Current River Trip, October 7th - October 12th 2012

Keith Finn, Jeff Haven and Michael Lange headed out of Columbus on October 6th for an intrepid trip down the familiar confines of the Current River.   For Michael, it would be his first trip down the Current.  Jeff was taking his "slow" boat, the Big Red Pig.  I was taking my new Cobra Fish & Dive, a sit on top kayak.  First camping trip in the new boat, and my first multi day kayak trip in a long time - the first since I found out about the injuries to my collarbone joint that had mandated a switch to canoeing a decade ago.  I was also using some old stuff, my 12 year old Eureka backpack tent, and my 20 year old Coleman PeaK One backpack stove.  Both worked just fine for the entire week!

The river was also very low, the lowest we had paddled it.  And the weather was very cool, unseasonably so for early October.  

Michael and I had wanted to put in at the uppermost navigable point of the Current, just below Montauk State Park.  The guys at Aker's talked us out of this, saying the river was very low up there.   Even from Cedar Grove on down was scrappy until you passed Welch Spring.    We decided to go ahead and put in at Akers on Sunday, and paddle down to Powder Mill with a estimated trip end of Friday afternoon.  

This was the wise choice.  The river was lower than I had ever paddled it, and we were on the lookout for shoal water until the take out.  I ended up having to get out of my boat and pull over a shoal on the last day, within sight of the takeout!  That has never happened before.  Also, for the first time we saw no power boats - didn't miss them either!  

While the weather was cool, it was sunny for the first 4 days.  The sun was warm enough for short sleeves most of the day.  If a wind came up, I would put on my Frogtoggs anorak, and that kept me comfortable.  I think Michael was chilly for most of the trip!  

The trip in time of year is always special, and it is the colors of the river that make it so.  The warm, golden tan of the gravel bars, the multiple shades of green on the hills, with the autumny colors breaking out...  The clear / green / turquoise / blue gradients that shade the river are the hardest to describe, and the pictures do not do them justice.   The sky is often the deep blue we don't get to see much in the east, except on those cold, dry winter days.  And the cliffs of the Ozarks, the varied shades of greys, browns and whites with the spattering of lichen!   A feast for the eyes!

I have run the Current so many years now, it is difficult to break the trip down day by day.  We no longer worry about finding a good campsite, or how much progress we are making. 

Favorite campsites are the gravel bar below Pulltite Spring (nice spot, and you can walk to the hot shower building at the Pulltite Campground)

Another favorite is where Sinking Creek joins the Current River.  There is a National Forest Service Campground a short walk away, which gives you access to a pit toilet.  There is nice fishing as well.  

And my favorite, Ain't Bee Bluff.  I thought this was the actual Bee Bluff on our first trip, and a few years later found out it wasn't.  Thus, Ain't Bee Bluff.  

This is where I caught my fish of the trip, a small Rock Bass, in Missouri these are called Goggle Eye.

Thursday morning the clouds came in and did not leave.  That day it was chilly all day - we even stopped at the Two Rivers campground in the afternoon to get a warm shower!

Thursday camp was on a gravel bar that is usually being occupied by Sucker Spearers (seriously, people take out big Jon Boats at night with huge light systems to spear suckers on the bottom of the deep river pools!).  I speculate the cold weather and threat of rain Thursday night kept the Sucker Spearers off the river.   I was careful to set my tent up away from the tire tracks in the gravel!

We did get rain Thursday night, right after we had cleaned up the dishes and were sippin our Wild Turkey Liquor.  A series of thunder storms rolled in for hours, with heavy rain but not much wind.  My old tent kept the rain out just fine!    

My load was carefully calculated for my boat. A small tent, minimal food, a one burner backpack stove and one pot.  I also had my creature comforts, the Big Grizzly take down cot, and my Kermit chair.  

My old tent

inside my tent, with my old Big Grizzly cot, and my old, very big, very warm Big Pine sleeping bag

dinner cooking on my old stove

Jeff in his Kermit Chair

We had a short paddle out to our take out on Friday.  

The MO-106 Bridge - we will take out just after the bridge on the left

trip is done

loading up

 When loading up, I found a note from the guys at Aker's that my trailer had a flat tire!  They fixed it!  These are really great people!   Aker's Ferry Canoe Livery

we get Walt's Pizza in Marion, IL.  The pepperoni and onion was Very Good, reminded me of TJ's back in Lima

We visited the Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest as a detour on the way back to Columbus.

Here is a photo album of the river trip.  Current River 2012

Here is a photo album of the visit to Garden of the Gods. Garden Of The Gods October 2012