April Showers Bring April Canoe Trips
When rain brings one of your favorite creeks gauge reading up well past 4 feet that was so low last summer you would have had more fun driving down the river than canoeing because of the drought you have to take advantage of it. Unable to find anyone that could take Friday-Sunday off or wanted to attempt canoeing the 35 miles I had planned down Flat Creek to Table Rock Lake – I set out on what I thought would be a 3 day solo canoe/camp.
The trip started near McDowell, MO (40 Miles Southwest of Springfield MO/80 Miles North of Fayetteville, AR).
I pushed off Friday at 6:45 a.m. as the steam from the river rose up along with the sun just over the East side of the horizon. As my Jeep disappeared behind me the thought of this being a solo trip sank in, the temperature was in the low 30’s & I began to think about how horrible it would be to take an involuntary swim alone.
The sun eventually showed itself as did the warmth along with it. I passed Stubblefield Access a previous take out spot around 9 a.m. this to me is where it felt like more of an adventure – I have canoed many parts of Flat Creek multiple times but leaving out many sections of it & I have never floated the whole creek from McDowell on down.
The water was up and I made excellent time – My first break was at the Jenkins bridge for a small snack. This “swimming hole” can get crowed and in most cases is filled with a colorful group of people however, on this cold early morning it was just me and the old bridge tagged with graffiti.
My goal for the first day was to get past Hwy 39. Two reasons;
1. Better camping locations
2. The 2nd day forecast was calling for a heavy southwest breeze and I wanted that at my back.
With my goal in mind I didn’t stay long at the Jenkins bridge the sun was now fully out and I had packed away the jacket/pants/wool hat.
Lost in my own little world I was upon the Hwy 39 bridge before I knew it – time for lunch!
The weeks previous rains had left a bounty of fire wood, I quickly started a small fire and boiled water for a Cup of noodles & some tea. I took a rest laying out my PFD and enjoying the weather. I checked my phone and learned my uncle Roger and friend Joe planned to meet me at the EE access the next afternoon. I was enjoying the solo trip but glad to know company and good times would be in store the next day.
After a nice rest I was back on the water – this time in cruise mode – I had made my goal of the 39 bridge and well on my way to be in great shape for the strong southwest winds headed my way. I spent the next hours bird/wild life watching and attempting to spot Morel mushrooms (having thought I seen many that all turned out to be a dried up leaf I quite looking).
With a plan to meet Roger & Joe at EE Saturday at noon in mind I was cautious to pass up a decent camp site. I found a small but nice gravel bar with a huge down tree perfect for a fire side bench on river right with a decent bluff on the left that would provide morning shade. With plenty of fire wood around I decided to call this spot home for the night.
Instant rice & beans / along with peanut butter and crackers made for an enjoyable diner. Honestly.
I finished the night off with a nice fire – some PBRs chilled by the water and a cigar.
A night in the 40’s and a sleeping bag with a broken zipper and I was up early and eager for a hot cup of coffee. After a Mountain House eggs & bacon (not bad by the way) I had camp packed back up and was ready to go. I kept waiting for the sun to break but the day was met with heavy cloud cover. I kept warm by the fire as it burned out before pushing off back in pants and jacket.
I made my way to Chimney Rock in time for a break and to shed the jacket. I again made my PFD into a sleeping pad of sorts and caught a nice 20-30min nap on the bank helping recharge what was missed by the cold uncomfortable night before.
As I turned the bend I see EE Bridge with two guys waiting on me – I was only 10 min late – not bad timing! They have subway & a cooler with ice – pure luxury at this point.
With the wind at our backs and the water up, the 3 of us made great time. Taking only short breaks and a quick lunch we found ourselves passing low water bridge the most common “last stop” on Flat Creek.
Again the adventure feeling surfaced as I had never been past this point. We knew the 3rd and final day would be mostly a transition to the lake and require more work and the loss of swift water so we pushed on past a number of nice gravel bar’s that would make great camping spots in the blind hope we would have another just around the next bend.
We lucked out with a great camp spot and an Eagles nest 60 yards away with two adult birds and two smaller birds. We gathered wood set down a ground cover and enjoyed a few cold ones as we watched the eagles. One even came back to the nest with a snake and fed the young. Although I enjoyed the solo portion of my trip I was enjoying the company & jokes the 2nd night - the eagles didn't hurt either!
Day 3 began as we took it pretty easy enjoying the current of the river while it was still around – I thought the creek would transform into the lake without notice but it was as if we crossed a border – one second it was Flat Creek the next it was Table Rock Lake – the banks, the water, the smell all of it changed in an instant.
The last 2 miles required lots of work with the wind now in our face and the current gone, but it did provide a new set of sights. We could hear this splashing noise ahead – in the tall grass we could see hundreds of carp spawning. You could have reached down and grabbed them the water was so thick with fish in just inches of water thrashing about.
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| Joe, Roger, Jason at the Flat Creek Bar & Grill dock |
Not far after that we could see the bridge at Hwy 173, we got plenty of funny looks from the bass boats heading out – and as we pulled the canoes up on shore near the Flat Creek Bar & Grill our ending point at Hwy 173 but then met with some praise and surprised faces as a few of the guys backing in boats asked in friendly conversation where we had started.
It was a great ending point to a great trip. The day was ended in Fayettechill fashion reflecting on the deck with pitchers of cold beer and good hot food.
