Creek-tiquing the War Eagle

Recent float tests the paddling potential of Ozark stream

By Buddy Gough

HINDSVILLE — A warm, blue-sky day coinciding with good flows on area streams was too good to pass up for a pleasant paddle a couple of weeks ago.

The pattern of generous rainfall through fall and winter brightened the prospect of a second float within a month and also the hope of many more canoeing days to come, provided the pattern continues through spring.

With 2007 making an early bid to be the Year of the Paddle, the timing seemed right for an ambitious goal of testing new waters instead of the usual stretches of the Buffalo, Kings and Mulberry rivers so familiar to area paddlers.

Why not, for example, undertake a detailed exploration of War Eagle Creek, testing the paddling potential of its accessible stretches in a series of three or four floats?

The stream is near enough to the major cities in Benton and Washington counties, but it doesn't get floated much except for a stretch upstream from Withrow Springs State Park, where the park provides canoes and shuttles for a five-mile float.

The comprehensive Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Ozarks by Tom Kennon gives the creek just two pages in describing three float sections from Arkansas 23 south of Huntsville to U.S. 412, continuing to Arkansas 23 again at the park and onward to Arkansas 45 near Clifty. Most of that space is devoted to a map and details of access points along the 28-mile stretch.

Moreover, Kennon says nothing about the stretch from Arkansas 45 to the historic War Eagle Mill near Prairie Creek. Prior to last week, personal knowledge of the creek was limited to views ofit from the park and a couple of short wade-fishing trips - downstream from Arkansas 45 six summers ago and upstream from the mill two summers ago.

Considering a balmy forecast after a long spell of cold weather, putting together a paddling team for the initial float wasn't difficult. All it took was phone calls to Wayne Williams, Scott Carroll, Ernie Kilman and Greg Hastings. Since everyone knew each other in connection with the Rockhouse community as either landowners or operators of Kings River Outfitters, they were informally dubbed the Rockhouse Canoe Club.

Seeking a day float of 10-12 miles, we decided to try the stretch Kennon had ignored from Arkansas 45 to the War Eagle Mill. Williams and Kilman had traced the route as best theycould on their computerized Maptech programs and had come up with a distance of about 12 miles.

SETTING OUT WITH MISGIVINGS

The team met up at the mill after Kilman called ahead and obtained permission from the owner, Marty Roenigk, to take out from the private property. The water flowing over the lowwater dam at the mill indicated a good flow.

For the upper stretches of the creek, Kennon had advised an optimum level of 2 feet to 3 feet at the U.S. Geological Survey gauge on the creek, and we would be going down the lower stretch right in the middle of that range.

After wedging Carroll's kayak in with the two canoes on top of Kilman's Suburban, we were atthe Arkansas 45 put-in within 20 minutes. The access under the bridge was an easy one but admittedly not very scenic considering the dirt banks and woody debris around the bridge.

"I expect we will see some logjams," Kilman said. He said he hadn't floated the stretch in 18 years but remembered plenty of logs along the way.

Our main misgiving was that the creek would be flat and slow most of the way.

"I told my wife she could expect to see me sometime tomorrow," Williams joked.

He had attempted to plot the descending gradient of the stretch ahead, and we could only hope the estimate of 7 feet per mile was accurate.

The run started below the bridge with a short riffle that carried us into a short pool with a low, overhanging bluff on the right.

"Pancake rock," Kilman said, regarding the bluff configured in thin layers of tightly stacked rock.

The first pancake bluff would define the character of many others we would see. Most would rear about 10-30 feet above the creek, but a few would reach to more than 100 feet and inspire us with their magnitude and beauty.

"I can hear the sounds of [rushing] water ahead," Carroll said encouragingly as we approached the end of the first pool.

The sounds materialized as a shoal of fast water dancing over bedrock bottom and terminating in a low ledge dropping off into white water.

"Nice little shoal," Kilman said.

