Originally posted April 28, 2018
Trip Report, by Tracy Hays
Current River, Jacks Fork River, Eleven Point River
On April 10th 2018, 12 members of the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club met at Montauk
State Park in the Missouri Ozarks to begin our paddle of three different crystal-clear
spring fed rivers. Montauk has an amazing trout rearing facility where they
release many thousands of fish into the Current River. Our trip was dubbed “The
Missouri Sampler”.
The first river we paddled was the Current River. We spent 4
days and 3 nights. Our paddle was from Baptist Camp to Two Rivers take out
which was approximately 53 miles. The first section of this river from Baptist
Camp to Cedar Grove had numerous down trees and we had some difficulty
portaging over them. We had one swimmer but no injuries. The rest of the river
was fairly open although we did have to maneuver around trees off and on for
the entire trip. Two of us managed to fall into the river while attempting to
enter our boats, the only injuries here were to pride. Our first night Camp was
at Cedar Grove. Our second Camp was at Pulltite Campground and our third camp
was at a place called Jerktail (really). We anticipated a big rainstorm that
had been predicted several days in advance, and what an awesome storm it was!
The rain and wind hammered and whipped our tents and the lightning lit up the sky,
and all the while a little mouse huddled in the outhouse… Only one among us was
wise enough to tie their canoe up well above the river level (yep, Matt).
Around 2 a.m. three of us got up during a break in the storm and moved all the
rest of the boats and gear to higher ground and tied them up. Next morning the
group was surprised to find their boats had been relocated and happy nothing
was lost. The river rose about 5 feet. We paddled on in the now chocolate
colored and much faster river with floating debris to the takeout at Two Rivers
and attempted to dry our gear. The Park Service closed the river for two days
for safety. Highlights of the Current River were Welsh Spring, Cave Spring (a
cave we could paddle into), a hike from Cave Spring to Devils Well, Round
Spring, and Pulltite Spring. The next day was very cold wet and windy so we
just decided to take the day off and explore on our own and resupply. This
delay also allowed more time for the rivers to clear up.
The next river we paddled was the Jacks Fork. We spent 3
days and two nights and paddled about 42 miles from Buck Hollow to Two Rivers.
The Jacks Fork was probably the most scenic of the three rivers that we
paddled, and everyone enjoyed it. We camped at Bay Creek and Shawnee Creek.
Highlights of the Jacks Fork were Jam Up Cave (a bit of a climb from the
river), Alley Spring and Mill, seeing many wild horses and all the beautiful
scenery. The upper section of the Jacks Fork is just unbelievably beautiful and
typically only floatable in the spring as there is not enough water in summer.
The third River that we paddled was the Eleven Point for 3
days and 2 nights. We paddled from Cane Bluff to the Narrows. This river had
some trees that were tricky to maneuver in the beginning and there was a couple
of class 2 rapids according to the printed description – but they were not
difficult to navigate. The Eleven Point paddle was approximately 37 miles. We
camped at Stinking Pond, really (and we would not recommend it), and Boze Mill
(very nice). The Eleven Point was another beautiful river with amazing views
around every bend.
So overall, we paddled about 132 mile in 11 days. Somehow, we managed to have a pit toilet every place we camped, and a shower in a couple places (yep, borderline glamping). We also had memorable campfires, and musical entertainment. We saw more turtles and King Fishers than you can imagine, and saw eagles, herons, ducks, otters, mink, and many other birds. Some of us encountered a few ticks (yuk). We prepared three fantastic group meals and had a really nice departing meal at Grumpy’s near the Eleven Point River. Your hosts of this trip, Bill Rivers and Tracy Hays would like to thank everyone for cooperating and adapting to a few changes to the original itinerary — we lengthened the Current trip, shortened the Jacks Fork, took a day off from paddling which added one day to the trip and paid for two shuttles that we hadn’t planned on. Overall everyone really had a great time and will likely return to Missouri to repeat this trip someday soon.
Here is a Missouri River Sampler report by Mat Bozek.
Mat’s report of the Missouri River Sampler is in a journal format, providing a day by day accounting of the places visited and the river conditions. This report is a must read for anyone planning to paddle these Missouri Rivers; the Current River, the Jacks Fork River, and the Eleven Point River.