Buffalo June 11th

[tomOzarkVideo]

Eleven Point!!!

We just got back yesterday. It was amazing!

Only one nasty tree hazard on the stretch that kru1 is showing you.
We portaged it on our second run.

It's an incredible place.

[deakin]

Thanks for all the info and maps. We talked last night and after weighing all the variables we decided to live life on the edge and do the Buffalo. I hate dragging but love the camping on the lower Buffalo. I'll do the eleven point on one of my solo trips where I don't have to worry about keeping other people happy. I am filing all the maps and info away though. The pics look awesome.

David

[Deuce]

Don't blame you David. The Buffalo sure is a nice place to be. I'll go ahead and send you Al's info for potential future use. Hope you guys have a great trip.

[deakin]

I'm not sure what it's called but there is a camp spot at a hairpin bend in the Buffalo that is surrounded on 3 sides by 600' bluffs. It's as close to a perfect camp site as I've ever been to. I guess I'm just wanting to get my girlfriend to that spot so she can see what I babble on about all the time. It truly is an amazing river. Maybe with the water low we'll get the river to ourselves...:)

[deakin]

Just wanted to post a post-mortum on the trip. We started last Monday at Gilbert and pulled out at Shipps Ferry on Saturday about noon. Monday we were delayed by the bad thunderstorm for about 2 or 3 hours. Got about 2" of rain, 50 or so mph winds, lots of lightning. The only really scary part was the lightning. Not much place to hide from that. Luckily the rain gear kept us mostly dry.
The only other real problems were the racoons on day 3 and 4 (close to Rush). I've never seen them so bold. We camped at the bend before Rush (Jones Hollow?) and got hit hard by 2 coons. They ripped flotation out of 1 kayak, and ruined a lot of gear. The food was all in the tents secured but they just seemed to be ripping into everything trying to find it. I'm guessing they did about $150 in damage. The next night we got hit again but were a little more diligent in securing things. We still had to fight them off though. Even throwing rocks and yelling didn't discourage them. If anyone wants to do some coon hunting on the Buffalo I might be willing to drive up from Texas..:) I've developed a serious dislike of the little varmits. It was pretty unnerving thinking that they could rip a hole in our tent and make off with our food. It would ruin the trip...
Otherwise, the water was low but not really all that bad. We maybe had to drag once or twice a day. No portages. Some of the drags could be avoided by paying very close attention to the river and not getting fooled into being on the wrong side of the river. Sometimes the channel was only 2' wide when the river was wide and shallow. Below Rush was a little harder. Clabber Creek and the next couple of rapids were hard to run without hitting any rocks. Just wasn't quite enough water. The rock garden right before before the White River was a challenge as well.
All in all I'm glad I opted for the Buffalo. We had a blast. Saw about 6 eagles, was surprised they were still around.
I'll try to get pictures up someplace and link to them this week in case anyone wants to see.
I'd also love to hear any suggestions for dealing with coons. I felt like every night we were going to sleep in fear because we didn't know what they would go after next. This was my 6th or 7th North Arkansas paddle trip and I've never had this problem before. This was also my first summer trip....

david