Hi, looking for some advice/info. We (in SC/NC) have done MANY canoe camping runs on your local rivers (Current, Jack’s Fork, 11 pt, Big Piney, No Fk White…) but always in May. This year I was considering a trip starting about Oct 21st, and wondered if it is reasonable to expect water levels to support a multi-day trip at that time. I assume the Current would be my best bet, with all the springs. (A couple of years ago we ran Cedar Grove down to Powdermill in 6 nights.)
Aker’s to the confluence would be 36 miles, probably the minimum we would want to do… Is that section usually runnable with a loaded boat in October? Any suggestions, or updates on river conditions, are appreciated!
Check the annual hydrograph for the rivers you are interested in. Check to see if there are dams and how they are operated in October after the growing season. Guide books can often give you this information.
I really like the fall for canoe trips. One of my favorites is the Sacramento River, CA after the summer heat in October when the king salmon are running. Quiet and beautiful with only a few fishermen around. We camp in places no one has ever camped before.
Yes, late October on the Current is doable. I’ve done it twice that time of year. Still colorful leaves abound. The last time, several years ago, we paddled from Pulltite CG to Big Springs, about 75 river miles.
We were fortunate to find an outfittter willing to shuttle our 5 drivers back to Pulltite after we had moved our cars to Big Spring.
We’ve done a regular Pnet/com trip on the Current in the Fall (Oct.) since '01. Baptist Camp to Cedar Grove is a stretch we only do in high water - which means we haven’t done that stretch at all in many years and never, to the best of my recollection, in Fall. Otherwise it’s always been paddlable, though sometimes a bit scratchy between Cedar Grove and Welsh Spring. I can’t really make suggestions about other Ozark Rivers in Fall as I’m not a native and don’t have the experience on them to share. I guess I could suggest that the Prongs section (above Buck Hollow) of the Jacks Fork be removed from consideration in Fall, unless there’s a lot of rain.