Below the shoal, the creek swung to the left into a narrow, fast chute with small standing waves running against the curving base of a pancake bluff.

Certainly, our original misgivings were going by the wayside.

Past another line of layered bluff, we entered a long, wide and deep pool. Nearly a half-mile long, it would be the longest of the first half of the float. It also would provide the first significant landmark.

Before the float, Kilman said a friend who had recently made the trip had seen a pair of eagles building a nest at a pool near the beginning, and there was no mistaking the nest when it showed up in a big sycamore tree on the left bank. It looked more like a pile of limbs than a nest.

Since eagle nests are rare in our region, we were impressed to see one, but we would be more impressed later.

Toward the end of the pool, a long, 50-foot-tall bluff appeared on the right, with one end starting from the edge of the creek and slanting to the right across a flat expanse of pasture. Its main feature was a large rock shelter appearing like a cave room in the face of layered rock.

The bluff was obviously on private property, but seeing no "No Trespassing" signs, we risked the landowner's good graces to take a quick and respectful look at the shelter.

Speaking of private property, where the creek wasn't lined with bluffs or wooded hillsides, we often saw glimpses of pastures of what were large farms rising to the hills beside the creek.

The next major landmark came where the creek's green currents swung to the right in a wide bend as a 200-foot bluff reared on the left. The height of the bluff made our canoes look tiny.

"Gorgeous!" Kilman said.

Before that bluff, we had already enjoyed sightings of eagles either leaving creek-side perches ahead of us or soaring overhead. From the first sighting to the end of the float, eagles would be almost constantly in view in singles, pairs and groups of as many as five.

Wood ducks, geese, hawks, buzzards, kingfishers, pileated woodpeckers and herons also were regular sights. At one point, three deer splashed across the creek ahead of us.

The first obstacle came in awide bend of the creek, where a couple of small logs blocked a shallow riffle through gravel beds. Getting out to drag the canoes about 20 feet over the gravel was not much of a bother, and would be only one of two dismounts required during the entire float.

By that point, we had decided the creek had recently experienced a rise of at least 12 feet, judging from logs, limbs and leaves piled on the banks. The rise had obviously cleared the channel of many obstacles that could have hampered the float.

Coming to another wide and shallow gravel bend where the creek split into several channels bordered with logs, we made our first and only major mistake.

Kilman spotted a narrow channel cutting off into the trees to the left. It seemed to be the old creek channel, and Kilman decided to take it. It was a twisty little thing, 10-15 feet wide at most but surprisingly deep.

"Isn't this cool?" Kilman said as the channel snaked and looped on and on through large trees.

All went well for a half-mile or more until the channel became blocked with logs for a stretch of 50 yards or more, requiring a veritable portage of about 100 yards. The lesson learned was to stay with the main channel.

Catching up with the rest of the team, we soon saw a beautiful bluff topped with gnarled cedars projecting into the creek ahead. Just beyond was another major landmark.

"We are coming up on what the locals refer to as either the Gar Hole or the Slab," Kilman said.

GAR HOLE TO THE MILL

The Slab was actually the low-water crossing of Gar Hole Road that starts on Arkansas 12 near the community of Lookout and runs down to and across the creek. It's a common put-in or take-out point for paddlers desiring to split the stretch of Arkansas 45 to the mill into shorter floats.

With only an inch or two or water flowing over the Slab's flat surface, the crossing was easily accomplished.

It also provided a good opportunity to check the progress of the float on Williams' GPS unit that he had brought and kept on since we set out.

"OK, here's the story," Williams said, gazing at his GPS screen. "At this point, we have come right at 4.6 miles; and subtracting our stop times, we got here in one hour and 32 minutes of actual floating."

The time and distance translated into an average speed of 3 mph, indicating the creek was carrying us along quite nicely with little paddling involved.

Whatever misgivings we had at the beginning had been replaced by happy moods and smiling faces all around.

