Floating fellowship: Hiking group eschews land for a lazy day on White River

With Steve Joseph up front and Valarie Keown at back, Ali Moubarak (from left), Kristin Jones and Russ Stinebaugh enjoy The NWA Hiking Meetup Group’s relaxed outing Aug. 13 on the White River below Beaver Dam.
With Steve Joseph up front and Valarie Keown at back, Ali Moubarak (from left), Kristin Jones and Russ Stinebaugh enjoy The NWA Hiking Meetup Group’s relaxed outing Aug. 13 on the White River below Beaver Dam.

Ugh! The dog days of summer.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Olivia Osborne of Rogers shows off her catch Aug. 13 on the White River.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Map showing the location of the Beaver Lake Dam

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Fly-fishing guide Ken Russell plies his skills in the mist off the White River.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Locals say this lonely concrete pillar once supported a pedestrian suspension bridge over the White River.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Members of The NWA Hiking Meetup Group fl oat past gravel sandbars and wooded bluffs that tower over the White River, with Elizabeth Kirchhof looking at where they’ve been as opposed to where they’re going.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

To accommodate its party of 50 boaters, The NWA Hiking Meetup Group decided to begin an Aug. 13 day-float on the White River below Beaver Lake Dam

Some people spend them indoors, panting and hovering around air conditioner vents. But for Doug McKinney and members of The NWA Hiking Meetup Group, the main problem with summer weekends is choosing which of the Natural State's many outdoor activities to enjoy.

"During this time of the year, the key is to plan your activity around a nearby water source," McKinney said.

Recently he posted an invitation on the group's website for a Saturday float Aug. 13 on the White River, and almost 50 members immediately signed up. Many would say he made a good choice.

Originating as a small stream in the foothills of the Boston Mountains, the White River offers a variety of options for boaters along its 720-mile journey to its merger with the muddy waters of the Mississippi River. In the spring "wet months," its swift headwaters provide a challenge for white-water paddlers. But during the dry summer, boaters in the White River Basin usually begin their floats at the base of one of the river's six hydroelectric dams, to take advantage of water released routinely to power giant turbines.

With most group members residing in Northwest Arkansas, McKinney chose to begin the hiking group's adventure at the base of Beaver Lake Dam.

Also influencing his decision -- with more than seven public access points within the first eight miles of river below the dam, three having boat access -- this location could accommodate the large group.

PRE-FLOAT CAMPOUT

With the launch scheduled for Saturday morning, several of us arrived the day before, Aug. 12, to camp along the riverbank at the Beaver Dam Site River Campground (not to be confused with the Beaver Dam Site Lake Campground on the shore of the lake).

In total, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built 12 recreational areas in the Beaver Lake area, offering more than 600 campsites with water, showers, electricity, restrooms and fire rings.

Arriving a day early let the group explore. Our first stop was the base of the dam. The mammoth, 228-foot-tall and quarter-mile-wide wall of concrete, with seven floodgates crowning its rim, dwarfed all other area structures.

Beaver Dam was completed and the waters of the White River began to fill the reservoir in March 1964. Although this was a monumental occasion, one that would normally have been celebrated with a ceremonial dedication, those plans were set aside as the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.

The dam began generating electricity in May 1965.

As we stood at the base of the manmade concrete mountain, the deafening shriek of a horn swept throughout the river valley.

This was a signal to everyone downstream that a pair of 77,400-horsepower Westinghouse generators inside the dam were about to be put to work generating electricity for neighboring communities.

It also was a warning that the water level was about to rise downstream.

Moments later, water began to flow from the channel opening below the powerhouse.

7,500 TROUT

As we drove on Arkansas 187 across the top of the dam, our group was impressed by the diversity of recreation the dam allows. Family after family occupied the rows of picnic tables that lined the lakeshore in the day-use area, there to enjoy swimming in the lake. We saw sailboats, speedboats, pontoon boats and stand-up paddleboards dotting the lake surface.

We stopped to visit a group of some 40 scuba divers congregating on the banks. They were members of C2 Sea Scuba Club, who make the drive from Kansas annually to hold classes at Beaver Lake. Patti Butler, one of their organizers, said, "Beaver Lake is the best training facility around. With the great underwater visibility here, it makes the drive worthwhile."

Before the dams were built, the White River was renowned for float-fishing trips that reeled in record-size smallmouth bass. The activity was so popular that it was featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1941.

Today's river draws fishermen from around the world on a quest for record trout. Ken Russell, a fly-fishing guide in the area, says the frigid waters within the first eight-mile stretch below Beaver Dam are regularly stocked with rainbow, cutthroat, brook and brown trout. This section is referred to as the Beaver Tailwater, and studies have estimated it holds more than 7,500 trout per mile.

