Kayaking - Eleven Point River

Kayaking - Eleven Point River                                             7 miles

We got up at 6:00 a.m. to move the camper to our new campground - Eminence Cottages and Cabins.  It's a bit closer to town and even has cell service.  We packed up the trailer in record time - about 20 minutes.

We drove to Hoffstetler Outfitters, loaded up the boats and headed to the Whitten access.  I'm not sure how long the drive was, but it was a long, bumpy dirty ride and our boats were coated with red dust by the time we got to the river.  That's OK - we are about to give them a bath!  It was an absolutely lovely day with temperatures in the high 70's and 82 degrees when we ended.  The water had a good flow, sparkling clear and vibrant blue skies with many white clouds.  It was actually a very uneventful day, unlike the last time we paddled this river.  We stopped at Boze Mill springs and couldn't have asked for a better lunchtime view.  Half a mile down the river from there is a Class II small waterfall.  Christina kept up her tradition by falling into the river.  This time she had all her accessories well tied down, and two fishermen were able to pick her up and carry her part way down the river towards her boat which William had rescued.  It was maybe a mile or a mile and a half to the Riverton Boat Access and when we got out, we were all bemoaning that it was too short of a trip! 

Kayaking - Jacks Fork River

 Kayaking - Jacks Fork River

We drove to Windy's outfitters and loaded up all the kayaks onto a shuttle.  Our first stop was Alley Springs where Scotty and five others were dropped off to paddle 8 miles down to Eminence.  From there we headed uptown Bay Springs Campground where 12 of us unloaded.  We were told the water was just high enough to paddle this route.  There was only one time where we had to portage as it was a bit tricky with a log on the right and a strong current leading into it from the left.  It took maybe 2 1/2 hours to paddle the 4 miles down to Alley Springs.  We saw where the springs came out which again looked beautifully blue and clear when you got up to it.  The water seemed to be running only a bit faster after Alley Springs.  William is a good guide and always told us which side of the river to paddle.  On this route, we encountered a long, thin branch on the right side of the river sticking up diagonally into the air.  The current took you straight into this stick and it became amusing to watch each of us head into this stick as we all hit it.  Midge did tip her boat and when Terry came right behind her, she went directly over it.  Along this route, we saw at least one heron, two deer and a few ducks.  As we got into Eminence, we saw lots of people sitting out along the rocky shore.  William did his standard jump off the rock there and when  we paddled a bit further to the exit, we were surprised to see Scotty's group still there finishing up their loading.  We loaded up our kayaks and headed over to the Dairy Dip for a well earned ice cream treat.

Kayak - Current River from Aker's Ferry

 Kayak - Current River

We loaded up vehicles at 8:30 and headed once again to Aker's Ferry.  We split into two groups.  Some in the group were planning to do an 8 mile paddle, and other's 18.  The temperature once again started low, at 69 degrees.  We paddled from Aker's Ferry to Pull Tite in a beautiful, mist-covered river.  After about two hours we stopped for lunch and noticed the continually darkening sky was even darker.  We quickly put on our ranger and got on the river.  Sure enough, the skies opened up!  We paddled quickly in the constant rain for about 2 hours.  When we saw lightning, we paddled even faster knowing we were near Pull-Tite. We got to Pull-Tite and ran from our kayaks to the pavilion where others had already sought cover.  William and Mike had their trucks already at this access so they took some drivers down to Round Spring so we could all load up and call it a day.  The longer we stood under the pavillion, the colder we got and we started digging into our dry bags looking for warmer clothes and some shared what little they had with others.  After about an hour, the rain stopped, we were warmer and we felt encouraged to finish the paddle.  So when the trucks returned, we separated into 2 groups - one group finished for the day and those that wanted to paddle further.  Six of us decided to paddle on.  Even as late as it was in the day, the mist stayed on the river and the sun never fully came out.  We made excellent time and finished the last 9 miles in about three hours.

Kayak - Current River

 Kayak - Akers Ferry to Cedar Cove, Current River                            7.7 miles

We drove to Aker's Ferry to drop off shuttle vehicles and combine boats before heading to Cedar Cove River Access.  We put in and it was rainy, with a temperature of 66 degrees.  There were 18 of us and we all put on our rain gear.  The river looked pretty as it was a misty day and the mountains could be seen in the background through the fog.  It stayed like that for half of our paddle - a steady rain, but we never got cold.  We stopped at a waterfall and got out to take pictures.  That's when I first got cold.  We paddled a couple more miles and arrived at the TB hospital where there's an old abandoned hospital.  Patients long ago were brought here to be in the fresh air.  There's a spring just in front of the hospital with beautiful water rushing out that appears blue (that's from the limestone).  This is where we had a lunch break.  After lunch, the sun peeked out for short periods of time and the day never did get full sun.  It was a a great start to our week.  

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!