And it would get even nicer as the creek's gradient appeared to drop more over the next several miles. The riffles and shoals would come closer together, and the biggest bluffs and best scenery also were to come.

Not far below the Slab, the current picked up in a shallow riffle running against a long, pancake bluff. A little farther along, the creek turned left along a scenic area with huge slabs in the water and a bluff rearing above.

After another run of good current, we spotted another eagle's nest. It was unmistakable because a mature bald eagle was perched a few feet from the nest, and its mate was soaring nearby.

A relatively long shoal with bedrock, boulders and a small ledge dropoff came up to provide a fun run through fast water and standing waves.

A flowing creek entered on the left.

"This would be Clifty Creek coming in at the six-mile mark," Williams announced.

Gliding through another two miles of bluffs, short pools and riffles, we began to pass cabins on the left, indicating the approach of the float's most significant and scenic landmark.

"Red Bluff Dell is coming up," Kilman said.

This is a spot where the creek makes a long 270-degree curve that on the map is shaped like a mushroom, with a massive layered bluff of more than 200 yards long wrapping around the top of the mushroom cap.

It started just past a cabin set atop a pancake bluff and grew increasingly impressive as it curved around to the left and loomed to a height of more than 100 feet directly overhead.

"Awesome," Kilman said.

A gravel bar across from the overhanging bluff provided an idyllic spot for a long break to enjoy the setting and have lunch.

Just downstream from the bluff, we entered the longest and best shoal of the float with good white water and nice haystacks shining silver in the bright sun.

"Riding the silver ribbon," Kilman said.

A low bluff line on the left would give way to an unusually high and long bluff line on the right, with more shoals and riffles in between.

Then we saw the third eagles' nest in a sycamore on the left bank. This one had a pair of mature eagles and an immature eagle perched near it.

In the final mile or so, the creek began to deepen, with water backed up by the mill dam,requiring us to have to paddle steadily. However, it didn't get tiring before we reached the mill.

Checking his GPS, Williams read off the stats, "We've come 11.1 miles in four hours and 40 minutes, with one hour and 10 minutes of stop time and three hours and 30 minutes of float time for an average moving speed of 3.2 mph."

"We were rolling!" Kilman said.

And we were ready to see more of War Eagle Creek.

WAR EAGLE CREEK AT A GLANCE

Stretch: Arkansas 45 to War Eagle Mill Distance: 11.1 miles Time: 4 to 5 hours Optimum level: 2 feet to 3 feet on the gauge near Hindsville. Description: Terrain along the banks features a steady mix of bluffs, wooded hillsides and pastures. The winding creek channel features a classic blend of deep pools, shallow riffles of sand and gravel, and rocky shoals with bedrock and boulders. Overall, scenery and water flow is comparable to the Kings River. Difficulty: At optimum level, the riffles and shoals present little difficulty for paddlers of moderate experience. Major obstacles are logs and trees intruding into the channel to require deft maneuvering or occasionally dismounting to pull across. Low flows require considerable dragging or wading in the riffles. Log jams and strainers are major obstaclesat high flows. Put-in: Arkansas 45 bridge between U.S. 412 near Hindsville and Arkansas 12 near Clifty. Access is under the bridge via a dirt lane on the northeast side of the bridge. Expect the lane to be muddy in wet weather. Takeout: War Eagle Mill on War Eagle Road east of Prairie Creek and south of Arkansas 12. Permission from mill owners or operators is required to park and take out at the mill. The actual take-out is the right bank about 40 yards upstream from the mill. Major landmarks: Low-water bridge onGar Hole Road at about 4.6 miles; Clifty Creek entering the creek about 6 miles, and the magnificent bluff of Red Bluff Dell at 8.7 miles. Flow information: Available by calling U.S. Geological Survey at (800) 452-1737. Following instructions, enter War Eagle gauge code 051365.

This article was published March 11, 2007 at 6:22 a.m.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 142, 143 on 03/11/2007