I don’t think you will have any issues leaving boats and gear at Powder Mill but of course, I can’t guarantee it. The campground is small with only 10 sites and does not have as much through traffic as the larger campgrounds. There are woods behind the sites opposite the river campsites that you could stash stuff in. If you have registered for a campsite there you could lock boats to the picnic table with cable locks as well.
Currently the Akers gauge is showing a discharge of 660 cfs. That is very close to where it was last June when my daughters and I did our trip from Cedargrove to Powder Mill. At that time the discharge was around 700 cfs the first day dropping to about 650 cfs the third day. Our loaded tandem canoe might have scraped bottom between the put in at Cedargrove and Welch Spring once or twice but we had plenty of water and certainly nothing was “high”. The current remained helpful even between Round Spring and Powder Mill. During dry months there can be some shallow stretches on the first 5 miles below the Cedargrove access. Once you pass Welch Spring there is usually no problem.
A few words of advice regarding some of the river features that you probably don’t want to miss. It is quite possible to go past Medlock Spring without noticing it. It is tucked back into a little cove formed by the spring branch itself and unless you look back over your shoulder you won’t see it. Welch Spring and the old pulmonary hospital are almost exactly 5 river miles downstream of Cedargrove and Medlock Spring is about 1.1 mile upstream of those. So if you don’t want to miss Medlock, start looking for it on river right after you have gone about 3.5 miles downstream from Cedargrove. If you are looking you will see the water flowing from the spring branch out of the cove and there is a fairly sizable rock on the river right side just below the junction. Paddle up into the spring branch if you want to check out the spring, which comes out of a cave well above river level and cascades down over rocks.
You can’t miss Welch Spring which looks like a good size creek joining the Current. But if you want to check out the old hospital ruins pull over the the left bank before you cross the junction of the spring branch. There is a smallish dirt landing of sorts there where you can pull up a few boats. Just walk up the hill to the ruins. If you pass the junction of the spring branch it will be somewhat difficult to paddle back upstream to get to the hospital and you are not allowed to wade in the springs.
You may want to check out the Howell-Maggard cabin which I believe was briefly mentioned in the BWCA message board site. This cabin is very well preserved and dates back to Civil War days. Allegedly four members of the James Gang ate breakfast there as they were making their escape westward after pulling off the first daylight train robbery in Missouri at Gad’s Hill. You won’t see the cabin from the river unless you pass it and look back and then only if you know exactly where it is. It is a very short walk up to the top of a little bluff with a nice panoramic view of a bend in the Current River. After you pass Welch Spring in a little less than 1/2 mile you will pass a big gravel bar open area on your left which is Welch Landing. At that point the river is flowing in a southerly direction. But about 300 yards downstream it will make a lazy bend to the left and start to flow in a more easterly direction. Keep a lookout for some power lines crossing the river there. As soon as your head passes beneath the power lines pull over to the right bank. There is a small streamlet entering the rive at that point and a trail of sorts going up to the top of the bluff where you will find the cabin.
You can get drinking water at Akers Ferry and buy ice cream and other stuff at the outfitter’s store at the top of the hill. There are also flush toilets at the outfitter’s store and the NPS building just downstream of it. From Akers Ferry to the next major access point at Pulltite Campground is just under 10 miles. Halfway down, again just about exactly 5 miles, is Cave Spring. This will be on river left and it too can be missed if you are not paying attention. The cave mouth is screened by some trees that have grown up on a spit like piece of ground and gravel between the cave mouth and the junction of the cave flow before it joins the Current. Cave Spring is not at Devil’s Well. The water flows underground from Devil’s Well which is over one mile to the north, and comes up through a fissure about 140 feet deep at the back of the cave itself.
