South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

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gma06001-
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Name: Mitch Allen
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South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

Post by gma06001- » Mon Apr 15, 2013 2:20 pm

Me and Nathan Proctor decided to go for the south fork from headwaters to Koone Hollow the other day. Neither of us knew anything about this run before we headed out so it took us a while to find the roads (FS 1342 is not marked at all and looks more like a driveway to a cabin off of Rex Rd). After finding FS 1342 we SLOWLY made our way down to the bottom. It's not the worst road I've driven on, but the water has run down it for so long that its basically like driving down a really steep creek bed. From what I hear from some that have been down there, that's nothing new.

After dropping off a truck we headed to the put-in. We used the alternate put-in listed on AW (Off Dabney Rd) and it was easy to find. It looked like someone had been doing quite a bit of dozing down there and hung quite a few no trespassing signs along the road, more about that later.

When I left Little Rock that morning the SF gauge was above 10 ft, by the time we found where we needed to be and ran shuttle it was around 8 ft. Needless to say, the small creek you put in on was wayyyyy too low and we basically couldn't take more than a few paddle strokes without getting stuck on the rocks. Quite a few places we had to get out and drag the boats. Saying that, with all the growth and trees covering this stream, I'm not sure I would ever want to be in there at good flows, seems a bit like a death trap.

Finally we made it to the confluence with the SF! This is where it started to get really fun. It was still really steep and required good boat control. It was low in some places, but the brush situation was a ton better! For the next few miles we made our way through constant falls, slides, and drops. After this the river slows a bit and you come to the logged area talked about on AW. There weren't any big strainers to worry about, but the river was in pretty bad shape here. There was tons of braiding through willow/alder jungles. Once you make it to the confluence with Wilson Creek, the volume almost doubles and the river turns into more of a pool drop run (the pools were still really small and flowing well). This was mostly straightforward rapids/riffles with a few bigger drops and slides mixed in. There was one really awesome rapid (in a sharp right bend with an old cabin up on the hill above it) that had two trees across the whole channel. We tried moving them, breaking them, and pulling them with a throw rope....no go, had to walk around unfortunately. The sign for the cable was still there, but the cable is much lower across a small side channel on river right now. It was halfway in the water and halfway out. I walked around and Nathan bounced over it. Back to the truck.

Made it back to the put-in with no problems and loaded up the trucks. This is where it got weird. As we turned around and crossed the little creek I heard some honking. When I looked in my rear view there was a big dodge truck right on my bumper, with two dudes lookin' extra pissed. They continued to tailgate me ( I literally thought they were gonna hit my truck at any moment) honk and wave obscene gestures the entire mile out to the main road at the top of the hill. I thought about stopping to see what the deal was but they didn't seem friendly or reasonable. When we got to the main road they sped up and got beside me, then slammed on the brakes, turned around, and took off back down the hill. Weird. Maybe they are making meth or growing pot and felt the need to scare us off, or maybe that road is no longer considered public (there were no gates anywhere). Needless to say, between the willow jungle creek, and unfriendly neighbors, I think I'll be finding a different put-in for this run.

All in all, besides a few bumps in the road, it was a great day on a beautiful river. I'll definitely be looking for an alternate put-in directly on the upper SF.

Mitch Allen

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nproctor
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Re: South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

Post by nproctor » Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:23 pm

Here's two pics of that rapid with trees in it by the old cabin on the hill.

Nathan
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tree1.jpg
tree.jpg
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gannon311
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Re: South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

Post by gannon311 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:32 pm

All those roads a public!!!! Four door, single cab , ???? What color? Gas burner?? I know some land owners down in there, don't think it would be them....... Prolly just some meth heads riding around!!
http://community.webshots.com/user/gannon311" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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perspective7
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Re: South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

Post by perspective7 » Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:14 pm

Dang! I always miss the good stuff...

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gma06001-
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Re: South Fork LRR TR and heads up.

Post by gma06001- » Mon Apr 15, 2013 8:33 pm

White, single cab, late 90s dodge..couldnt tell if it was diesel or gas i only saw it in the rearview.

Mitch Allen

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