Anyone kayak the Jacks Fork in October. Is it doable, looking to go in mid October and looking to do 3 days 2 nights on the river. Where should I put in and take out? any advice would be much appreciated
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Its been a number of years now, but we used to do parts of the Jacks Fork in our Fall Ozark Rendezvous.
It can be scratchy in Autumn but if the water is high enough, its a beautiful river. Think of the Current, but smaller and twistier with higher bluffs. I’d have to refer you to one of our resident Ozark folks to advise on which gauge is best for reference and what are ideal flow rates for that river. Its a long shuttle from where we usually camp on the Current, and the stretch we customarily have done is fairly lengthy, so its not part of our regular itinerary. (Requires a “crack o’ dawn” start from Pulltite.)
That said, the stretch from Buck Hollow at the crossing of Hwy 17 to Bay Creek is a delightful run and if river camping there are plenty of gravel bars to camp on. With an early start Alley Spring would be a doable destination from Buck Hollow. There is a good campground at Alley from which a days paddle could be done. Of course if river camping, the horizons for river tripping on the Jacks open up. Below Eminence, I’m told, water quality is less than ideal due to run off from a very large horse rental facility at Cold Spring. I’ve not personally done the Jacks below Eminence and so can’t speak to it.
There is a section, know as “the prongs” above Buck Hollow that I’ve only done once but it requires pretty high water. Take County Y from Mountain View to access it. There are two put ins from Y, and the lower one has a bridge that collects debris and may require a portage. (or just put in there: there isn’t even a mile lost in doing so.) This section is pretty “sporty” for some, especially just upstream from the Buck Hollow landing. Nothing dangerous, low class II at most, but a tad “sporty”. Beautiful bluffs on that section. Do it if conditions allow or if you don’t mind a little wading.
About 5 miles downstream from Buck Hollow on river right is Jam Up Cave - don’t skip a stop there. Its remarkable, though from the river there is what looks like a large gravel scree slope that hides the cave entrance from view from the river.
Hope this helps and that someone who lives near and paddles the Jacks more than I have can pitch in on ideal levels for that portion of the Jacks.
Thanks for the reply, I’m going to look into Buck Hollow to Eminence
Unfortunately putting in at Buck Hollow in October will likely be a wet hike carrying a boat, unless there is a good heavy rain in the few days leading up to your trip.
The October median flow for the Mountain View gauge (which is the one to use for buck hollow, the prongs, rymers, etc) is only 33-40 cfs. For most Missouri Ozark streams a good rule of thumb is 100 cfs minimum needed to float, and that works for almost any gauge. Even then there will likely be some dragging. 175 cfs is much better. Rymers to Alley Srpring is usually even worse that time of year as there are few big springs between those put ins.
If you are set on floating the Jacks (and it is a fantastic river), your best bet in October would be Alley spring to Two Rivers (confluence with Current River). It is less remote than buck hollow, less narrow, and less difficult, but still very beautiful and very much worth doing, and the flow from Alley helps make it floatable most of the year.
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Thanks for that info, I will be keeping my eye on the flow gauge, that’s what I look at , I like between 150 and 200. Would you say the Current River would be a better option. I saw a bunch of people are going to the Current the same time I’m going to Jacks maybe we can join them
I’m among those who will be on the Current and we’d be happy if you’d care to join us. We camp at Pulltite (which was badly damaged in this spring’s floods and I’ve yet to see it in the aftermath). The choice of campground, as opposed to river, camping has been traditional for us since we used to have 25 or more mostly solo boats and finding gravel bars big enough to support a group of that size is always uncertain. These days we are a much smaller group, but cling to tradition. Dates are in the Ozark 'vous thread.
The Current has more springs and more of it is generally at a better level that time of year, definitely, but below Alley the Jacks is still pretty good level wise in October (normally). The two rivers are pretty similar, especially when comparing the Jacks below Alley to the upper Current below Akers, so you can’t really go wrong with either. I’ve always heard good things about the Ozark Rendezvous and would like to go this year myself if I can pull it off.
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