Upper Mt Fork River, AR to OK
Jan 9, 2015
Put in: AR Polk Co Rd #48
Take Out: Rivers Edge Cabins just outside of Watson, OK
Along on this Trip: Solo
This was a trip I made a couple of years ago and remember how scenic, remote and clean the river was. My wife and I try to make a yearly get away long weekend to some cabins located on the upper Mountain Fork River in the Quachita Mountains of Oklahoma just west of the OK/AR border. This year I really wanted to put in even further upstream but there probably just was not enough flow plus my wife would need to come pick me up and not be able to enjoy her day back at the cabin. The trip from my put in at Co Rd#48 back to the cabins is 21.4 miles and already a pretty good stretch for a day paddle so adding another 8-10 miles would have left little time for pictures and breaks. I will save the further reaches for another time when I have other kayakers along and we do some day trips and camp in the nearby national forests. I have driven the county roads along the upper stretches where the river forms from many creeks that come together at the base of the mountains and I will tell you it is certainly a PFZ (Paddle Faster Zone) type of place.
The morning was crisp starting out at 19 degrees when I got up at the cabin but warmed to 30 by the time I put in at 9:40am. The Smithville gauge showed about 450cfs but that is about 30 miles downstream from my put in. The edges of the river were frozen with about ¼ inch of ice in areas of still water. I elected to carry but not put on my wet suit. I did put on my dry pants and 2 base layers and a rain coat/windbreaker. The skies were partly cloudy and light northerly breeze. This part of the river is about 50 ft wide and there are no significant rapids. After 2 miles you come to a Boy Scout Camp called Camp Pioneer on river left. Here there is a low water dam with a shoot on river left. A couple of years ago I ran the shoot and looked at it this time an elected not to run it as there was really not enough water to get me over the rocks below the shoot and thought it looked like a sure way to go swimming on a cold morning. I lined the kayak over the dam and pulled over some rocks to the river. I was in no hurry this year as I knew my distance and the river so I took more pictures and stopped more.
After 8.2 miles you come to Hwy 246. About a mile past the bridge there is a nice gravel bar on river right where I stopped for lunch and a cup of hot tea. I always take these occasions to practice my fire starting with my fire steel. I grabbed some dry grass and some twigs and went to work. I did this at the same spot 2 years ago and it only took me 3 strikes to get a fire. This time it took me a good 2 dozen. I am not sure why. The grass felt dry but maybe it was moisture that was frozen in the grass which slowed me down.
Once past the Hwy 246 bridge the river really gets pretty with some bluffs and a lot of bald eagles watching the river from high in the trees. There is very little trash along this section of river as I do not think it is traveled much. There are several rock ledges with 8-12” drops but nothing difficult to navigate. I did come to a location where there were several islands and water working left and right. I decided to go left and it split again with a lot of trees ahead. I got to where I could see down one of the shoots and it was a log jam covered with ice that had formed from the constant splash up on the logs. I got turned around and went down a far left shoot with good flow with a hard right turn but no logs. As I went through my helmet fell overboard and of course got hung on a rock midway through the shoot. I eddied out and then walked the bank back to the rock next to the edge. I managed to stick my foot out and put it inside the helmet and lift it out. I always keep everything on deck strapped down to prevent just such an event but forgot to when I took it off below the low water dam.
As I made my way downstream I saw about 6-8 deer walk across the river in front of me. I could not get to my camera before they were gone. I made the Beachton Road low water bridge about 3:30 which is 17.4 miles downstream from my put in. The north wind had really picked up and I could tell the temps had dropped below freezing as the paddle drip and river splash was now freezing to the deck. I was warm from paddling with only my feet being cold. I arrived at my take out the Rivers Edge Cabins about 4:15 which was at 21.4 miles according to my GPS. A couple of years ago I estimated this trip to be 22 miles without the use of a GPS so I guess I was a little off.
I grabbed some gear and made the walk up the hill to the warm cabin and my wife.
Here are a few pictures.
Low water dam at the boy scout camp
Below the low water dam, see the shoot in the far right of this picture (river left)
Bridge at Co Rd 38
Wood planked bridge of Co Rd 38
Looking upriver from the Co Rd 38 bridge
Some ice along the edges of the river
The ice covered log jam that I avoided
Ice from a hillside seepage
Faster water and some ice
One of many Bald Eagles I saw along the way
Our cabin at the top of the hill and my take out down below.
Awoke to find this on my kayak and truck Sunday morning
SYOTW,
Earl