July 21, 2007 Grouse Creek Day Trip
By: Vince Marshal
PowerPoint by Steve McCray
Left to right: Kristen Hobson, Steven Hobson, Rich Lind, John Stansfield, Vince Marshal, Jared McRae, Steve McRae, Joshua Begg, not pictured: Chris Collins
On Saturday, July 21st, nine paddlers journeyed down to Silverdale, KS (near Arkansas City) to float the waters of Grouse Creek in the Kaw Wildlife Area. This is a public hunting and recreational area maintained by the Kansas Parks and Wildlife. This particular stretch of Grouse Creek is that portion just before it joins with the Arkansas River. In normal times the creek water runs through a series of pools with rocky riffles in between.
We had an 8:30 a.m. start launching from a rough boat ramp near the first bridge south of Silverdale. There was more than sufficient water (Chris estimated 70 to 100 cfs) and almost immediately we were challenged by a Class I rapids. This particular rapids managed to confound three of the paddlers who capsized their kayaks.
Chris turned this scene into a learning situation and demonstrated how to retrieve a partially submerged kayak that was lodged in a strainer. Also, several of us took advantage of this unique water chute------we were able to portage back to the head of the rapids and run it numerous times for fun and practice.
After encountering two smaller riffles we floated the quieter Grouse creek waters, passing underneath two more bridges and skirting some rocky hills and shorelines. One of our paddlers spotted three black goats clambering along the rocky hillside inevitably raising the question, “Was the Goat Ranch nearby?”
About 4-5 miles from the beginning point of the float and after a fairly muddy takeout near the boat ramp at the junction of the creek and river, we called it a day and headed back to Wichita.
Float participants included...... Kristen and Steve Hobson, Rich Lind, John Stansfield, Vince Marshall, Jared McRae, Steve McRae, Joshua Begg and Chris Collins.
WichitaPaddler.com - Home Page
© 2007 Chris Collins, All Rights Reserved