Kayak - Jack's Fork and Current River

Kayak - Jack's Fork and Current                                        14.6 miles

We had arrived in Eminence a day before the rest of Paddling Buds so we did a trip on our own.  We put in at the ball park in Eminence and took out at Powder Mill.  The outfitter drove Scotty to the take-out where he left his truck and then he came back to me.  He said the outfitter was driving about 75 mph on the way and the roads here are twisty, turn and often dirt.  

We started our paddle and it was a gorgeous day, nice blue skies and mid 80s.  We had the river to ourselves and I don't even remember passing any other kayakers in the river.  We did see people along the shore.  After about 5 miles, just past Shawnee Campground, Scotty said there were horses up ahead.  I thought it was just hay bales.  Sure enough, as we got closer - there were horses.  We pulled our kayaks over to the right bank and climbed up a muddy embankment where we could look over and see the herd.  There were about 15 white horses and a small brown colt.  We paddled around a bend where some guys were camping.  They told us that the horses had been down there that morning.  We again parked our boats and walked behind the gravel bar, along a path which led us to the field where the horses were grazing.  It wasn't as exciting as possibly seeing the horses at the water, but it was cool seeing wild horses - a first on any of our paddles.  We paddled a few more miles, found a gravel bar and ate our lunch.  As expected, the water was crystal clear and we had a great current all day long.  We got to the end and had another first - Scotty couldn't find his keys.  We looked and looked to no avail so he got a ride from somebody in the parking lot up to the outfitters.  As soon as he went inside, the guy knew what he was after and handed over the keys.  They had fallen out of his pocket inside the truck.  

From here we drove to the nearest Walmart - 21 miles away.  I wanted to get my 2nd booster shot as we would be spending the week with about 20 people from all over.  At 7 o-clock that night we met the other people in the group at our campground.  William led a short meeting and it looks like it will be a great week!