Niangua River - March 19-20, 2005
By Steven Deyoe
There were six participants on this trip, all from the Wichita area. There were two vehicles that made the trip from Wichita with a total of six kayaks. The original trip plan was for a overnight stay on the Buffalo River in Arkansas but due to low river levels
the Niangua river north of Springfield MO was chosen as an alternative that had adequate water. Drive times were around 5 hours road time with breaks for food and fuel. After arriving on Friday late afternoon, the upper parts of the Niangua were scouted
for access and water conditions. The group stayed Friday night at Riverfront Camp and Canoe, a very friendly and hospitable outfitter near Bennett Springs. Options were discussed that evening and early Saturday morning with the decision to launch
from Big John public access and to float towards Bennett Springs State Park with a vehicle positioned at K bridge about midway on the float. This was an option for three participants to do a shorter float of roughly 14 miles while letting others in the group
continue camp on the river and cover roughly 28 miles in two days. The water level was very nice for the longer kayaks, most were 12-14 feet in length. There were some strainers that were somewhat challenging to work around but no boats rolled over and everyone stayed dry. The most challenging part of the trip in my opinion was the night temperatures that dropped to below freezing both nights. Although this was not a
serious health danger with everyone having tents and sleeping bags, the emotional conflict of leaving our warm sleeping bags in the morning was certainly a
tough decision for all participants. The trip went well, some new things were learned and the Niangua was found to be a nice place to paddle with year round water due to several very large springs feeding it. My thanks go out to David Cobb from Wichita for his
help in recommending the Niangua River and Riverfront Camp and Canoe. I also wish to thank Chris Collins from Wichita for his wonderful help in many different ways that helped this trip come together and go smooth.
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