November 3, Bayou De View float moved to Hurricane Lake WMA:

[Stan]

I am the trip coordinator for the Nov 3 wetlands trip, which is a joint Arkansas Canoe Club and Ozark Society venture.

Unfortunately there is not enough water in Bayou De View for Saturday’s (Nov 3) scheduled trip. With no rain predicted for a while, paddling Bayou De View and its water trail will have to wait until the rain gods look more favorably on Arkansas.

But all is not lost!!! Hurricane Lake WMA (near Bald Knob) has a variety of good places to paddle. I checked out Three Sisters Lake and Glaise Creek last weekend. It is a very nice paddle with plenty of water. Glaise Creek has a water-control structure (WCS) near where it empties into Whirl Lake. The WCS is closed early each fall so that water from fall rains will flood the WMA’s wetlands. The WCS is currently closed and Glaise Creek is now a long, skinny lake. When the WCS is open, the current can be quite strong with a spectacular wave where the water flows into Whirl Lake.

The plan for Saturday’s trip is to meet at 9 AM at the Bald Knob MacDonald’s. It is at Exit 55 off of Highway 67. We will then caravan over to Hurricane Lake WMA. If you are coming from the east & do not want to go all the way to Bald Knob, take Hurricane Lake Road off of Highway 64 and follow the road until it runs into Hurricane Lake WMA. There is a very large, paved parking lot/boat ramp near this entrance. We will then drive a short distance on a good gravel road to Three Sisters Lake.

We will put in at Three Sisters Lake, take a scenic route to Glaise Creek and paddle “upstream” about 1½ miles to a side stream that drains Little Hurricane Lake when the water is high. We will have lunch at the junction and participants have the option of exploring the side stream and/or paddling further up Glaise. We will return to Three Sisters at leisurely pace. No shuttle. We should be back mid-afternoon. Since there is no shuttle, those wishing to spend more time exploring the area have that option.

Fall is hunting season in Arkansas. A youth deer hunt is being held Nov 3 & 4. So we might encounter some hunters. I recommend wearing hunter orange whenever paddling the Big Woods at this time of year.

Hurricane Lake WMA is one of my favorite places for a swamp paddle.

Margaret Bartelt (AKA “Stan”)

[sig]

Hi Stan,

Aly and I are planning on being there. Thanks for organizing.

[Karla]

Brian, I may be going Saturday. Would like to share a ride if ya'll are able to. Gary won't be able to paddle. Would ya'll have room for me and my 9 foot xp?

Karla

[sig]

Sorry for the late reply, Karla, but our rack will be full with two canoes on top the Subaru.

[Cowper]

Hey Karla - if Gary is out for this one, steal his truck, then you'll have enough rack space to carry everyone!

[DeBo]

Thanks Stan for posting. The Deview gage at Morton started up after the last rain and I was watching it to see how far up it would go. It rose quite a bit but would have still had a number of portages. Hurricane Lake area is beautiful and will be a great trip. I will see everybody at Bald Knob!

[Shark Attack]

Sorry about being a no show. We had issues come up overnight & just got back home.

[Karla]

Sorry I woosed out today. Tired and just had to sleep in today. Hope to make the one in two weeks at grassy lake.