You must be happy, my friend offered. 

Oh yeah? Why’s that?

All this rain he replied, clearly surprised that I wasn’t vibrating with anticipation.

Rain?

I logged onto Weather Underground, briefly allowing myself to believe there was a chance, however remote, that there was indeed rain coming. Then I looked at the extended forecast – good chances of rain every day…for a total of less than an inch. I chuckled to myself and returned to my previous distractions.

It wasn’t long though before desperation filled my soul. We hadn’t undertaken a multi-day float since our sojourn to Colorado, and that was in May. Unacceptable! You know what they say about desperate times, fellow adventurers, so I logged back onto Weather Underground and checked the forecast for Alton, Missouri. Mid 80s and sunny with lows in the 60s. Not too shabby for August.

Okay Deuce, why Alton, Missouri?

The Eleven Point River, that’s why!

The Eleven Point is one of the Missouri Scenic Rivers, but unlike the Current and Jack’s Fork she’s administered by the USFS rather than the NPS. More importantly, while her sisters are 4.5 hours away she’s only a little over three hours from Arkansas Adventure Guide HQ, which makes her a viable option for a weekend excursion when nothing in the Natural State is running.

At this point you may be wondering why the Eleven Point isn’t susceptible to drought like the other rivers we love. Well, she is – but even when there’s no rain she gets by with a little help from her friends. The Eleven Point is spring fed, so even when other float camping destinations are, well, not float camping destinations she may be low, but she’s runnable. So we hopped into the Arkansas Adventure Guide company truck and headed to Alton! More specifically we headed to Greer Crossing Recreation Area, where we camped Friday night with plans to make shuttle arrangements then launch at our leisure Saturday morning.

We would overnight from Greer Crossing to Riverton, approximately twenty river miles; suitable for one long day but perfect for two. As expected we had a fair bit of company at Greer, but after a few friendly conversations I quickly determined there was only one other float camping party. Everyone else planned to take out at Turner Mill (more about Turner Mill later).

Fellow adventurers, there is an important word to consider when planning an Eleven Point trip, and that word is – wood – because there’s a lot of it in the river. Boat control is an important part of any trip, but it’s downright indispensable on narrow, winding streams with swift current like the Eleven Point.

Can you see the line? Hint: the woodpile is immediately below a 90° bend to the right and the photo was taken from the downstream side. If you’d like some help learning how to safely navigate obstacles in the river here are some resources. This kind of instruction is available around the country.

We were eventually underway and enjoying a beautiful summer day on the river that promised side hikes, the usual river shenanigans and an exquisite gravel bar campsite.

Our first stop was Turner Mill. Thanks to an abundance of high volume discharge springs Missouri rivers offer a rich history of milling, and the Eleven Point is a central character in that story. Turner, a splendid example, is a short walk from the river. The points of interest are Turner Spring, with a daily discharge of 1.5 million gallons, and the 25 foot mill wheel that was left on site for visitors to enjoy.

We left Turner Mill and made our way a few short miles downriver to our home for the evening. Gravel bars on the Eleven Point are in short supply compared to the other Missouri Scenic Rivers, but there are a few available – even more when the river is low.

We slept in Sunday then resumed our journey. On tap for the day was Boze Mill Spring. Built in the 1880s, Boze grist mill provided milling services for farmers who brought their corn and wheat to Lucas Boze to grind into flour. The hand-layered stone wall and turbine are still on site, and the azure and emerald hewed spring releases 2 million to 4 million gallons of water every day.

The journey from Boze Mill Spring to the takeout at Riverton is a short one. Just below Boze is the river’s only named rapid, Halls Bay Chute. Halls Bay is a read and run rapid, meaning it’s straightforward with no real consequences in the event of a swim so there’s no need to pull over and scout it. Just keep the bow pointed downstream and giggle!

Shortly below Halls Bay a handsome old through-truss steel bridge spans the river. Built in 1934, the Highway 160 bridge marks the approach to the Riverton access on river left. Though it signals the end of another adventure, it seems to float above the Eleven Point, and its beauty always tempers the sadness for this adventurer.

Even at a mere 600 CFS on the Bardley gauge the Eleven Point doesn’t disappoint, regardless of whether other rivers are bone dry. Desperate measures? You bet, and altogether worth it! When we need to find flow we know where to go.

See you out there!

Deuce