Current River Trip Report – 07/12/2024 – 07/14/2024
Submitted by Igor Veksler
This turned out to be a one of the more memorable and adventurous paddles of 2024. We encountered all kinds of “fun” challenges during this three-day gathering: uncooperative weather, not so “quite” camping companions, water rescue and even unusual finds on the river. Here is the breakdown of it.
We started gathering at the Flying W Campground, located in Jadwin, MO on Thursday, July 11. The camp was filled to near capacity and was unusually busy with people coming and leaving. There were several large groups that camped in the tents, however there were a lot of campers, including horse trailers that dominated the center section of the camp. As the night rolled on, there was plenty of music, games and loud conversations that was carried way too late into the night, preventing us, early risers, from getting a good night’s sleep. I do not know the number of times we asked “where is Sandy” who would probably visit the partygoers in her pajamas and threaten them with things they could not unsee.
The weather Thursday night was short of perfect. It was warm, but not blazing hot and sleeping was quite pleasant with a portable fan. We knew the rain is coming Friday morning, and we were not sure if the river will be opened to paddlers, since Park ranger closed the access on Thursday due to recent floods. We decided to wait with shuttle until we speak with Park office on Friday morning, which was not going to be opened until 8:30 AM. Thankfully, the river was opened on Friday, and we proceeded with our plans.
Day 1 (July 12) shuttle started with a steady sprinkle that eventually turned into a steady rain. At times, rain was pretty hard, although there was no lightning and very little thunder. Our first day’s section of the river was Tan Vat to Cedar Grove. After completing the shuttle in the rain, we decided to proceed with our plans and started our trip right around 11 AM. Our group consisted of nine two-legged and one four-legged paddler (Becki), who as usual, spent more time in the river than in Charles’ canoe. Rain followed us all the way until the lunch stop, and eventually disappeared giving way to a beautiful cloudless sky with pleasant temps and virtually no humidity. There wasn’t much of a wildlife spotted during the paddle, however we were treated to several sightings of river minks, cute and quite curious little creatures that were pretty fascinated with our kayaks. Despite the challenging start, we were off the river by 2:40 PM, thanks to swift currents. Igor’s GPS clocked 7.99 river miles.
The Day 1 ended with a group dinner at the Arandas Mexican Restaurant in Salem, MO, where more of our crew joined us for dinner and Happy Hour. After dinner, we spent few minutes chilling back and relaxing at the camp, recapping events of the day and attending a “free” outdoor concert that was blaring country, rap and rock music (all at once). Where was Sandy when we needed her the most?
Day 2 (July 13) was supposed to be a hot, sunny day with temps hovering around 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. They could not be more wrong in their predictions. Most of the day was spent under a cloud cover with unbelievable cool temps in mid- to upper-70’s. Absolutely, perfect paddling weather. Our Day 2 track was Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry. With a slightly larger group than the day before, 13 paddlers and Becki got on the river at 9:35 AM. The Cedar Grove put in was a very busy place. The number of rafts that were put on the water by outfitters was overwhelming. Thankfully, our group got ahead of these large crowds, and we spent the day with only few encounters. Our lunch stop was a traditional spot – Welch Spring Hospital Ruins. The access to the place was a bit challenging and some of us had to wait until few visitors left so we could dock our boats. We took a group photo and left to clear the access to free up space for people who were fast approaching this popular stop. The remaining float was relatively uneventful. There was a close encounter when Becki spotted a Great Blue Heron that was taunting her to see how close she can get. All the hunter-beast skills kicked in full gear and that Heron narrowly escaped from becoming Becki’s mid-afternoon snack. According to Igor’s GPS, group clocked 8.7 river miles and we were off the river by 3 PM. At the takeout, we spotted a Ford pickup truck few feet away from the Aker’s Ferry river right and legend has it the owner’s last words were “watch this” before he presumably was rescued from the car. He was lucky. His beloved Ford was not so much, but I heard the interior was pretty clean.
Upon returning to camp, a small group decided to visit Devil’s Well – a neat little attraction where water runs off into an underground lake.
Most of the group end up at the JB Malone’s Bar and Grill in Salem, MO that offered an outdoor seating – a requirement to bring Heron-hunting Becki along. Food was great, service was fabulous, especially since they do not serve patio customers who must order food on the inside. Very accommodating eatery and highly recommended. As in the prior evening, campers were treated to another round of outdoor music, squealing excitements of a corn-hole tournament and America Got Talent wanna-be’s.
Day 3 (July 14) was a final day of paddle, and our fearless leader has suggested slight change of plans. Instead of paddling the Current, we decided to paddle Jack’s Fork River – our traditional October stretch from Alley Springs Campground (which is currently closed for maintenance) to the Joshua T. Chilton Memorial Landing take out (a ball field right past the Highway 19 bridge and the Broker Arrow Campground.
We, again, had a smaller group of paddlers and are very thankful to Mike and Barbara Dale for assisting with shuttle. 8 paddlers and Becki set out at 9:45 AM and neither weather, nor the river disappointed us. It was a bright, hot sunny day with temperatures around 90 and water current was relatively swift. We weren't on the river long before we encountered a couple whose canoe was on its side, filled with water and thankfully wedged by the fallen tree. The couple, Larry and his daughter Erin, were paddling alone when their canoe overturned. It took Charles, Frank and Igor to get their canoe freed up, only to be carried by the current around the bend, right into a strainer. This second rescue took all four people (Charles, Frank, Igor and Larry) to get their canoe freed up from the strainer. It had to completely submerged in order to be dragged to the bank. Thankfully, no one was hurt, no gear was lost and we had a chance to help fellow paddlers to get back “on the road”.
We were moving pretty fast and chose to continue our trip without stopping for lunch. As we continued our journey, Igor and Curtis were at the sweep, when an Eagle-eye Curtis shouted “Look, an iPhone”. We both made a quick U-turn, and it took us few minutes to locate the phone. Curtis retrieved the hone which amazingly was on and still working judging by the buzzing sounds of snapchat and text messages. Of course it was locked. At the takeout, we were trying to figure out how to find an owner when our own iPhone-hacking-queen, Denice used “Hey Siri” command to “call mom”. Of course, phone dialed “mom”. Of course, mom did not answer the phone. Of course, we asked Siri to call “dad”. Of course, dad, who was somewhere in Georgia, answered the phone. Totally confused, he finally grasped the situation and explained that the phone belongs to his son, Brandon. Few minutes later, Brandon’s girlfriend was calling Igor’s phone and meeting was arranged at the Dairy Shack in Eminence, MO where Brandon and his iPhone were reunited. Apparently, the phone was lost on Friday afternoon, which means it was on the bottom of Jack’s Fork River for at least 48 hours. Kudos to Curtis for being attentive and vigilant and kudos to Apple for developing an electronic gadget that beat the odds. I guess kudos to Brandon too, who was rather emotional during his reunion. Alcohol clearly helped him to deal with situation.
Even with two distractions, we were off the river by 12:20 PM. As mentioned, some of the paddlers had lunch at Dairy Shack and others took off to get home. Igor’s GPS clocked 7.6 river miles on the Day 3.
There was some ideas thrown around that the next year switch days to avoid camping commotions, but no decision has been made and we will cross that bridge (no pun intended) when we get there.
All in all, it was a successful day on the river and pretty fun weekend with great friends.
The gauge near Bardley, MO kept steady 3.02 ft.