Buffalo River Trip Report May 15-22, 2009
I put a trip summary up front and the detailed Day by day at the end. I realize it is long.
Trip Summary:
For me this was a magnificent trip to get away to an area I had not been before. The beauty of the river and hills is breathtaking which pictures and words cannot describe. Each area I paddle has it own uniqueness from salt flats, lakes, and rivers. At this time of year the Buffalo River is surrounded by deep green hills and countless limestone bluffs and many running springs. I enjoyed getting up early and getting on the water for the solitude and some fishing. This is also an opportune time for wildlife viewing. Many times I found myself with my paddle in my lap simply drifting and constantly looking up at the bluffs and watching the wildlife along the banks. We could not have asked for better weather. The week prior there had been a lot of rain so the river was flowing nicely. My first nights camp brought thunderstorms but the next week was spectacular. The first several mornings after the cool front passage brought record lows of 41,44, 48 with highs in the upper 60s and low 70s with clear skies. Each morning there was slow moving fog in the river bottom and the 5am whippoorwill alarm clock quickly followed by many song birds. Each evening brought the quick chill of sunset, waking whippoorwills, heavy dew, fireflies, bats, and starlight beyond words. I never pitched a tent past the first night, opting to sleep with only my bag on the ground with a blanket over me falling asleep gazing up at the stars. The group I paddled with was a good group of people which all got along fine and shared many stories of trips past and things we would like to do in the future. We never heard any banjos.
In all I paddled about 95 miles of the 135 mile river, Ponca to Hwy 14. There were no rapids that I would describe as technically challenging but a few where you need to stay sharp to avoid rocks and downed trees in the river, strainers. The upper Buffalo was the most scenic but needs a fair amount of water in order to be passable. There are plenty of places to camp along the way but also 2-5 mile stretches where there are only bluffs and boulders on each side of the river. There are also some designated campgrounds along the way, some of which had water and also good places to get rid of some trash. We easily made 4-5 knots down the river and could have sprinted even faster.
I will certainly be back to the Buffalo with my 3 boys and perhaps even my wife. This is a place I must share and enjoy once again.
Wildlife Observed:
Elk
Deer
Raccoons
Bald Eagle
Beaver
Mink
Black king snake
Water and rat snakes
Countless squirrels
Turkeys
Many different birds, countless great blue herons
Wonderfully colored sunfish with brilliant blues and oranges
Deep colored small mouth bass
Lessons learned:
Overloaded boats do not handle well. I was fine but witnessed one that did not.
Learn to pack less, volume and weight. I usually do pack much lighter but for some reason this time I seemed to bring items I usually do not bring. I did make use of most items but could have done without them.
Shade, even on cool days, shade from the sun is a welcome relief. My new lightweight shade is a must have on any trip from now on.
Always put your food away. There are many raccoons that will make short work of your supplies. I put my food in my boat each night and on two mornings found coon prints on the deck. I know this is also black bear country and the food should probably be hung from a tree.
Check yourself frequently for ticks before they get to moving North.
If you do wander off in the brush watch for poison ivy, Arkansas is the poison ivy capitol of the world. Even if you think you did not come in contact with poison ivy you should take a quick rinse in the river. This will also help remove any chiggers that may have hitched a ride and are moving North.
Here are a few of the many pictures I took. The words above and the pictures cannot describe the beauty of being there.
Pictures:
Detailed Report/ Day by Day
Day 1, May 15
I departed Plano at 4am Friday morning and was driving past lake Eufaula at sunrise. I stopped for breakfast at a country type café along I40 in OK. I arrived at the Ozark Campground at 11am to find the last campsites filling quickly. I secured campsite #15 which is next to the river launch. After making camp and doing a little map reading I decided that I could drive my truck down to Pruitt and then run the trail back to Ozark so that I could make a quick 2-3 mile river run that afternoon. After my run back along the poison Ivy laden trail I found 20-30 ticks crawling up my legs. I jumped in the river and removed the fellow before they could journey to far north. As I was about to depart Marc McCord from the Dallas Downriver club arrived and we set up his camp then made the short trip (20-30min) down to Pruitt. There had been some significant rainfall earlier in the week so the river was running pretty good. We quickly changed clothes then went in town and ate at the Ozark Café, which was quite good. After returning from dinner we settled in for the evening, I put my bag out on the ground a slept under the stars. I hate sleeping in a tent unless it is raining. I woke up about midnight to the sound of thunder and crawled into my tent. We had some gusty winds and thunderstorms but it was over in about an hour. The Ozark campground is just north of Jasper, AR and is only a short drive from hwy 7. There is water and bathrooms.
