Five adventurous BCCC members embarked on a 4 day cruise down the Buffalo National River with excitement and anticipation of four glorious days on the river. We were not disappointed!! Even though the river was very low (2.59 on the Harriet gauge) and the trip included a lot of “tow your boat” opportunities, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The good thing about the low water level is the gravel and sand bars were numerous and large We had no problems finding camp sites.
Teresa Beebe wowed everyone with her river cooking skills, serving chicken fajitas and fresh guacamole the first night on the river, followed by chili the second night. Third night was left overs…yum!! Needless to say, we ate very well.
Ross Mead and Greg Bainer did a lot of fishing and a little bit of catching. We all enjoyed the float and the wildlife sightings. We were awed by an eagle swooping down three times catching fish, deer crossing the river, and flocks of turkeys. We even saw a mink swimming across the river. The water was very clear, which allowed for fish sightings. Teresa saw a gar that was as long as her paddle. Wow! And of course, the turtles you normally see.
We put in at Spring Creek and took out at the confluence of the Buffalo and the White rivers. River miles based on the map was 37 miles. According to Teresa’s GPS we paddled and drug our boats closer to 40 miles, due to the bank to bank maneuvers performed in search of deeper water. If you have never paddled the section between Rush and the confluence with the White, do it! It is a beautiful section with few other paddlers. It’s about 23 river miles so is best done as an overnight. The most difficult part of this section is paddling across the White River to the take out. Depending on the number of generators running at Bull Shoals, this can be quite challenging. We all made it with no problems.
Trip Info:
Put In – Spring Creek. There is a primitive campground here is you want to camp at the put in.
Take Out – Riley’s Outfitters. I cannot say enough good things about this family run business. They are the nicest people. There is a $5.00 charge to take out at their boat ramp, but it is well worth it.
Vehicle shuttle – Dirst Canoe Rental. Dirst Canoe rental picked our vehicles up at Spring Creek right after we put in and parked them at their location. They took them to Riley’s the morning we took out, so our vehicles were not left unattended at a public location, which is a real plus. I have used Dirst Canoe Rental for over 20 years and highly recommend them.
Harriet Water gauge at time of put in – 2.59 feet. As noted, this is pretty low. Three feet or more would be much better.