Aker's Ferry to Round Springs 18.8 miles 1379.4 total
5.8 avg. speed, 9.8 max speed, 3:16 moving time
While staying at the Rivers Edge Resort we met the couple next-door (Kevin and Cheryl, from Kansas City) who are our age and also happen to be kayakers. It turns out we were both undecided about what to do on Sunday so we decided to shuttle and kayak together. We drove up to Round Springs and left a vehicle at Round Springs Lower Landing, and then drove up to Akers Ferry. Out of curiosity I went into Akers Ferry Canoe rental to ask about river conditions. There were five guys in there who highly suggested we not kayak to current River as it had rained in upper Missouri and all the water was flowing down into the current river in the water level of the river was 2 feet higher than usual. They said we would encounter some debris floating down the river and possibly some eddets and downed trees. After hearing the 'doom' of the river, we had a brief discussion - very brief, because we all decided to kayak. Sadly the river was a very muddy brown from all the rain and not as clear as the river had been on Saturday just two days prior. The water was really flowing fast and we always alert, watching for different channels, downed trees, rougher water, and experienced nothing major. We pulled over at a gravel bar at Pulltite Campground and headed to lunch at a very nice campground. Shortly after that campground on the right side of the river going down stream we veered off to see Pulltite Spring and cabin. The cabin has been let go by the national Park service and it’s really just a run down old hunting lodge. The spring is a shallow spring filled with lots of beautiful green plants and maybe one small section of aquamarine blue water. We got back into our kayaks, headed back down river and actually passed other kayakers and canoeists on this river. We did see one eagle along the way and I saw one otter playing on the shore. The skies started to get cloudy and we began to feel some raindrops and then the thunder started. The rain got heavier and heavier, the thunder got more frequent and so we pulled over at Sinking Creek Campground. Other people had also pulled over due to thunder. In fact, two campers had pulled out a canoe and then along came the two guys that owned this canoe. We waited for a while, and were told that the takeout was maybe a mile and a half away. So even though it was thundering and raining, we got back into the kayaks and paddled like crazy to get to the end. Soon it was a deluge and we were paddling harder than we probably had ever paddled before. We passed Round Springs upper landing and saw the bridge and knew we were almost there. We finally saw the takeout and with relief pulled into the launch. We did notice that the river had risen considerably and it was a good thing that Kevin had parked his car at the far end of the parking lot. Kevin and Cheryl loaded their kayaks onto their vehicle and Scotty and Kevin drove to get the truck. When they returned we loaded our kayaks and we all headed back to Rivers Edge Resort. We changed in Kevin and Cheryl‘s room and headed off towards Clarksville. While we had intended to only possibly do a 7 mile paddle today, it was great to meet another couple who like to paddle as quickly as we did and we ended up paddling 19 miles. It's always nice to have friendly people to talk with that have similar interests. It turned out to be a great day even with the rain storm.
5.8 avg. speed, 9.8 max speed, 3:16 moving time
While staying at the Rivers Edge Resort we met the couple next-door (Kevin and Cheryl, from Kansas City) who are our age and also happen to be kayakers. It turns out we were both undecided about what to do on Sunday so we decided to shuttle and kayak together. We drove up to Round Springs and left a vehicle at Round Springs Lower Landing, and then drove up to Akers Ferry. Out of curiosity I went into Akers Ferry Canoe rental to ask about river conditions. There were five guys in there who highly suggested we not kayak to current River as it had rained in upper Missouri and all the water was flowing down into the current river in the water level of the river was 2 feet higher than usual. They said we would encounter some debris floating down the river and possibly some eddets and downed trees. After hearing the 'doom' of the river, we had a brief discussion - very brief, because we all decided to kayak. Sadly the river was a very muddy brown from all the rain and not as clear as the river had been on Saturday just two days prior. The water was really flowing fast and we always alert, watching for different channels, downed trees, rougher water, and experienced nothing major. We pulled over at a gravel bar at Pulltite Campground and headed to lunch at a very nice campground. Shortly after that campground on the right side of the river going down stream we veered off to see Pulltite Spring and cabin. The cabin has been let go by the national Park service and it’s really just a run down old hunting lodge. The spring is a shallow spring filled with lots of beautiful green plants and maybe one small section of aquamarine blue water. We got back into our kayaks, headed back down river and actually passed other kayakers and canoeists on this river. We did see one eagle along the way and I saw one otter playing on the shore. The skies started to get cloudy and we began to feel some raindrops and then the thunder started. The rain got heavier and heavier, the thunder got more frequent and so we pulled over at Sinking Creek Campground. Other people had also pulled over due to thunder. In fact, two campers had pulled out a canoe and then along came the two guys that owned this canoe. We waited for a while, and were told that the takeout was maybe a mile and a half away. So even though it was thundering and raining, we got back into the kayaks and paddled like crazy to get to the end. Soon it was a deluge and we were paddling harder than we probably had ever paddled before. We passed Round Springs upper landing and saw the bridge and knew we were almost there. We finally saw the takeout and with relief pulled into the launch. We did notice that the river had risen considerably and it was a good thing that Kevin had parked his car at the far end of the parking lot. Kevin and Cheryl loaded their kayaks onto their vehicle and Scotty and Kevin drove to get the truck. When they returned we loaded our kayaks and we all headed back to Rivers Edge Resort. We changed in Kevin and Cheryl‘s room and headed off towards Clarksville. While we had intended to only possibly do a 7 mile paddle today, it was great to meet another couple who like to paddle as quickly as we did and we ended up paddling 19 miles. It's always nice to have friendly people to talk with that have similar interests. It turned out to be a great day even with the rain storm.
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| Aker's Ferry - a 2 car ferry that is pulled across by pulleys. |
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| And we're off! |
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| Just one of the caves we saw. |
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| Lunch at Pulltite Campground. |
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| Daily flow of 38 million gallons a day. That was hard to believe as the water here seemed so serene and calm. |
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| Kevin and Cheryl at Pulltite Springs |
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| Possible summer home?? |
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| The cabin was built in the early 20th century, as a 'retreat' for city folk. It is no longer maintained by the NPS. |
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| Interesting contrast seeing the Pulltite spring water coming out into the Current River. |
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| Look how the tree just grows right out of the bluff here. |
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| The rain starts....... |
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| Hard to tell, but when we were at the launch, the rain really started to come down hard, but fortunately, it was not cold. River's Edge Resort I didn't get a photo of our room, but it was fine. It had wood paneling and could be described as rustic and quaint. We did think we noticed the floor had a slight slant! And apparently last year, the hotel was flooded and they lost their cabins and water did get into the first floor. Being a commercial business, they did not get FEMA money to rebuild, but used their own money to do it. There's a metal workshop on site and just TONS of interesting and cool metal sculptures everywhere.           |
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