth at the fallen tree.
We saw lots of great blue herons, an egret, a belted kingfisher, turtles, a bald eagle, a deer, a little green heron, frogs and some turkey vultures. No other paddlers were on our reach of the river today.
The trees with newer root systems on the gravel bars were all leaning downstream from the force of the flood the night before (note that it was 6 feet higher 14 hours earlier).
Trees that were mostly under water the night before
Mary looking the wrong way (missing the tilted Ozark uplift)
Kent enjoying the lush scenery
We had good cloud cover for almost the whole time, and a delightful rain for the last hour. We pulled onto the road of the take-out parking lot at 4:45 PM, and did our usual back-end activities.
Mary and Kent on the park road at the Glenwood take-out
It was a great little trip with lots of variety.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Don’t depend too much on the existence of convenient eddies.
Give rocks a wide berth, even if the water looks attractive next to them.
Kent Walters, Author