If you missed Part I check it out here.
If there’s one thing adventuring outdoors has taught me it is flexibility, especially when it comes to planning around Ma Nature. We can’t control the weather, fellow adventurers. We can embrace it, face it, avoid it or adjust to it. We can prepare for it (and we’d better) – but we can’t change it. So, as I watched Sunday’s forecast temps decrease and wind speeds increase I made the decision to tell all potential trip mates I would be on the river Saturday instead. Unfortunately I lost my trip mates, but I gained a stellar day on the Upper Buffalo all to myself save for the occasional hiking party and one group of float campers.
I’d made shuttle arrangements with Lost Valley Canoe, and as I approached the Highway 43 intersection I looked down at the Ponca access. It was empty, a rarity too tempting to pass up, so Ponca to Kyles it was! I launched around 11:00 and settled into a pleasant, steady drift, remembering – for a while at least – to count waterfalls along the way.
One of Many – I stopped counting at seventeen.
As I approached Big Bluff I heard hoots and hollers and looked up to locate the source. I would have looked up anyway. That’s an upper Buff tradition as there’s always a good chance of seeing hikers braving the Goat Trail, but it’s always fun for fellow adventurers to engage in a little water/trail verbal horseplay.
Hikers On Big Bluff
Another Shot of Big Bluff for Perspective
My next (and final) encounter with fellow adventurers occurred at Jim Bluff. I stopped to chat and learned they had been camped there since Thursday, which meant they’d ridden out some storms and heavy rain. The upper Buffalo can flash quickly and the base of a steep bluff is not the ideal place to watch the river rise, especially when float camping with a full complement of gear. But, they were safe and happy and clearly capable of making their own decisions, so I minded my own business and continued down river.
Float Campers at Jim Bluff
My campsite back at Erbie and the promise of a cozy fire and dinner were calling, so I floated past Hemmed In Hollow and Bear Cave Hollow Falls to make my way through Hell’s Half Acre and on down to the takeout at Kyles Landing.
Post-Shenanigans Below Hell’s Half Acre
For the second day in a row I made camp before dark, a feat I’m sure will echo in the annals of Arkansas Adventure Guide history. It helps when shuttle is already set. Before long a fire was crackling and chili under cornbread was baking in a Dutch Oven.
Chili on bottom, cornbread on top? Yes please!
I can’t imagine a better coda to a perfect day on the river or a warmer welcome to the holiday season.
See you out there!
Deuce
