2 questions

[gfitzge7]

I am wondering two things. First, what is lower richland like. I am no where ready for upper richland. Done Mulberry, Frog, Lee, Boxley, Piney, need to push myself a little farther. Second, I am in need of a great throw rope/bag. Anyone have tips on making one or is it better to just shell out the cash for a bag.

[canoe]

Spend the money, it's worth paying for expert input. As far as lower Richland, go with someone who has done it before Dale

[gfitzge7]

thanks for the input. From reading other posts, I will for sure trust your opinion. Maybe I can finally talk chitwood into going with me to a creek and will hit lower richland up.

[Cowper]

Well, I guess I'll have to roll out my opinion on this once more, but I'll warn you in advance come will call "BS" and say don't listen to me on this one.

Option 1: Run a difficult but short stretch of river, under optimum conditions, in the company of a strong group of paddlers who know the river well, know that you are a "first timer" and are willing to help keep an eye on your safety.
Option 2: Run a less difficult stretch of river, but with more of an overall "intermediate" group strength (possibly due to smaller group, fewer with rescue training, or just less overall experience), less accessibility should you decide to walk out, and a much longer run with less time to scout or portage.

I believe Option 1 provides overall greater safety. Option 1 is Upper Richland. The short stretch means you have time to portage more and scout if you want to. The "bail out" option becomes workable, if needed. Your chances of blundering into an undercut or a down log go down, due to group strength and their detailed knowledge of the run.

This is the choice often faced by those wanting to do Richland. The upper stretch almost always attracts a very strong group of paddlers, and when both Upper and Lower are runnable, statistically, the paddlers that know the creek the best generally choose to run the Upper. So your chances of hooking up with a larger, and stronger group, are much better if you choose to try the Upper.

Are you ready to step it up that much? Depends. If you are a kayaker, do you have several "combat" rolls under your belt? When you run the Piney, do you catch the eddy above the Little Mother, pretty much every time? Do you ever boof rocks, just for fun? Have you ever carried up to run something like the Mother a second and third time, maybe trying something different on each run?

If the answer to all of those questions was "yes", then you are probably ready to run Upper Richland with a good group, as long as it is not 35 degrees and sleeting. If the answer to all questions was “no”, then you may not be ready for Lower Richland, either, and especially not if it is a small group like only 2 or 3 boaters.

Bottom line, the best way to “step it up” is often by pushing yourself into doing more difficult moves on the rivers you’re already running. Don’t feel like you have to wait for Arkansas’ fickle weather to offer you a smorgasbord of rivers to run at optimum levels, and in a certain pre-determined order.

[Fish]

I would suggest Falling Water or Spirits Cr. as good next step creekin experiences. One of my reasons for this agrees with Cowper - easy access/walk out. I think that's the number one thing to look at. Both those runs are class 3 runs that give you a good taste of water like you'll find on Richland but not quite as tough, and both are easy to bail out of should things become too difficult. Cowper's suggestion to get with an experienced group around you is another key, and I will grant him that you're more likely to find that kind of group on upper Richland when the water's up. It depends a lot on your sense of adventure and the group's tolerance for spending lots of time scouting and portaging - upper Richland is a great deal more challenging than those two, and lower Richland is quite remote. That and EFLB represent a good second step up for you I think. Another great option is the Cossatot Falls at 3 to 3.5 feet - a good intro to creeking moves and a bailout is easy. Or the upper part of West Cedar is a bit easier overall than these (at moderate levels) and a small step up from runs like Piney and Frog. I would not generally choose the Hailstone (too remote) or Sugar Cr. (too many hazards), although with a very good guide and a lot of time, they are likely not beyond your skill level. And finally, know thy levels. There is a very big difference between Falling Water at medium and Falling Water big and muddy!

Good luck!

...Fish

[Zach]

Can probably add Little Missouri and Hurricane to the list to check out.
Hurricane feels a lot like Hailstone, but is easier since it is not as long and all the biggest rapids are closer together (if you swim on Hurricane it'll likely happen all in one mile, if you swim early on Hailstone may swim the next 10+miles).

[Gordon Kumpuris]

My very brief 2 cents worth on lower richland........ I love it. I've done both upper and lower more than a few times and I feel that Lower is under appreciated. Given a choice, and assuming the group can handle it the upper is without a doubt the better choice. However, if you have paddlers in the group that can't or won't do the upper the lower is a blast. Some old guide books once said that the last part is all flatwater. That is not accurate. It may slow down to class I or class II near the end but it's not like there is no current to push you on to the takeout. It is a long run however and by the time you get to the end, you will be looking for it! There are some really nice surf holes and at high water the holes can be huge! If you are very comfortable making hard moves on the class II streams you mentioned then I'd say the lower will be a decent step up. Falling Waters is indeed another good option however it takes a bunch of rain to make it happen!

[Crane]

For practice, if it's running between 7' and 8', the Snow Creek run on the Middle Fork of Illinois Bayou can be a really good training run, too. Tight & technical in spots, it allows you to make the hard moves where there's a lower penalty. AND, the road runs right beside it, so doing it several times is a big possibility!!