Mulberry River November 20-21, 2004
Chris Collins, Marketing
November 20, 2004: Many leaves have fallen in Arkansas yet the colors are still as brilliant as they were a month ago. How can this be? Perhaps the weather has been extra mild this year. The colors range from bright and dull green to burnt amber, yellow, orange and of course the bright red sumac. In fact, the sumac leaves look as though they have only recently turned red. The water levels have been looking good most of the month. It would turn out the water levels would be good through middle of December and we would return for another trip in December.
Saturday morning Steven Deyoe and myself left the Wichita south turnpike exit at 3:30 AM and drove to Turner Bend, which is located on the Mulberry River in Arkansas. Gary Feist and Dan Wilson arrived about 10 AM, a few minutes after we did. The four of us hooked up with several members of the Arkansas Canoe Club and other local paddlers. We launched with them about 11:00 AM from the Little Mulberry access between High Bank and Wolf Penn. Apparently there were no cool rapids above this point that interested them. It was my first opportunity to float this section and I really enjoyed it.
Four hours after the put-in, we took-out at Byrds averaging 1.9 mph. Some of the paddlers in our group were quite talented and it was fun to see them perform various rodeo moves. We did a little surfing and caught a lot of eddies. For me, Whoop & Holler changed quite a bit with the higher water level. It was still a really big draw with many surfers, rodeo boaters and local observers who were hoping to see some carnage. As far as I know, they saw none.
Not too long after launching I was bucked off my horse in a large wave train at Moonshine Ford (I think). I was very pleased that I could still execute a combat roll. A little later, I had the opportunity to rescue a play boater, his paddle and his boat while all his buddies were resting on the river bank Zeke’s Headache. Thank you for the rescue training last winter, TJ. As luck would have it, the first time I ever needed my waist worn throw rope and tether, it was inside my boat. After that, I wore it properly and ready for use.
Dan rented a 14 foot WW canoe and helmet. Gary drove his “Queen Mary” inflatable sea kayak. Steven played in his Dagger Animas WW kayak. I rode my Perception Enduro, which is my favorite boat for all-purpose. We all had a great time and I think I was the only one from KCKA that became inverted. Dan did not like the canoe very well but handled it like a pro. He even caught a few eddies with the canoe. Perhaps it was the “on the knees” position that he did not like. Gary’s inflatable flexed like a limber sausage as he ran the rapids and surfed a few waves. He handled it quite well but found it a little long for eddy catching. I was sometimes difficult to straighten when he found himself sideways. Unfortunately, he did not give us the opportunity to watch him swim. He plans to have an inflatable whitewater kayak for his next trip.
Sunday morning, the four of us launched at 7:57 AM from Redding Campground hoping to have fun on a short run to Turner Bend and still get home at a decent hour. It worked better than we expected as we ran 3.75 miles in 1:15 and still had time to stalk a mature Eagle and one of its young. This float went much faster because we were not floating with the play boaters. It was just the four of us. We had a lot of fun and were glad we opted to float early Sunday morning. By 10:30 AM, we were loaded, showered and on our way to breakfast. The four of us stopped for a nice sit-down meal east of Ft. Smith and were back on the road by 12:30 PM. Steven and I got back to Wichita by 5:30 PM.
The Turner Bend gage read 3.6 and 3.4 from morning to afternoon Saturday. The water temperature was 58 degrees. We saw quite a bit of sun and the air temperature ranged from a low of 52 to a high of 65. Sunday the Turner Bend gage read 3.0 and the temperature was 55-57 all morning under overcast skies. It started to sprinkle as we left Turner Bend. The wind was very light and variable all the time we were there. The hot showers at Turner Bend were great. Since it was “off-season” there was only one other camper in their campground. The dialogue around the campfire was quite entertaining and the boys put on a good show as they attempted to get a fire started with large chunks of wood. The weekend was truly beautiful and we could not have requested better water or weather. We sincerely wished you were there to enjoy the experience with us!
Come play with us! Each spring and fall, there are a lot of opportunities for paddling Class II whitewater in Arkansas and a few in Missouri. With a little training, a wetsuit, helmet and some type of whitewater boat, you could be enjoying these beautiful wilderness streams with us. If you are uncomfortable with a hard shell whitewater kayak, try a short canoe or an inflatable whitewater kayak such as the ones rented in Colorado. The inflatable kayaks are very forgiving, seldom capsize and if they do, you simply fall out because, unless you choose to be, you are not fastened in the boat. We will also have a few flatwater trips in the Ozarks this year that will be suitable for mid-length touring and recreational boats. These spring and fall float trips can extend your paddle season with many hours of additional fun and a bigger return on your equipment investment.
Consult the KCKA schedule for several training opportunities this winter and spring. Whether you paddle whitewater, flatwater or both, training will make you a better and safer paddler, and prepare you to help yourself and others.
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