The Current River

In Missouri's Ozarks

The rumors were true--we were going to have a weekend in the 70's in mid-November.  This was our chance to try out the kayaks on an overnight trip!  We'd heard a few friends talk about taking float trips down the Current River in the summer--they raved about what fun times they had.  Our minds were made up--we were off to the Ozarks!

We packed up our gear and headed out early Saturday morning to Akers Ferry, a winch-powered ferry that still functions, taking cars across the Current River daily.  We loaded up our kayaks with 2 day's provisions and shoved off into the brisk current.

The weather was perfect--70 degrees with a light south wind.  Hoping it would hold out, we packed our tent and sleeping bags and were planning to work our way upstream, camp overnight, then drift downstream the next morning.

The river was crystal clear, cold, and full of huge fallen leaves.  There were about 7-10 areas of "rapids" that we had to navigate--most we were able to ascend with some strategizing and sweating, a couple we had to portage around.  We felt like adventurers in an undiscovered world!  We only passed 3 people all day--a fisherman in his canoe (he'd caught a couple 12" trout), and a couple going downstream in their canoe.

About halfway through the day we did get a little rain--luckily, we were prepared with our kayak skirts (to keep the rain out of our gear and laps) and our rain coats.  Amazingly, we stayed quite dry even in a downpour of sorts.  The rain didn't last long, and the wettest I got was when I almost tipped my kayak as I was trying (in vain) to navigate some rapids and turned too sharply against the current.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat and a nice leg stretch after paddling for about 3 hours.  We had a nice meal on the camp stove--mac and cheese and a turkey-veggie-noodle hot meal.  Mandi also brought her favorite--hot chocolate mix. 

By late afternoon, the wind was starting to pick up again.  The rain had stopped, but we heard on our portable weather radio that severe storms were going to be moving in that evening.  Prudence prevailed, and we decided to camp another time.  The trip back down stream took only an hour, and we had a blast shooting the little "rapids."  We got back in plenty of time for a nice, long night sleep--our only wish was that Mom were around to rub our aching shoulders!