Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Seven of us from different parts of the state had a great day on the Cadron today! The water was nice, the sky was as blue as I've seen it, and the wild flowers were in full bloom.

But, in Tom Kennon's paddling book, he tells of a 'house size boulder' in mid stream, about 2 1/2 miles downstream of the 65 bridge. If you're going to float this section soon, beware of the downed tree just 20 yards or so upstream of the boulder. Today, right in front of us, there were a couple of guys in a Blue Hole canoe that swam because of the downed tree. They were fine, but their canoe pinned against the rock. As we looked at the possibility of helping them get it unlodged, we discovered an aluminum canoe pinned there also! The water was forcefull enough that there was no way to get either canoe off of the rock, so they decided to walk out. The guys with the Blue Hole are going back to try to retrive the canoe when the water goes down. If anyone floats by it and it looks like it can be pryed off easily, post here if you'd like. We got their phone number in case we found any of their stuff down stream today.

I'd recommend portaging to river right to avoid the possibility of the same mishap.

Yea, that's called Rock of Gibraltar by some http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1082 ... 5963UceedR. If I get down there, I'll see if a folding saw will help.
Did the upper sections from Hartwick Mill bridge down to Hwy 65 the other day (13 miles). Bunches of new trees down up there too, with one possible portage if at 3.5' to 4' levels.

Any update on this? Or can you PM me the guys phone number?

It would be a real shame if I got really bored, mounted an expedition, and then got down there only to learn that I had wasted the day and someone had already retrieved the canoe before I got there! (Not that such a thing has ever happened before...)

I just called John to check with him about his boat. He told me that he and his two sons went down Tuesday after work to see if they could get it, and his canoe and the aluminum were gone. He'd had his Blue Hole for 25 plus years. It probably had a serial number on it, but he didn't have it recorded. There is a good reason to write your name and number on 'em somewhere!

If anyone hears of this canoe being found by anyone, maybe we can help him get it back. He told me that he did cut some of the limbs out of the way so that maybe it won't cause anyone else the same problem.

Thanks for the update. I'm really suprised it disappeared so soon after it was lost. I figured if you and Randy had written it off as "not immediately recoverable", then the river level would have to drop considerably before someone else could snatch it.

I had been seriously considering heading up to see what I could do, until the river level jumped up again. Looks like I get to spend the day on more productive (but way less fun) projects.

Fortunately, some kind soul cut the tree out of the way that was just above the Rock of Gibraltar. The way is now clear as of noon 6/6/09! Thanks, whoever you are!
Marlo