Just before you get to Pulltite access the river, which generally flows from west to east, will reverse course and start to flow back to the west. There are some nice gravel bars near Pulltite if you wish to camp there. You can get drinking water at Pulltite and again, there is an outfitters store close to the landing and a bath house with flush toilets. The campground itself stretches for about 1/3 mile down the road from the landing itself so once you leave the landing you will be paddling along the campground for a good ways. If you look to the left side, where the campground is, you will see the old bath house up on a hill on the far end of the campground. At that point stay close to the right bank to stop and walk up along the Pulltite Spring branch. You will see a shallow gravelly area with watercress growing where you want to pull your boats up and the trail is plainly visible. There is a nice short hike along the lovely spring branch and there is an old hunting cabin back there that is falling into ruin. After you get back on the water after Pulltite Spring stay close to the right bank. In a few hundred yards you will hear and see Fire Hydrant Spring coming out of the bluff and rocks a short distance above river level on the right side. There is another spring just below Fire Hydrant that seems to issue right up out of a gravel bar that seems to have cut into Fire Hydrant’s flow in past decades.
A little over 4 miles downstream from Fire Hydrant you will pass the Current River State Park on river left. You will see the old buildings of the Alton Box Company retreat there. Just over 3/4 mile downstream look for the opening of Merritt Rock Cave on river right. Just before you get to it you will probably see the Shannondale fire tower sitting up on a distant ridge dead ahead. After you go about another mile and a quarter you will hear some traffic on Hwy 19 on your left which closely parallels the Current River at that spot. That will tell you that you are almost to Sinking Creek Campground. There is a vault toilet and dumpster there and a big gravel bar just before the creek itself enters which is a nice place to stop. That is just about 1 1/3 mile above the Hwy 19 bridge at Round Spring. If you need any supplies be sure to use the upper landing on river left just before you get to the bridge and walk up to the store at Carr’s Canoe rental. The main landing for the campground is a good distance downstream of the bridge at the lower landing on river right. That is where the bathhouse for the campground is located and drinking water is available there.
From Round Spring to Two Rivers is about an 18 mile stretch with no easy supply of drinking water or anything else so make sure you don’t need either before you pass Round Spring. Below Round Spring you will likely encounter some motorized boat traffic but far fewer canoes and kayaks. There are a couple of landings (Williams and Jerktail) and a primitive campground at Jerktail, but these are at the end of lengthy gravel roads so they are much less used than the other access points. A little less than 8 miles below Round Spring a sizable creek, Big Creek, enters on river left. This is often a popular place to “hang out”. A little over 2 miles further down you will pass scenic Bee Bluff on river left. There is a nice gravel bar opposite Bee Bluff but it too has become a popular spot and might not be available for camping as it was in the past. Jerktail Landing is another couple miles downstream on river right but it is not marked. There is a large gravel bar there and if you look you will see the road leading down to it.
About one mile downstream of Jerktail you will pass three enormous rocks that have fallen off a bluff and are sitting in the water which is so-called Twin Rocks. Twin Rocks is about 3 1/2 miles upstream of the junction of the Jacks Fork with the Current at Two Rivers. The outfitters store is at the top of the hill just past the junction. There is drinking water, beer, and other stuff available there as well as a bathhouse at the campground circle. The actual boat landing is over 3/4 mile downstream of the store on river right where there is a boat ramp and a vault toilet a short walk up from the landing.
The seven mile stretch from Two Rivers to Powder Mill is a pleasant run without much in the way of notable features. Big Blair Creek enters on river left about 2 1/2 miles upstream of Powder Mill. Powder Mill is so-named because it was the site of a mill that produced black powder (gun powder) many years ago. The actual campground on river left is over 1/3 mile downstream of where you pass under the Hwy 106 bridge crossing the Current.
If you have the time I would recommend checking out Blue Spring which enters the Current River a short ways downstream of where Powder Mill is situated. The easiest way would be to drive to it. There is, or used to be a hiking trail to it from Powder Mill campground along the river but since the floods in the Spring of 2017 I don’t know what type of shape the trail is in or if it even still exists. The gravel road leading down to the Blue Spring campground is off of Hwy 106. It is steep in places but passable with a passenger car. If you drive east on Hwy 106 from the junction with the road coming up from Powder Mill campground you will come to another road designated county road 106-535 after a little over 2 miles. Turn right and drive 2.5 miles to the Blue Spring trail head. There is a small, dark sign if I remember correctly. The hike to the spring is about 1/2 mile and the spring is well worth the trip.