Day 2, May 16
The morning was cool and cloudy. Marc and I decided to load up and head up river so we could make a day run back to the Ozark campground. Along the drive we stopped at an outfitter “Buffalo Adventures” where he knew the owner. After some discussion about the river gauges we set off to put in at Ponca. This put us ~23 miles up river from Ozark. This stretch of the river requires recent rain to have a good run. The level was pretty much optimal and we got on the river about noon. There were many people putting in also. This stretch was not challenging but there were some 40 rapids of Class I & II with may one at III. I was awestruck by the beauty of this river. There were many tall bluffs that made you fell so very small. Within minutes on the river I knew I had found a new place for me to come and relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery and rest my soul. We made several stops along the way and mainly to watch the younger crowds tip canoes with coolers full of beer. We made one stop at small stream and hiked up the many water falls along the stream. We intended to stop at Hemmed in Hollow where there is a 300ft waterfall but must have missed it, we were moving along at a pretty fast clip. The day was mostly overcast and cool with the sun only emerging around 4pm. We made it back to Ozark around 5pm. My Ocean Kayak Trident 15 handled very well through the rapids and I was very pleased with the performance. For the day trip I was lightly loaded with only water, lunch, camera, and throw bag. Once again we ate at the Ozark Café and met Bill and Margret from Buffalo Adventures. I never saw Bill grab the ticket and paid for all of us. Thanks for dinner Bill.
Day 3, May 17
The morning was cool (41) and foggy. As I found out later there were record lows all across the state. Marc and I cleaned up camp and made breakfast then enjoyed the morning around the camp. We had to meet the rest of the DDRC group at Silver Hill Canoe Rental in Silver Hill at 2pm. That is about an hour drive from Ozark. There the rest of the group would have there boats and gear shuttled back to the Ozark campground where we would all depart for 5 days and 4 nights on the river with planned pull out at the hwy 14 bridge about 70 miles downriver. Ozark is located at river mile 50 and the takeout at mile 121. There are a total of 9 people making this trip, George Lackey (trip leader), Tom Taylor, Tom Deering, John Staigerwald, Joe O’Hop, Marc McCord, Bob Muller, Julie Luck and myself. Once we were delivered back at the campground we all got our gear together and got ready to depart the next morning.
Day 4, May 18: mile 50 to 63
Another cool morning (44) and foggy. I got on the water a little before 8 and told George I was going to paddle ahead and fish. The fishing was ok with a few small mouth bass and blue gill. Both had great color to them. The small mouth were all small and I believe the larger ones were sitting on their eggs or broods. I paddled just beyond Pruitt and then the rest of the group caught up. We all paddled until just after noon and then stopped for lunch. We ended the day at mile 63 just past Carver. Another beautiful day and clear skies. Again I opted to not put up a tent and just put the bag on the ground and enjoy the stars. Julie Luck found some interesting river trash, a baby doll that was missing its left leg. She put a stick in it and left it poked in the ground. The next morning I put it on my kayak as a bow sprit. Little did I know that this would become my calling card down the river for the next few days. Everyone seemed to know me before they met me, “oh your the guy with the baby on the bow of his kayak”. The evening drew to a close with watching the purple martins launch off of the cliffs and make their rounds feeding, followed by the echo of the whippoorwhills back and forth along the river and a firefly charged atmosphere.
