Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

I haven't forgotten about finishing up the Salivation Creek scouting, but here's another new creek to ogle:





It's probably been paddled before, but I couldn't find any reference to it on the web. It's just a class 2 or 2+. More scouting is necessary, but the access at each end is public. Full details later; more pictures here:

http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/582339133yRUGYx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Captain Aleve, alias Mike Coogan

Looks pretty sweet! Somewhere around spa city im guessin?

DeBo likes to point to a map of the United States that was in some publication, which shows areas "color coded" according to some measure of the water quality in the streams. One thing that jumps out on you is that there is that one of the largest white spots on the map (meaning highest quality water) in the center of the map - right where Arkansas is. (Much of the rest of the country is varying shades of gray.)

Every time you post one of the creeks you are exploring, that's what I keep noticing in your photographs - some really high quality water.

Keep up the good work - never stop exploring, and thanks for sharing some of your finds with us!

Excellent field-work and commentary!

Best Regards
Jim

Cowper, you are so right about water quality in these hills. Standing on my back deck, 100' above the Osage, you can see clearly the rocks in the bottom of the pools of the creek. A good friend of mine even filled up his water bottle during a hike in the Gorge the other day and drank the whole thing, with no ill effects. Something I would never do, or recommend doing, but he did, and say's he does all the time. Were lucky.

I have hiked 80% of this creek and added more photos to the link.

http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/582339133yRUGYx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's starting to look unbelievable, so good that many people are bound to have paddled it. Tell us if you have. I'm going to go for the first "published descent" if no one comes forward.

Even though the gradient is only shown as an average 37 feet per mile, this creek has not stopped it's charge forward yet as far as I have hiked. Maybe it's another case of map error, which I have experienced before.









Creek B needs some brush trimming; Salivation Creek needs permission to be granted by the landowner to put in and the take-out requires a three quarter mile up river paddle followed by a two mile drag on basically level ground. Creek C is ready to go.

Captain Aleve, alias Mike Coogan

CAPTAIN ALEVE wrote:Creek B needs some brush trimming; Salivation Creek needs permission to be granted by the landowner to put in and the take-out requires a three quarter mile up river paddle followed by a two mile drag on basically level ground. Creek C is ready to go.

Jeez, I've dealt with some challenging put-ins and take-outs over the years, but for Arkansas boating Salivation Cr. has gotta be the record holder! Landowner permission, long upstream paddle, long boat drag - that's one step short of the hat trick of ugly access! To get maximum points, the drag would have to be up a steeply inclined, slippery, briar-infested gorge, in which case just paying the $3G for a heli-vac would be preferable.

I'd take option C. :)

- Fish

I finished hiking the last mile of this 5 mile creek that no one has claimed to have run so far. More photos have been added to http://sports.webshots.com/slideshow/582339133yRUGYx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;







It's got some pretty scenery as well as nearly continuous current. I have secured permission to park on private property at the put-in and permission to paddle through a couple of "front yard" areas. The locals actually didn't care a whit if I paddled through; I heard stories of playing in the creek as a boy and tales of uncountable numbers of water moccasins.

I plan to run the creek - 5 miles of Class II-II+ - at the first opportunity. Contact me if you want to be a part of the first "documented" descent.

Captain Aleve, alias Mike Coogan