CREEK SCOUTING

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

BEAR CREEK A, FIRST RAPID by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr


BEAR CREEK B FIRST RAPID; CALL IT "SWEET SURPRISE" by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr


THE FIRST RAPID IS A DOOZY; CALL IT "DROP IN ANYTIME" by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr


LOOKING DOWNSTREAM FROM THE TOP by CaptainAleve, alias Mike Coogan, on Flickr

So many creeks, so little time. Bear Creek B requires a 25 minute downhill hike to get to a put-in. Big Branch has great access at both ends; the first rapid is the biggest, as far as I have hiked.

Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve

[okieboater]

Don't sell these little semi dry looking creeks short!

Back in the day, Fish, Dog and myself used to hike up and down NW Arkansas looking at stuff like the Captn posts.

Then, when the just right storm clouds blessed us, ya hoo - load em up and enjoy big time.

Thanks for posting the photos, Captn, brings back a lot of excellent memories of checking out the still little known Arkansas runs that are there if a body looks long enough.

[bird dog]

Which Bear creek is this?

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

Top photo is from the Bear Creek flows into the South Fourche and is often run, just not that far upstream. It is too brushy and has too few rapids of interest for me to want to paddle it. Bear Creek B is about seven miles west of Bear Creek A. If the water is up big, it will require hiking in about a mile because there are a couple of fords to cross before you get upstream of the fall. The hike is easy, being downhill on mostly soft ground. At a low but floatable level you can drive in and launch about a mile above the fall, giving you about two miles of paddling. No brush to be concerned about. No drops of any significance other than the fall. It's sort of like Blue Creek that I posted a video of on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uud2rVrv9hc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope to paddle Bear B after the next siginificant rain.

Mike Coogan, alias Captain Aleve