After our tour, the group returned to camp. We wanted to eat dinner and find an open field to enjoy the natural fireworks scheduled that night -- the Perseids meteor shower.

THE FLOAT

McKinney and the rest of the group began rolling onto the boat launch about 10:30 the next morning. They were experienced paddlers, and people systematically began unloading their gear and storing it in their boats. Those without their own had made arrangements to rent kayaks and canoes from Riverview Resort, an outfitter downriver, and their boats awaited them on the water.

With the gear offloaded, McKinney had all drivers follow his truck downriver to our takeout place. Leaving most of the vehicles there, the drivers crammed into as few cars as possible for the return to our put-in.

We were on the river before noon, and everyone soon settled in for an afternoon of fun on, and in, the White River.

Those who have the luxury of time to coordinate the start of their float with the scheduled water release resulting from the dam's hydroelectric generation process will experience a gentle current that carries boats downstream with little or no effort. However, those who do not have a wealth of time, perhaps having only the weekend available for play, could find themselves paddling for every inch of progress made.

Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the second group. Not only was there no current, we paddled into a headwind most of the day.

Although our time wasn't flexible, thanks to McKinney's forethought we had a wealth of options for our takeout. So rather than an eleven-mile float to "The Little Golden Gate of Arkansas" in the town of Beaver, or even an eight-mile paddle to Houseman Access, we opted for a five-mile float to Riverview Resort. All was good.

In the early going, we shared the stream with lots of fly fishermen and fisherwomen. With the water level low and their hip waders chest high, they could walk across the entire span of the river.

It was like watching a beautiful ballet performance. As they stood chest deep in the glistening, clear water, with just a snap of the wrist, they would gracefully flick their lines, repeatedly, skimming them mere inches above the water until they'd positioned the lure at just the desired spot and could let the line drop in and drift on the surface.

As we floated past the pedestrian access ramp leading to our campsite, I was surprised to see that the steps I had visited the night before, which had been at water level, now towered eight feet over the bow of my kayak.

The water released the day before for the purpose of generating electricity lasted seven hours and flowed at an average rate of 100 to 200 cubic feet per second. But it had pretty much all drained downriver during the night.

The extreme difference in river levels was amazing. Now I understood the need for the many red warning signs along the banks, advising fishermen and swimmers to listen for the signal horn.

AHH, THE GOOD LIFE

Many boaters who read this article will question how we could have stretched a meager five-mile float into an all-day affair. To them I answer, "Easy." As in, taking it easy.

First, you find a comfortable position in your boat, preferably one where your paddle contacts water. Then retrieve a cold beverage from your cooler (which under Arkansas Code 8.6.418 must be secured to the boat in the event of capsizing), and then become acquainted with your neighbors.

I won't share the details, because what happens on the river stays on the river, but I learned more about the members of the group while drifting along than I had learned from many outings together. There is just something exceptional about the combination of a stream, cold beverages and no deadlines that inspires reflection on one's colorful history.

Before long our large family of boats began to head river-right, onto an inviting rock bar. It was time for an annual tradition of The NWA Hiking Meetup Group White River Float.

"Freeze-out!"

The water that powers the hydropower generators originates near the bottom of the dam, where the temperature averages 45 degrees. Even though it warms as it progresses downstream, the water's pretty chilly. On a hot day, when sun-warmed flesh meets cold water, it is a shocking experience. The group holds a contest to see who can stay in the frigid water the longest.

Ali Moubarak of Fayetteville remains the king.

NO PORTAGE REQUIRED

During the first three miles of the float, the river channel was narrow enough that, even at low flow, there was plenty of water for our small crafts to float unobstructed. But as the river began to widen there were shallow gravel crossings, and I often felt the smooth rocks of the river bed massaging the bottom of my kayak.

Although there were occasions when I was forced to pole myself forward with my paddle, I never had to leave the cockpit due to low water. As all boaters know, remaining inside is a moral victory.

A few members of the group who had plans awaiting them beyond the float moved downstream at a faster pace than others, which was one of the reasons for shuttling all the vehicles to the takeout. But most of us welcomed many stops on polished rock bars as well as a long break for lunch at the base of a tall limestone bluff.

We passed an old concrete pillar standing guard along the bank, which a local later told me was the remains of a pedestrian suspension bridge. He also mentioned his having discovered many buried cables along the banks of the White River where smaller suspension bridges once carried people across the river before highway bridges were built.

Just before we reached the takeout, our float routed us to the base of another set of concrete pillars, remnants of the old U.S. 62 bridge.

It was not just another hot and humid summer day: It was a great day spent with friends enjoying one of the Natural State's many outdoor treasures.

ActiveStyle on 08/29/2016

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