Day 5, May 19: mile 63 to 73
Another cool morning (48) and foggy, which burned off quickly. My alarm clock (5:15am) was the echo of the whippoorwhills picking up where they left off the night before, I got on the water at 8:15 to go ahead and fish and let the group catch up. The group caught up around 10am and we paddled for a bit then made a stop at Woolum to let Tom Taylor catch up. After us all eating lunch and Tom not showing we began to get concerned. We called the outfitter to come and pick up a couple of our empty canoes and take us back up to Carver so we could come down and look for Tom. We had just loaded everything up when Tom came down the river. He had become stuck on a rock and filled the canoe with water and had to get everything out and to the bank. We all got started back down river around 2pm. I paddled ahead through some rapids in order to get pictures of the group coming through. Marc McCord was the first one and I snapped a few as he came by. George Lackey was next and he asked me to put the camera up and go help Marc who managed to swamp in the rapids. I jumped in my kayak and picked up several items floating down the river then paddled over to Marc and his canoe We got the canoe over to the side near some rocks and started bailing it out. We got all the gear back in and started back down river. Marc was ahead and we paddled through a few more rapids then Marc did a repeat performance. I picked up a few floating items then pulled over and tied off my kayak then jumped in and helped mark pull his canoe over to a small sandy area. We got everything out then slowly walked the canoe up while emptying the water out. After getting everything back in and getting on the water we paddle another 30 minutes then pulled over at mile 73 at 3:30 to set up camp for the day. I really like my new shade shelter by Alps Mountaineering. It came with fiberglass poles which in all weighed 11lbs. I ordered aluminum pole sections and cut and assembled aluminum poles for it which cut the weight to ~5lbs. It is easily a one person setup in less than 5 minutes. The location we stopped was just across from John Redell bluff on river right. Once again we ended the evening to the sound of whippoorwhills and a firefly light show. Just before sundown the bats were moving quickly to clean up what the purple martins left behind. We also had a night long serenade of a spring running out of the bluff into the river and the mild pleasant sound of a rapid in the river.
Day 6 May 20, mile 73 to 91
Another beautiful morning with cool air and fog and a whippoorwill alarm. The river has dropped a little and also cleared up. We all got on the water a little after 9. Another clear cool day. The days are beginning to warm but still the high was only in the upper 70s to low 80s. We all paddled until about 3:30 and made camp on river left just before Arnold Island.
Day 7 May 21, mile 91 to 116
I got on the water at 5:30am and paddled until 9:40 and stopped at mile 104. Early that morning I saw 4 beaver, a mink, elk, deer, a family of coons walking along the river, and a turkey. The rest of the group got on the water about 9:30 and stopped at Gilbert for lunch. At mile 104 I fished in the little narrow part of the river and managed a few bluegill which I made some nice sushi lunch out of it. I set up my shade and got my chair out and took a long nap. The rest of the group came along about 2:30 and we all paddled until 5pm to mile 116 on river left. This was a beautiful bend in the river facing long bluffs. The evening got a quick chill and heavy dew. I awoke during the night to the sound of something large in the brush just up the hill by Julie’s tent. It sounded like a hog rooting around in the brush. Julie also awoke and hissed at it, I do not think she was in the mood for any pig kissing or swine flu. I threw a rock up in the brush and that seemed to spook it off. I
Day 8 May 22, mile 116 to 120.
We all got on the water at 9:30 and paddled until we arrived at the take out at the hwy 14 bridge at 11am. Along the short trip we observed a young Bald Eagle flying right above us with a squirrel in his talons. Once we arrived at hwy 14 we all unloaded out boats and got in touch with the outfitter. They picked us up around 1:00pm and loaded up for the trip back to Silver Hill. Once at Silver I loaded my boat and gear and said good bye to the group and made my way back to the Ozark campground. My intentions were to find a site and paddle the upper Buffalo with Marc McCord, Tom Taylor and Julie Luck the next day or two. Being a holiday weekend the campground was full when I got there and so was the Eribie campground. The four of us ate dinner at the Ozark Café in Jasper. I decided to go ahead and get back to Plano that night. Tom, Marc, and Julie remained and had a couple of days of awesome paddling the upper Buffalo River.
See you on the water,
Earl