Cache River area

[bash]

Am planning to come down from SW Mo to float in the Cache River area. I would appreciate if someone could please recommend a couple good day floats for us .Also are there any shuttle services available? Best/worst time to float this area? Thanks

[kru1]

Hey Bash,

I was out that way last year. Had a blast. Great floating all around.

Camped at the free camping along Robe Bayou (primitive, Dagmar WMA). Spent one day paddling Hickson Lake and got to watch the waterway trail being built by Debo (she may have more info). Well blazed, but there are plenty of places to explore off the trail.

Next day we did Bayou DeView from AR 38 to AR 17. Can't remember the mileage but it was a full day float with no pressure to get to the take out. Wonderful float.

I don't know of any shuttle service but other may speak up.

Enjoy,
kru

[DeBo]

Both the Cache River and Bayou Deview are at good levels right now. The Cache does not have a marked trail but a great trip is from the put in at the AGFC boat ramp on highway 260 E. of Augusta to the Rex Hancock WMA.

As mentioned above, in and out floats are a really good option for all of these areas. One of my favorites is to put in at Hickson Lake off of Bayou Deview at the Dagmar WMA. From there you can paddle the spur trail out to the main river trail and then paddle upstream as far as you want. There is not very much current so this is an option at any access point along the river. The Wattensaw Bayou Rivertrail is also another good option.

You can find Information about all of these trails on the AGFC website. http://www.agfc.com/education/Pages/Edu ... msAWT.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are some wonderful places to paddle. I am really glad to see people looking for these kinds of experiences. We have put in a lot of work on these trails and it's great to see them appreciated!

If you have any more questions, ask here and I will try to answer them.

[bash]

Thanks cru1 and DeBo .Great info and link. We plan to hit it fathers day weekend.Will post an update afterwards. We'll have to head out early ,hopefully will survive the elements.

[bash]

DeBo , I checked w/ the Cache River NWR headquarters today.They think the Cache River and possibly the Bayou de View would be too high now. Do you have any thoughts on this. I appreciate your input, thanks, Brian

[DeBo]

I think the rangers are just giving you the no risk, no liability for saying it, "we don't want to have to come looking for you" answer.

I understand that, because the real answer depends what your skill level is on moving water, whether you are travelling alone or with other experienced paddlers, and where you plan to go. Physical condition also plays a role; for example, if you tipped, are you strong enough to stand in waist deep water and lift your boat over your head to empty it, and well balanced and limber enough to then climb onto a log and get back in the boat with no nearby shore?

I absolutely love these rivers at the higher levels, because you can paddle in many places that would normally be inaccessible.

But yes, there is a possibility that you might find a few places where there is current moving through the trees, and if you pin your boat or turn over at a place where there is no land in sight, just trees, then it could be dangerous, especially if you are travelling alone or even with a group where nobody has done a boat-over-boat rescue. This is even more true if you come back during cold weather.

If you have any doubts or if you will be travelling alone, then consider options like:

1) Put in at Hickson lake (no flow), and paddle out to Bayou DeView (which is very spread out and slow in this area). Once you get to the main channel, head upstream. You'll be able to judge how much current there is and don't have to paddle into anything that you don't feel is completely safe.

2) Or, put in anywhere, just choose to paddle upstream first and then back to your starting point, instead of committing to a downriver "through" trip where if you run into a spot with faster current, you have no choice but to continue on and try to get through it.

[bash]

We had an excellent adventure. We put in on Sat 6/15 on the Cache River at the 260 bridge,bewildered cat fishermen in observance .2 kayaks,1 solo and 1 16ft canoe . Approx 3 mi downstream we crossed a downed tree which in any lower water would have been very diff to get around .Beyond the Cache River NWR signs halfway to Rex Hancock the higher water presented some navigational choices but we received timely assistance from more fisherman. Definitely a stretch for experienced floaters with navigational skills and/or someone familiar to the area and conditions. Any lower water and this might be better an out and back option.The current presented no diff when we needed to go upstream. A float we'll always remember.
Day 2 we put in on the Bayou de View at Benson Creek on Hwy 17 for an out and back. Downstream following the well marked water trail this venue was surreal ,a favorite for us. The sights,sounds,smells and feelings in this place are unlike any Ozark stream. We wished we had another day to go to Lake Hickson to explore more.Again no problem returning upstream.
Thanks to DeBo et. al. for the info and links and memories

[DeBo]

Were really glad you all had a good time. I can see from your experience on the Cache that you appreciate navigation skills at this point. We are planning to do a marked trail on it also. I hope that you will be able to come back and explore Deview more. It is a truly awesome place!

[BerryJames]

Cache River area is a place to see and to be seen. Here you can see the bald eagles, river otters and beaver dens. But please stop by the visitor center to collect the information they are very supportive.



Note from moderator: commercial link deleted and user banned for including commercial spam in message. This makes it look like the real purpose of the post was to spam us, not to promote the Cache. The visitor center people are nice, but they aren't even open on weekends so stopping by is not an option for many of us. BerryJames, if we have misjudged you contact a moderator via email and your posting rights will be reinstated.